Originally published on rohitraj.tech
Open Notebook just hit #1 on GitHub Trending — but is it the best self-hosted NotebookLM alternative? Here's how Open Notebook (MIT), Khoj (AGPL-3.0), and SurfSense (Apache-2.0) actually compare on Docker setup, RAG architecture, integrations, and the open-source license trap that can bite a commercial build.
Read the full version with code samples, diagrams, and architecture details: Open Notebook vs Khoj vs SurfSense: Best Self-Hosted NotebookLM Alternative (2026)
More engineering notes: rohitraj.tech/en/notes
