Karakeep vs Open Notebook
Short answer
Karakeep: Self-hosted bookmark and read-later app (formerly Hoarder) with AI tagging, summaries and full-text search. Open Notebook: Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose Open Notebook if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)).
Karakeep publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Karakeep vs Open Notebook side by side
| Karakeep | Open Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Self-hosted bookmark and read-later app (formerly Hoarder) with AI tagging, summaries and full-text search. | Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| License type | Network copyleft (AGPL) | Permissive |
| License conditions | Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Karakeep and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 30.2k | 41.2k |
| Last commit | Oct 31, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.34.1 | v1.15.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 4 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | No. AI tagging calls OpenAI or an Ollama server you configure. | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €19.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Yes, by default | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free (OIDC free) | Not supported (OIDC not supported · SAML not supported · LDAP not supported) |
| Audit log | Not documented | No |
| RBAC | Not documented | No |
| Details | Full Karakeep guide → | Full Open Notebook guide → |
Key differences
- License: Karakeep: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Karakeep: not published. Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
- GPU: Karakeep: optional / see notes. Open Notebook: not required or not stated.
- Est. server cost: Karakeep: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo.
- GitHub stars: Karakeep: 30.2k. Open Notebook: 41.2k.
- Last commit: Karakeep: Oct 31, 2026. Open Notebook: Oct 5, 2026.
- Latest release: Karakeep: v0.34.1 (Oct 22, 2026). Open Notebook: v1.15.0 (Oct 4, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; Deploy: Docker Compose · multi-container stack; Status: Active.
Karakeep vs Open Notebook: FAQ
Karakeep or Open Notebook: which should a small business choose?
Choose Open Notebook if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)). Karakeep publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Karakeep or Open Notebook?
Karakeep: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo. Our estimate is the cheapest Hetzner Cloud plan that meets each project's official RAM and vCPU figure; it covers the server only.
How much hardware do Karakeep and Open Notebook need?
Karakeep: not published. Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between Karakeep and Open Notebook?
Karakeep: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). Free for internal and commercial use. If you modify Karakeep and let users interact with it over a network, you must offer them the modified source under AGPL-3.0. Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Karakeep or Open Notebook more actively maintained?
Karakeep: Active, last commit Oct 31, 2026. Open Notebook: Active, last commit Oct 5, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Nov 1, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Karakeep or Open Notebook?
Karakeep installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); Open Notebook via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). Karakeep lists 4 known gotchas and Open Notebook lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- Karakeep self-hosting guide · Open Notebook self-hosting guide
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- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- Karakeep GitHub repository: github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep
- Karakeep documentation, Karakeep hardware requirements, Karakeep deploy instructions: docs.karakeep.com/installation/docker/
- Karakeep license: github.com/karakeep-app/karakeep/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open Notebook GitHub repository: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook
- Open Notebook documentation, Open Notebook hardware requirements: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/docker-compose.md
- Open Notebook license: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open Notebook deploy instructions: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook#step-1-download-docker-composeyml
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.