kotaemon vs RAGFlow
Short answer
kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. RAGFlow: RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Choose RAGFlow if you want: larger community (92.7k vs 25.8k GitHub stars).
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 RAGFlow side by side
| kotaemon | RAGFlow | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. | RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers. |
| 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 license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 25.8k | 92.7k |
| Last commit | May 30, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.12.0 | v1.0.0-rc2 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 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 | Docker Compose |
| 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 | Free (OIDC free) |
| Audit log | Not documented | Not documented |
| RBAC | Not documented | Basic free, more in paid plan |
| Details | Full kotaemon guide → | Full RAGFlow guide → |
Key differences
- Official hardware: kotaemon: not published. RAGFlow: recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published).
- Est. server cost: kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). RAGFlow: from €69.99/mo.
- Deploy: kotaemon: Docker · single container. RAGFlow: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: kotaemon: 25.8k. RAGFlow: 92.7k.
- Last commit: kotaemon: May 30, 2026. RAGFlow: Oct 23, 2026.
- Latest release: kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026). RAGFlow: v1.0.0-rc2 (Oct 16, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; License: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
kotaemon vs RAGFlow: FAQ
kotaemon or RAGFlow: which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack). Choose RAGFlow if you want: larger community (92.7k vs 25.8k GitHub stars). kotaemon publishes no official RAM figure, so we cannot compare hosting cost directly.
Which is cheaper to self-host, kotaemon or RAGFlow?
kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). RAGFlow: 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 RAGFlow need?
kotaemon: not published. RAGFlow: recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published).
What is the license difference between kotaemon and RAGFlow?
kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. RAGFlow: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is kotaemon or RAGFlow more actively maintained?
kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. RAGFlow: Active, last commit Oct 23, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 23, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, kotaemon or RAGFlow?
kotaemon installs via Docker (single container); RAGFlow via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). kotaemon lists 4 known gotchas and RAGFlow lists 2; see each app page.
Related
- kotaemon self-hosting guide · RAGFlow self-hosting guide
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- 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
- RAGFlow GitHub repository: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow
- RAGFlow documentation, RAGFlow hardware requirements, RAGFlow deploy instructions: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow#-get-started
- RAGFlow license: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow/blob/main/LICENSE
- 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.