compare
kotaemon vs SurfSense
The same facts for both, read from GitHub every night, and the relation a person reviewed.
| Fact | kotaemon | SurfSense |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Python | Python |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Other |
| Stars | 26k | 16k |
| Latest | v0.12.0 | v2.1.0 |
| Last push | 2026-07-14 | 2026-10-06 |
| Release cadence | about 44 days between releases | about 4 days between releases |
| Active contributors | 0 commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days | 21+ commit authors on the default branch in the last 90 days |
| Flags | none | none |
How they relate
Both replace NotebookLM. Alternatives to NotebookLM →
PartialkotaemonA web app to chat with your documents, with citations shown in a PDF preview.
Full replacementSurfSenseA research notebook over your documents and connected apps, with podcast generation.
kotaemon
- v0.12.02026-05-31feat: integrate PaddleOCR as document loaders + enhance chat/index UX
- v0.11.32026-03-28fix: update default Cohere rerank model to rerank-v4.0-fast
- v0.11.22026-03-04feat: support MCP tools and enhance resource updating with renaming c…
- v0.11.12026-02-27feat(build): add uv package manager support for faster installation
- v0.11.02025-07-04fix: update Docling call to generate figure caption
SurfSense
- v2.1.02026-10-04feat(web,local): add wordmark, Windows overlay scrollbars, and marketing site polish
- v2.0.32026-09-26fix(sunset): gate sunset mode on cloud deployment and keep PATs working through the wind-down
- v2.0.22026-09-21
- v2.0.12026-09-18ci(release-local): stop macOS builds from picking up a broken system Python
- v2.0.02026-09-18SurfSense 2.0.0
kotaemon
unsigned The latest release, v0.12.0, carries no signature GitHub could verify.
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SurfSense
✓ signed The latest release, v2.1.0, carries a signature GitHub verified.
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