Karakeep vs PrivateGPT
Short answer
Karakeep: Self-hosted bookmark and read-later app (formerly Hoarder) with AI tagging, summaries and full-text search. PrivateGPT: API-first private document Q&A that sits on top of your own LLM server. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose PrivateGPT if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (57.6k vs 30.2k GitHub stars).
Karakeep and PrivateGPT publish 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 PrivateGPT side by side
| Karakeep | PrivateGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | API-first private document Q&A that sits on top of your own LLM server. |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| 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 license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 30.2k | 57.6k |
| Last commit | Oct 31, 2026 | Oct 29, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.34.1 | v1.0.1 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| 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 | Not estimated |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | uv (Python) or Docker |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Yes, by default | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free (OIDC free) | Paid / enterprise only (LDAP paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| RBAC | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| Details | Full Karakeep guide → | Full PrivateGPT guide → |
Key differences
- License: Karakeep: AGPL-3.0 (Network copyleft (AGPL)). PrivateGPT: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- GPU: Karakeep: optional / see notes. PrivateGPT: not required or not stated.
- Deploy: Karakeep: Docker Compose · multi-container stack. PrivateGPT: uv (Python) or Docker · uv (Python) or Docker.
- GitHub stars: Karakeep: 30.2k. PrivateGPT: 57.6k.
- Last commit: Karakeep: Oct 31, 2026. PrivateGPT: Oct 29, 2026.
- Latest release: Karakeep: v0.34.1 (Oct 22, 2026). PrivateGPT: v1.0.1 (Jun 18, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; Official hardware: not published; Est. server cost: not estimated (no official RAM figure); Status: Active.
Karakeep vs PrivateGPT: FAQ
Karakeep or PrivateGPT: which should a small business choose?
Choose PrivateGPT if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Network copyleft (AGPL)) and larger community (57.6k vs 30.2k GitHub stars). Karakeep and PrivateGPT publish no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Karakeep or PrivateGPT?
Karakeep: not estimated (no official RAM figure). PrivateGPT: not estimated (no official RAM figure). 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 PrivateGPT need?
Karakeep: not published. PrivateGPT: not published.
What is the license difference between Karakeep and PrivateGPT?
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. PrivateGPT: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Karakeep or PrivateGPT more actively maintained?
Karakeep: Active, last commit Oct 31, 2026. PrivateGPT: Active, last commit Oct 29, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Nov 1, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Karakeep or PrivateGPT?
Karakeep installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); PrivateGPT via uv (Python) or Docker (uv (Python) or Docker). Karakeep lists 4 known gotchas and PrivateGPT lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- Karakeep self-hosting guide · PrivateGPT 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
- PrivateGPT GitHub repository: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt
- PrivateGPT documentation, PrivateGPT hardware requirements: docs.privategpt.dev/getting-started/quickstart
- PrivateGPT license: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt/blob/main/LICENSE
- PrivateGPT deploy instructions: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt#readme
- 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.