Khoj vs Onyx
A side-by-side comparison of Khoj and Onyx, drawn from Ignaite's continuously-verified listings.
Compared from listings verified as of
At a glance
| Attribute | Khoj | Onyx |
|---|---|---|
| Category (differs) | Research | Assistant |
| Pricing | FREEMIUM | FREEMIUM |
| License | Open core | Open core |
| Deployment (differs) | Hybrid | Self-host |
| Platforms (differs) | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux | Web, API |
| Model support | Multi-model | Multi-model |
| Vendor (differs) | Khoj AI | Onyx |
| Capabilities (differs) |
|
|
The honest brief
Khoj
AGPL second brain that lives inside Obsidian, Emacs, desktop and mobile — self-host over your own notes and the web.
- AGPL-3.0 licensed, self-hostable
- Searches local docs plus the web
- Custom agents and scheduled automations
- Self-hosting takes setup effort
- AGPL license can deter commercial use
- Smaller team than big assistants
- Cloud tier needed for zero-setup use
Onyx
Formerly Danswer — MIT-core enterprise search/RAG over your own apps, self-hosted, optional features under open-core.
- Data stays on your own infrastructure
- Connects to company docs and apps
- Works with any LLM, incl. local
- MIT core, free
- Some features under separate license
- Self-host ops overhead
- Connectors need configuration
When to pick which
Khoj leans on Chat with documents as a headline capability; Onyx treats it as secondary.
- Chat with documents (primary capability)
They also differ on:
- Deployment
- Hybrid · Self-host
- Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux · Web, API
Their capability lists differ in recorded depth — compare the full lists above before deciding.