kotaemon vs PipesHub
Short answer
kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. PipesHub: Self-hosted workplace search and AI answers across 50+ connected apps, filtered by each user's permissions. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: larger community (25.8k vs 3.9k GitHub stars) 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 PipesHub side by side
| kotaemon | PipesHub | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. | Self-hosted workplace search and AI answers across 50+ connected apps, filtered by each user's permissions. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 25.8k | 3.9k |
| Last commit | May 30, 2026 | Oct 27, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.12.0 | v0.10.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 8 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 16 GB RAM |
| 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 (recommended spec: €69.99/mo) |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker Compose (interactive installer) |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | On by default |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Free |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Not documented |
| Details | Full kotaemon guide → | Full PipesHub guide → |
Key differences
- Official hardware: kotaemon: not published. PipesHub: minimum 8 GB RAM (recommended 16 GB RAM).
- Est. server cost: kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). PipesHub: from €35.99/mo.
- Deploy: kotaemon: Docker · single container. PipesHub: Docker Compose (interactive installer) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: kotaemon: 25.8k. PipesHub: 3.9k.
- Last commit: kotaemon: May 30, 2026. PipesHub: Oct 27, 2026.
- Latest release: kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026). PipesHub: v0.10.0 (Oct 12, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; License: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
kotaemon vs PipesHub: FAQ
kotaemon or PipesHub: which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: larger community (25.8k vs 3.9k GitHub stars) 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 PipesHub?
kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). PipesHub: 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 PipesHub need?
kotaemon: not published. PipesHub: minimum 8 GB RAM (recommended 16 GB RAM).
What is the license difference between kotaemon and PipesHub?
kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. PipesHub: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is kotaemon or PipesHub more actively maintained?
kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. PipesHub: Active, last commit Oct 27, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 27, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, kotaemon or PipesHub?
kotaemon installs via Docker (single container); PipesHub via Docker Compose (interactive installer) (multi-container stack). kotaemon lists 4 known gotchas and PipesHub lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- kotaemon self-hosting guide · PipesHub 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
- PipesHub GitHub repository: github.com/pipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai
- PipesHub documentation: docs.pipeshub.com
- PipesHub license: github.com/pipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai/blob/main/LICENSE
- PipesHub hardware requirements: github.com/pipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai/blob/main/deployment/docker-compose/ADVANCED_DEPLOYMENT.md#deployment-types-slim-vs-full-vs-eval
- PipesHub deploy instructions: github.com/pipeshub-ai/pipeshub-ai/blob/main/deployment/docker-compose/ADVANCED_DEPLOYMENT.md
- 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.