Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs Open Notebook
Short answer
Onyx (formerly Danswer): AI chat and enterprise search connected to 50+ workplace apps. Open Notebook: Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 10 GB RAM) and fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs Open Notebook side by side
| Onyx (formerly Danswer) | Open Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | AI chat and enterprise search connected to 50+ workplace apps. | Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. |
| License | MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) | MIT |
| License type | Open core | Permissive |
| License conditions | The Community Edition is MIT. Code in "ee" directories is under the Onyx Enterprise License. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 32.8k | 40.5k |
| Last commit | Oct 22, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | v4.9.2 | v1.15.0 |
| Minimum hardware | 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk | 4 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk | 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 €69.99/mo | from €19.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Install script (Docker Compose) | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 2 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | On by default | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Not documented | Not supported (OIDC not supported · SAML not supported · LDAP not supported) |
| Audit log | Not documented | No |
| RBAC | Paid / enterprise only | No |
| Details | Full Onyx (formerly Danswer) guide → | Full Open Notebook guide → |
Key differences
- License: Onyx (formerly Danswer): MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core). Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive).
- Official hardware: Onyx (formerly Danswer): minimum 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk (recommended 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk). Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
- Est. server cost: Onyx (formerly Danswer): from €69.99/mo. Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo.
- Deploy: Onyx (formerly Danswer): Install script (Docker Compose) · multi-container stack. Open Notebook: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: Onyx (formerly Danswer): 32.8k. Open Notebook: 40.5k.
- Last commit: Onyx (formerly Danswer): Oct 22, 2026. Open Notebook: Oct 5, 2026.
- Latest release: Onyx (formerly Danswer): v4.9.2 (Oct 15, 2026). Open Notebook: v1.15.0 (Oct 4, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
Onyx (formerly Danswer) vs Open Notebook: FAQ
Onyx (formerly Danswer) or Open Notebook: which should a small business choose?
Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo), lighter official minimum (4 GB vs 10 GB RAM) and fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core).
Which is cheaper to self-host, Onyx (formerly Danswer) or Open Notebook?
Open Notebook: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €69.99/mo).
How much hardware do Onyx (formerly Danswer) and Open Notebook need?
Onyx (formerly Danswer): minimum 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk (recommended 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk). Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between Onyx (formerly Danswer) and Open Notebook?
Onyx (formerly Danswer): MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core). The Community Edition is MIT. Code in "ee" directories is under the Onyx Enterprise License. Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is Onyx (formerly Danswer) or Open Notebook more actively maintained?
Onyx (formerly Danswer): Active, last commit Oct 22, 2026. Open Notebook: Active, last commit Oct 5, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 22, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, Onyx (formerly Danswer) or Open Notebook?
Onyx (formerly Danswer) installs via Install script (Docker Compose) (multi-container stack); Open Notebook via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). Onyx (formerly Danswer) lists 2 known gotchas and Open Notebook lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) self-hosting guide · Open Notebook self-hosting guide
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Sources
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) GitHub repository: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) documentation, Onyx (formerly Danswer) hardware requirements: docs.onyx.app/deployment/getting_started/resourcing
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) license: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx/blob/main/LICENSE
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) deploy instructions: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx#readme
- 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.