Comparison
paper-qa vs khoj
Verdict
Pick paper-qa if paperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations; pick khoj if khoj is a self-hostable AI tool that functions as an assistant able to extract information from the web or user documents for deep research tasks. It supports various local and online language models.
Markdown twin · paper-qa alternatives · khoj alternatives
GraphCanon updated 2d
Trust & integrity
| Signal | paper-qa | khoj |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (5d since push) As of 2d · github_public_v1 | Active (14d since push) As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of 2d · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of 4d · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of 1mo · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- paper-qa
- High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations
- khoj
- Your AI second brain. Self-hostable.
Stars
- paper-qa
- 9.0k
- khoj
- 37k
Forks
- paper-qa
- 907
- khoj
- 2.4k
Open issues
- paper-qa
- 141
- khoj
- 133
Language
- paper-qa
- Python
- khoj
- Python
Adopt for
- paper-qa
- PaperQA2 version 5 is a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) system optimized for extracting information from scientific documents, enhancing user queries with citations.
- khoj
- khoj is a self-hostable AI tool that functions as an assistant able to extract information from the web or user documents for deep research tasks. It supports various local and online language models (LLMs) like GPT, LLa
Persona
- paper-qa
- -
- khoj
- -
Runtime
- paper-qa
- -
- khoj
- -
License
- paper-qa
- 'Apache-2.0' - Permissive free software license that allows for both non-commercial use and commercial exploitation of the package.
- khoj
- khoj is distributed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), which entails users must make source code available if they run modified versions of khoj on a network and allow others
Last pushed
- paper-qa
- Aug 12, 2026
- khoj
- Aug 2, 2026
Categories
- paper-qa
- Data & Retrieval, Model Training
- khoj
- AI Agents, Developer Tools, Model Training
Trust and health
Maintenance
- paper-qa
- Very active (96%)
- khoj
- Active (82%)
Days since push
- paper-qa
- 5d
- khoj
- 14d
Open issues (now)
- paper-qa
- 141
- khoj
- 133
Stars delta
- paper-qa
- +154 (30d)
- khoj
- +702 (30d)
Open issues delta
- paper-qa
- 0 (30d)
- khoj
- +14 (30d)
Full report
- paper-qa
- Trust report
- khoj
- Trust report
Typed relationship
paper-qa alternative khojBoth PaperQA2 and khoj are designed to work with documents for question answering, leveraging AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for high accuracy in scientific literature.
Choose paper-qa if…
- License: paper-qa is Apache-2.0, khoj is AGPL-3.0.
- Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM.
- Both PaperQA2 and khoj are designed to work with documents for question answering, leveraging AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for high accuracy in scientific literature.
- Tags unique to paper-qa: rag, science, search.
- Also covers Data & Retrieval.
- Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
When NOT to use paper-qa
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting.
- In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
Choose khoj if…
- License: khoj is AGPL-3.0, paper-qa is Apache-2.0.
- Pricing: khoj provides free access to its core functionalities, but certain high-tier features might be subject to premium licensing..
- Both PaperQA2 and khoj are designed to work with documents for question answering, leveraging AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for high accuracy in scientific literature.
- Tags unique to khoj: agent, assistant, chat, llm.
- Also covers AI Agents, Developer Tools.
- khoj ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- You're looking to build custom agents for specific tasks, making it ideal if you require a tool with high customization options.
When NOT to use khoj
- When you need real-time responses where latency needs to be minimized, since self-hosting might introduce delays.
- If you prefer cloud-based solutions for maintenance and scaling purposes without managing your own servers, khoj may not be the best option.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- GitHub forks (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Last push (Future-House/paper-qa) · observed Aug 12, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Aug 18, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 12, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (khoj-ai/khoj) · observed Aug 16, 2026
- GitHub forks (khoj-ai/khoj) · observed Aug 16, 2026
- Last push (khoj-ai/khoj) · observed Aug 2, 2026
- License file (AGPL-3.0) · observed Aug 16, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: paper-qa 9.0k · khoj 37k (synced Aug 18, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between paper-qa and khoj?
- paper-qa: High accuracy RAG for answering questions from scientific documents with citations. khoj: Your AI second brain. Self-hostable.. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose paper-qa over khoj?
- Choose paper-qa over khoj when License: paper-qa is Apache-2.0, khoj is AGPL-3.0; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Both PaperQA2 and khoj are designed to work with documents for question answering, leveraging AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for high accuracy in scientific literature; Tags unique to paper-qa: rag, science, search; Also covers Data & Retrieval; Your project specifically requires processing and querying scientific documents, as PaperQA2 offers specialized capabilities tuned for this domain.
- When should I choose khoj over paper-qa?
- Choose khoj over paper-qa when License: khoj is AGPL-3.0, paper-qa is Apache-2.0; Pricing: khoj provides free access to its core functionalities, but certain high-tier features might be subject to premium licensing.; Both PaperQA2 and khoj are designed to work with documents for question answering, leveraging AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) for high accuracy in scientific literature; Tags unique to khoj: agent, assistant, chat, llm; Also covers AI Agents, Developer Tools; khoj ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; You're looking to build custom agents for specific tasks, making it ideal if you require a tool with high customization options.
- When should I avoid paper-qa?
- If your use case does not involve scientific document processing, another RAG system better suited to your specific type of documents (e.g., legal, medical) might be more fitting. In scenarios where real-time performance is critical and extensive indexing or access to external APIs for large-scale paper handling becomes a bottleneck.
- When should I avoid khoj?
- When you need real-time responses where latency needs to be minimized, since self-hosting might introduce delays. If you prefer cloud-based solutions for maintenance and scaling purposes without managing your own servers, khoj may not be the best option.
- Is paper-qa or khoj more popular on GitHub?
- khoj has more GitHub stars (36,512 vs 9,048). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are paper-qa and khoj open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (paper-qa: Apache-2.0, khoj: AGPL-3.0).
- Where can I find alternatives to paper-qa or khoj?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at paper-qa alternatives and khoj alternatives (paper-qa markdown twin, khoj markdown twin), 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 mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, paper-qa or khoj?
- paper-qa: Very active. khoj: 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 paper-qa and khoj?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: paper-qa trust report; khoj trust report.