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Open Notebook vs Petal: catalog facts
Open Notebook	Petal
Free Free and open source under the MIT license.	Freemium Free to start, with paid options for more use.
Web, Self-hosted	Web
Privacy-focused self-hosted alternative to a well-known proprietary tool MIT licensed with an active Discord community	Answers cite the source documents Document storage with automatic metadata extraction
Local processing still depends on which model provider is configured Smaller community than the proprietary product it alternatives	Documents are stored in Petal's cloud Requires an account
Self-hosted, Web application	Web application
Open source	Closed source
License: MIT	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	Account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Needs internet
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 26, 2026

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