kotaemon vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
Short answer
kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. Onyx (formerly Danswer): AI chat and enterprise search connected to 50+ workplace apps. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
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 Onyx (formerly Danswer) side by side
| kotaemon | Onyx (formerly Danswer) | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. | AI chat and enterprise search connected to 50+ workplace apps. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) |
| License type | Permissive | Open core |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | The Community Edition is MIT. Code in "ee" directories is under the Onyx Enterprise License. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 25.8k | 32.9k |
| Last commit | May 30, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.12.0 | v4.9.4 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk |
| 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 €69.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Install script (Docker Compose) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 2 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Not documented |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Paid / enterprise only |
| Details | Full kotaemon guide → | Full Onyx (formerly Danswer) guide → |
Key differences
- License: kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Onyx (formerly Danswer): MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core).
- Official hardware: kotaemon: not published. Onyx (formerly Danswer): minimum 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk (recommended 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk).
- Est. server cost: kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Onyx (formerly Danswer): from €69.99/mo.
- Deploy: kotaemon: Docker · single container. Onyx (formerly Danswer): Install script (Docker Compose) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: kotaemon: 25.8k. Onyx (formerly Danswer): 32.9k.
- Last commit: kotaemon: May 30, 2026. Onyx (formerly Danswer): Oct 23, 2026.
- Latest release: kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026). Onyx (formerly Danswer): v4.9.4 (Oct 22, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
kotaemon vs Onyx (formerly Danswer): FAQ
kotaemon or Onyx (formerly Danswer): which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core) and simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack). kotaemon publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, kotaemon or Onyx (formerly Danswer)?
kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Onyx (formerly Danswer): from €69.99/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 Onyx (formerly Danswer) need?
kotaemon: not published. Onyx (formerly Danswer): minimum 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk (recommended 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk).
What is the license difference between kotaemon and Onyx (formerly Danswer)?
kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. Onyx (formerly Danswer): MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core). The Community Edition is MIT. Code in "ee" directories is under the Onyx Enterprise License. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is kotaemon or Onyx (formerly Danswer) more actively maintained?
kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. Onyx (formerly Danswer): Active, last commit Oct 23, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 23, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, kotaemon or Onyx (formerly Danswer)?
kotaemon installs via Docker (single container); Onyx (formerly Danswer) via Install script (Docker Compose) (multi-container stack). kotaemon lists 4 known gotchas and Onyx (formerly Danswer) lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- kotaemon self-hosting guide · Onyx (formerly Danswer) self-hosting guide
- All kotaemon alternatives, ranked
- All Onyx (formerly Danswer) alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs kotaemon
- AnythingLLM vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- FastGPT vs kotaemon
- FastGPT vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- Khoj vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- kotaemon vs MaxKB
- kotaemon vs Open Notebook
- kotaemon vs PrivateGPT
- kotaemon vs RAGFlow
- MaxKB vs Onyx (formerly Danswer)
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs Open Notebook
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs PrivateGPT
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
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
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) GitHub repository: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) documentation, Onyx (formerly Danswer) hardware requirements: docs.onyx.app/deployment/getting_started/resourcing
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) license: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx/blob/main/LICENSE
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) deploy instructions: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx#readme
- 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.