--- title: "surf vs TaxHacker" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/deta-surf-vs-vas3k-taxhacker" tools: ["deta-surf", "vas3k-taxhacker"] --- # surf vs TaxHacker *GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick surf if surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages; pick TaxHacker if self-hosted AI app for receipt and invoice analysis with LLM support. [surf](https://deta.surf) reports 3.6k GitHub stars, 251 forks, and 32 open issues, last pushed Aug 24, 2026. [TaxHacker](https://taxhacker.app) has 6.7k stars, 1.1k forks, and 42 open issues, last pushed Sep 14, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [surf's repository](https://github.com/deta/surf) and [TaxHacker's repository](https://github.com/vas3k/TaxHacker). | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [TaxHacker](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks. | Self-hosted AI accounting app with LLM analysis for receipts and invoices | | Stars | 3,572 | 6,714 | | Forks | 251 | 1,093 | | Open issues | 32 | 42 | | Language | TypeScript | TypeScript | | Adopt for | surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. | Self-hosted AI app for receipt and invoice analysis with LLM support. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Data & Retrieval, Developer Tools, LLM Frameworks | Data & Retrieval, LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [surf](/tools/deta-surf.md) | [TaxHacker](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 26d | 5d | | Open issues (now) | 32 | 42 | | Stars delta | +50 (30d) | +108 (30d) | | Open issues delta | 0 (30d) | +3 (30d) | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: surf - **Adopt for:** surf is an open-source tool for managing personal notes by integrating local or remote AI models to process files and webpages. ## Decision facts: TaxHacker - **Pricing:** freemium - Free open-source MIT-licensed solution but may involve costs for server hosting and third-party API usage like OpenAI. - **Requirements:** Min 2 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Self-hosted setup requires Docker and PostgreSQL database. - **Adopt for:** Self-hosted AI app for receipt and invoice analysis with LLM support. ## Choose when ### Choose surf if… - License: surf is Apache-2.0, TaxHacker is MIT. - Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base. - Also covers Developer Tools. - Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation ### Choose TaxHacker if… - License: TaxHacker is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: Free open-source MIT-licensed solution but may involve costs for server hosting and third-party API usage like OpenAI.. - Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Self-hosted setup requires Docker and PostgreSQL database.. - Tags unique to TaxHacker: accounting, ai-analysis, currency-exchange, expenses. - Also covers Model Training. - TaxHacker ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - You need full control over data in your accounting system, enabling compliance and security requirements. ## When NOT to use surf - Prefer using proprietary, closed-source tools that do not allow open model choices - Require extensive cloud-based collaboration features among multiple users ## When NOT to use TaxHacker - If you prefer cloud-hosted solutions with minimal setup time and maintenance effort. - When you lack the infrastructure or expertise to manage a self-hosted application, including database management and Docker orchestration. - You do not require the level of customization that TaxHacker offers, as simpler alternatives exist. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between surf and TaxHacker? surf: Tools for organizing files and webpages locally to generate notes using personal AI notebooks.. TaxHacker: Self-hosted AI accounting app with LLM analysis for receipts and invoices. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose surf over TaxHacker? Choose surf over TaxHacker when License: surf is Apache-2.0, TaxHacker is MIT; Tags unique to surf: claude, deepseek, gemma, knowledge-base; Also covers Developer Tools; Need a robust integration with both local and remote language models for comprehensive note creation. ### When should I choose TaxHacker over surf? Choose TaxHacker over surf when License: TaxHacker is MIT, surf is Apache-2.0; Pricing: Free open-source MIT-licensed solution but may involve costs for server hosting and third-party API usage like OpenAI.; Requirements: Min 2 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Self-hosted setup requires Docker and PostgreSQL database.; Tags unique to TaxHacker: accounting, ai-analysis, currency-exchange, expenses; Also covers Model Training; TaxHacker ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; You need full control over data in your accounting system, enabling compliance and security requirements. ### When should I avoid surf? Prefer using proprietary, closed-source tools that do not allow open model choices Require extensive cloud-based collaboration features among multiple users ### When should I avoid TaxHacker? If you prefer cloud-hosted solutions with minimal setup time and maintenance effort. When you lack the infrastructure or expertise to manage a self-hosted application, including database management and Docker orchestration. You do not require the level of customization that TaxHacker offers, as simpler alternatives exist. ### Is surf or TaxHacker more popular on GitHub? TaxHacker has more GitHub stars (6,714 vs 3,572). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are surf and TaxHacker open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (surf: Apache-2.0, TaxHacker: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to surf or TaxHacker? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [surf alternatives](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives) and [TaxHacker alternatives](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker/alternatives) ([surf markdown twin](/tools/deta-surf/alternatives.md), [TaxHacker markdown twin](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/deta-surf-vs-vas3k-taxhacker.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, surf or TaxHacker? surf: Active. TaxHacker: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for surf and TaxHacker? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [surf trust report](/tools/deta-surf/trust); [TaxHacker trust report](/tools/vas3k-taxhacker/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=deta-surf`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=deta-surf) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_