Open Notebook vs PipesHub
Short answer
Open Notebook: Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. 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 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) and larger community (40.6k vs 3.9k GitHub stars).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Open Notebook vs PipesHub side by side
| Open Notebook | PipesHub | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. | Self-hosted workplace search and AI answers across 50+ connected apps, filtered by each user's permissions. |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| License type | Permissive | Permissive |
| License conditions | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license and notices. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 40.6k | 3.9k |
| Last commit | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 27, 2026 |
| Latest release | v1.15.0 | v0.10.0 |
| Minimum hardware | 4 GB RAM | 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 | from €19.99/mo | from €35.99/mo (recommended spec: €69.99/mo) |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose | 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 supported (OIDC not supported · SAML not supported · LDAP not supported) | Free |
| Audit log | No | Not documented |
| RBAC | No | Not documented |
| Details | Full Open Notebook guide → | Full PipesHub guide → |
Key differences
- License: Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). PipesHub: Apache-2.0 (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM. PipesHub: minimum 8 GB RAM (recommended 16 GB RAM).
- Est. server cost: Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo. PipesHub: from €35.99/mo.
- Deploy: Open Notebook: Docker Compose · multi-container stack. PipesHub: Docker Compose (interactive installer) · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: Open Notebook: 40.6k. PipesHub: 3.9k.
- Last commit: Open Notebook: Oct 5, 2026. PipesHub: Oct 27, 2026.
- Latest release: Open Notebook: v1.15.0 (Oct 4, 2026). PipesHub: v0.10.0 (Oct 12, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
Open Notebook vs PipesHub: FAQ
Open Notebook or PipesHub: which should a small business choose?
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) and larger community (40.6k vs 3.9k GitHub stars).
Which is cheaper to self-host, Open Notebook or PipesHub?
Open Notebook: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo).
How much hardware do Open Notebook and PipesHub need?
Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM. PipesHub: minimum 8 GB RAM (recommended 16 GB RAM).
What is the license difference between Open Notebook and PipesHub?
Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. PipesHub: Apache-2.0 (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license and notices. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Open Notebook or PipesHub more actively maintained?
Open Notebook: Active, last commit Oct 5, 2026. PipesHub: Active, last commit Oct 27, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 27, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Open Notebook or PipesHub?
Open Notebook installs via Docker Compose (multi-container stack); PipesHub via Docker Compose (interactive installer) (multi-container stack). Open Notebook lists 4 known gotchas and PipesHub lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- Open Notebook self-hosting guide · PipesHub self-hosting guide
- All Open Notebook alternatives, ranked
- All PipesHub alternatives, ranked
- AnythingLLM vs Open Notebook
- AnythingLLM vs PipesHub
- DocsGPT vs Open Notebook
- DocsGPT vs PipesHub
- FastGPT vs Open Notebook
- FastGPT vs PipesHub
- Khoj vs Open Notebook
- kotaemon vs Open Notebook
- kotaemon vs PipesHub
- MaxKB vs Open Notebook
- MaxKB vs PipesHub
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs Open Notebook
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- 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
- 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.