MaxKB vs kotaemon
Self-hosted AI knowledge tools compared
MaxKB and kotaemon are Python projects for self-hosted question answering with language models and retrieval. MaxKB focuses on agents that combine organizational knowledge with workflows and tools, while kotaemon centers on a customizable document-Q&A interface with citations and configurable RAG pipelines.
MaxKB: Build and Run Enterprise AI Agents
MaxKB is a self-hostable platform for building AI agents that use company knowledge, workflows, and external tools. It suits teams that want to add model-backed question answering to internal or customer-facing systems.
kotaemon: Chat with Documents Using RAG
kotaemon is a customizable web interface and toolkit for asking questions about documents with retrieval-augmented generation. It suits teams that want a self-hosted document QA app or developers building and adapting RAG pipelines.
| MaxKB | kotaemon | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Python | Python |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Stars | 22.9k | 25.8k |
| Forks | 3.2k | 2.2k |
| Last analyzed | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 |
Key differences
- MaxKB combines knowledge-base Q&A with workflow orchestration, function libraries, and MCP tool use; kotaemon focuses on document indexing, retrieval, and answer generation.
- MaxKB supports integrating Q&A into third-party business systems and handling text, image, audio, and video input and output; kotaemon emphasizes document chat with citations, PDF viewing, and multimodal parsing for figures and tables.
- kotaemon offers hybrid full-text and vector retrieval with reranking, plus customizable indexing and reasoning pipelines; MaxKB describes a RAG pipeline alongside agent workflows.
- MaxKB uses GPL-3.0, while kotaemon uses Apache-2.0.
- MaxKB documents a stack including Vue.js, Django, LangChain, PostgreSQL, and pgvector; kotaemon offers a Gradio-based web interface and requires Python 3.10 or newer for non-Docker installation.
- The provided project figures show MaxKB with 22.9k stars and 3.2k forks, and kotaemon with 25.8k stars and 2.2k forks.
Choose MaxKB if you…
- need agents that combine company knowledge with workflows and external tools.
- want to connect knowledge-based Q&A to existing business systems.
- need support for public or private model providers and multiple input and output modalities.
Choose kotaemon if you…
- want a document-Q&A interface with detailed citations and relevant passages.
- need to configure or extend retrieval, indexing, reasoning, or UI settings.
- want hybrid search, reranking, or shared document collections with multi-user access.
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This comparison is generated with AI from the OSRepos analyses of both projects. Always check each project's repository and documentation before choosing.