MaxKB vs Open Notebook
Short answer
MaxKB: Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows. Open Notebook: Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose MaxKB if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack).
Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo), lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 8 GB RAM), fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Copyleft (GPL)) and larger community (40.5k vs 23.0k GitHub stars).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
MaxKB vs Open Notebook side by side
| MaxKB | Open Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows. | Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| License type | Copyleft (GPL) | Permissive |
| License conditions | Free to use internally and commercially. If you distribute a modified version, you must release its source under GPL-3.0. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 23.0k | 40.5k |
| Last commit | Oct 21, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | v2.10.8-lts | v1.15.0 |
| Minimum hardware | 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk | 4 GB RAM |
| 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 | from €35.99/mo | from €19.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Paid / enterprise only (OIDC paid · SAML paid · LDAP paid) | Not supported (OIDC not supported · SAML not supported · LDAP not supported) |
| Audit log | Paid / enterprise only | No |
| RBAC | Paid / enterprise only | No |
| Details | Full MaxKB guide → | Full Open Notebook guide → |
Key differences
- License: MaxKB: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)). Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive).
- Official hardware: MaxKB: minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk. Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
- Est. server cost: MaxKB: from €35.99/mo. Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo.
- Deploy: MaxKB: Docker · single container. Open Notebook: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: MaxKB: 23.0k. Open Notebook: 40.5k.
- Last commit: MaxKB: Oct 21, 2026. Open Notebook: Oct 5, 2026.
- Latest release: MaxKB: v2.10.8-lts (Oct 22, 2026). Open Notebook: v1.15.0 (Oct 4, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
MaxKB vs Open Notebook: FAQ
MaxKB or Open Notebook: which should a small business choose?
Choose MaxKB if you want: simpler deploy (one container vs a multi-container stack). Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo), lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 8 GB RAM), fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Copyleft (GPL)) and larger community (40.5k vs 23.0k GitHub stars).
Which is cheaper to self-host, MaxKB or Open Notebook?
Open Notebook: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo).
How much hardware do MaxKB and Open Notebook need?
MaxKB: minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk. Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between MaxKB and Open Notebook?
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. Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is MaxKB or Open Notebook more actively maintained?
MaxKB: Active, last commit Oct 21, 2026. Open Notebook: Active, last commit Oct 5, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, MaxKB or Open Notebook?
MaxKB installs via Docker (single container); Open Notebook via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). MaxKB lists 2 known gotchas and Open Notebook lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- MaxKB self-hosting guide · Open Notebook self-hosting guide
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Sources
- 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
- Open Notebook GitHub repository: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook
- Open Notebook documentation, Open Notebook hardware requirements: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/docker-compose.md
- Open Notebook license: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open Notebook deploy instructions: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook#step-1-download-docker-composeyml
- 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.