PrivateGPT alternatives
Short answer
We track 6 self-hosted alternatives to PrivateGPT: RAGFlow, AnythingLLM, Open Notebook, Onyx (formerly Danswer), FastGPT and MaxKB.
RAGFlow (same category): larger community (92.6k vs 57.6k GitHub stars).
AnythingLLM (same category): no objective advantage over PrivateGPT in our data; it differs in features.
Open Notebook (same category): no objective advantage over PrivateGPT in our data; it differs in features.
Last updated · how we rank · sources
PrivateGPT alternatives compared
| # | App | Advantages over PrivateGPT | Est. server cost | Official hardware | License | Stars | Last commit | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | PrivateGPT (this app) | Active | not estimated (no official RAM figure) | not published | Apache-2.0 | 57.6k | Oct 20, 2026 | — |
| 1 | RAGFlow Same category | larger community (92.6k vs 57.6k GitHub stars) | from €69.99/mo | recommended 4 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 50 GB disk (no separate minimum published) | Apache-2.0 | 92.6k | Oct 22, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs RAGFlow |
| 2 | AnythingLLM Same category | None in our data (differs in features) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 2 GB RAM · 5 GB disk | MIT | 67.4k | Oct 22, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs AnythingLLM |
| 3 | Open Notebook Same category | None in our data (differs in features) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 4 GB RAM | MIT | 40.5k | Oct 5, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs Open Notebook |
| 4 | Onyx (formerly Danswer) Same category | None in our data (differs in features) Trade-off: PrivateGPT has fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core); larger community (57.6k vs 32.8k GitHub stars) | from €69.99/mo | minimum 4 vCPU · 10 GB RAM · 32 GB disk (recommended 8 vCPU · 16 GB RAM · 500 GB disk) | MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) | 32.8k | Oct 22, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs Onyx (formerly Danswer) |
| 5 | FastGPT Same category | None in our data (differs in features) Trade-off: PrivateGPT has fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Custom / conditional); larger community (57.6k vs 29.9k GitHub stars) | from €19.99/mo | minimum 2 vCPU · 4 GB RAM (recommended 2 vCPU · 8 GB RAM) | FastGPT Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with conditions) | 29.9k | Oct 22, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs FastGPT |
| 6 | MaxKB Same category | None in our data (differs in features) Trade-off: PrivateGPT has fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Copyleft (GPL)); larger community (57.6k vs 23.0k GitHub stars) | from €35.99/mo | minimum 4 vCPU · 8 GB RAM · 100 GB disk | GPL-3.0 | 23.0k | Oct 21, 2026 | PrivateGPT vs MaxKB |
Ranked by the number of objective advantages each alternative has over the app (cheaper estimated server cost, lighter official RAM figure, no GPU needed, fewer license conditions, better maintenance status, at least 1.5× the GitHub stars, simpler deploy). Ties: same-category apps first, then more GitHub stars. License order used: Permissive (MIT/Apache) → Open core → Copyleft (GPL) or Custom conditions → Network copyleft (AGPL) → Source-available. Archived projects are not listed as alternatives.
What each alternative is
- RAGFlow (Knowledge base & RAG): RAG engine with deep document parsing (OCR, layout and tables) and cited answers.
- AnythingLLM (Knowledge base & RAG): All-in-one private chat with your documents, agents and an embeddable widget.
- Open Notebook (Knowledge base & RAG): Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models.
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) (Knowledge base & RAG): AI chat and enterprise search connected to 50+ workplace apps.
- FastGPT (Knowledge base & RAG): Knowledge-base Q&A and visual AI workflow platform.
- MaxKB (Knowledge base & RAG): Enterprise knowledge-base and agent platform with RAG and workflows.
PrivateGPT alternatives: FAQ
What is the best self-hosted alternative to PrivateGPT?
By our objective ranking: 1. RAGFlow (larger community (92.6k vs 57.6k GitHub stars)) 2. AnythingLLM 3. Open Notebook. "Best" depends on the features you need; the ranking only counts cost, hardware, license, maintenance, community size and deploy complexity.
Is there a cheaper alternative to PrivateGPT?
Not by our estimate. PrivateGPT: not estimated (no official RAM figure). Alternatives: RAGFlow (from €69.99/mo), AnythingLLM (from €19.99/mo), Open Notebook (from €19.99/mo), Onyx (formerly Danswer) (from €69.99/mo), FastGPT (from €19.99/mo), MaxKB (from €35.99/mo).
Which PrivateGPT alternative has the most permissive license?
None has fewer conditions than PrivateGPT (Apache-2.0 (Permissive)). Alternatives: RAGFlow: Apache-2.0 (Permissive); AnythingLLM: MIT (Permissive); Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive); Onyx (formerly Danswer): MIT (Community Edition) + Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) (Open core); FastGPT: FastGPT Open Source License (Apache-2.0 with conditions) (Custom / conditional); MaxKB: GPL-3.0 (Copyleft (GPL)). Not legal advice.
Related
Sources
- PrivateGPT GitHub repository: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt
- PrivateGPT documentation, PrivateGPT hardware requirements: docs.privategpt.dev/getting-started/quickstart
- PrivateGPT license: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt/blob/main/LICENSE
- PrivateGPT deploy instructions: github.com/zylon-ai/private-gpt#readme
- RAGFlow GitHub repository: github.com/infiniflow/ragflow
- AnythingLLM GitHub repository: github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm
- Open Notebook GitHub repository: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook
- Onyx (formerly Danswer) GitHub repository: github.com/onyx-dot-app/onyx
- FastGPT GitHub repository: github.com/labring/FastGPT
- MaxKB GitHub repository: github.com/1Panel-dev/MaxKB
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-22): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub stars and commits: GitHub REST API, refreshed daily