kotaemon vs WeKnora
Short answer
kotaemon: Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. WeKnora: Tencent's open-source knowledge-base and agent platform with document parsing, RAG and team workspaces. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose kotaemon if you want: 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 WeKnora side by side
| kotaemon | WeKnora | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Open-source RAG web app for chatting with your documents, with citations and GraphRAG. | Tencent's open-source knowledge-base and agent platform with document parsing, RAG and team workspaces. |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT (with third-party components) |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. | MIT for WeKnora itself; bundled third-party components keep their own licenses, listed in the LICENSE file. Internal and commercial use allowed. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 25.8k | 36.1k |
| Last commit | May 30, 2026 | Oct 30, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.12.0 | v0.9.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | Not published |
| Recommended hardware | Not published | 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required. Local models run through Ollama or another model service you configure. |
| Est. server cost | Not estimated | from €35.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 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 | Yes, free |
| RBAC | Not documented | Yes, free |
| Details | Full kotaemon guide → | Full WeKnora guide → |
Key differences
- License: kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). WeKnora: MIT (with third-party components) (Permissive).
- Official hardware: kotaemon: not published. WeKnora: recommended 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM (no separate minimum published).
- GPU: kotaemon: not required or not stated. WeKnora: optional / see notes.
- Est. server cost: kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). WeKnora: from €35.99/mo.
- Deploy: kotaemon: Docker · single container. WeKnora: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: kotaemon: 25.8k. WeKnora: 36.1k.
- Last commit: kotaemon: May 30, 2026. WeKnora: Oct 30, 2026.
- Latest release: kotaemon: v0.12.0 (May 31, 2026). WeKnora: v0.9.0 (Oct 29, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; Status: Active.
kotaemon vs WeKnora: FAQ
kotaemon or WeKnora: which should a small business choose?
Choose kotaemon if you want: 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 WeKnora?
kotaemon: not estimated (no official RAM figure). WeKnora: 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 WeKnora need?
kotaemon: not published. WeKnora: recommended 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM (no separate minimum published).
What is the license difference between kotaemon and WeKnora?
kotaemon: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep license and notices. WeKnora: MIT (with third-party components) (Permissive). MIT for WeKnora itself; bundled third-party components keep their own licenses, listed in the LICENSE file. Internal and commercial use allowed. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is kotaemon or WeKnora more actively maintained?
kotaemon: Active, last commit May 30, 2026. WeKnora: Active, last commit Oct 30, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 31, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, kotaemon or WeKnora?
kotaemon installs via Docker (single container); WeKnora via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). kotaemon lists 4 known gotchas and WeKnora lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- kotaemon self-hosting guide · WeKnora 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
- WeKnora GitHub repository: github.com/Tencent/WeKnora
- WeKnora documentation, WeKnora hardware requirements, WeKnora deploy instructions: weknora.weixin.qq.com/docs/01-getting-started/02-installation
- WeKnora license: github.com/Tencent/WeKnora/blob/main/LICENSE
- 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.