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Open Notebook vs Kotaemon: catalog facts
Open Notebook	Kotaemon
Free Free and open source under the MIT license.	Free Free and open source.
Web, Self-hosted	Web, Self-hosted
Privacy-focused self-hosted alternative to a well-known proprietary tool MIT licensed with an active Discord community	Chat with your own documents through a web interface Works with local or hosted language models
Local processing still depends on which model provider is configured Smaller community than the proprietary product it alternatives	Needs a server or local setup rather than a simple installer Answer quality depends on the model you connect
Self-hosted, Web application	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 23, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.