kotaemon vs MaxKB
Short answer
kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. MaxKB: Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Copyleft (GPL)).
kotaemon 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
kotaemon vs MaxKB side by side
| kotaemon | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. | Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Copyleft (GPL) |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | Free to use internally and commercially. If you distribute a modified version, you must release its source under GPL-3.0. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 25.8k | 23.0k |
| Last commit | May 30, 2026 | Oct 21, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.12.0 | v2.10.8-lts |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €35.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid · SAML paid · LDAP paid) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| RBAC | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| Details | Full kotaemon guide → | Full MaxKB guide → |
Key differences
- License: kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). MaxKB: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)).
- Official hardware: kotaemon: not published. MaxKB: minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk.
- Est. server cost: kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). MaxKB: from €35.99/mo.
- GitHub stars: kotaemon: 25.8k. MaxKB: 23.0k.
- Last commit: kotaemon: May 30, 2026. MaxKB: Oct 21, 2026.
- Latest release: kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026). MaxKB: v2.10.8-lts (Oct 22, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Deploy: Docker · single container; Status: Active.
kotaemon vs MaxKB: FAQ
kotaemon or MaxKB: which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Copyleft (GPL)). kotaemon publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, kotaemon or MaxKB?
kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). MaxKB: from €35.99/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 kotaemon and MaxKB need?
kotaemon: not published. MaxKB: minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk.
What is the license difference between kotaemon and MaxKB?
kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. MaxKB: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)). Free to use internally and commercially. If you distribute a modified version, you must release its source under GPL-3.0. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is kotaemon or MaxKB more actively maintained?
kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. MaxKB: Active, last commit Oct 21, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 23, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, kotaemon or MaxKB?
kotaemon installs via Docker (single container); MaxKB via Docker (single container). kotaemon lists 4 known gotchas and MaxKB lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- kotaemon self-hosting guide · MaxKB self-hosting guide
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Sources
- kotaemon GitHub repository: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon
- kotaemon documentation: cinnamon.github.io/kotaemon/
- kotaemon license: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon/blob/main/LICENSE.txt
- kotaemon hardware requirements, kotaemon deploy instructions: github.com/Cinnamon/kotaemon#readme
- MaxKB GitHub repository: github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB
- MaxKB documentation, MaxKB hardware requirements: docs.fit2cloud.com/maxkb/installation/offline_installtion
- MaxKB license: github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB/blob/v2/LICENSE
- MaxKB deploy instructions: github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB#quick-start
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): 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.