Best / Research notebooks
Best open-source Research notebooks
The best self-hosted research-notebook split in the c17.io catalog is SurfSense for an Apache-2.0-core NotebookLM-shaped box (the published NotebookLM stack — skip BUSL proprietary), WeKnora when you want that knowledge/RAG platform (catalog license Other), Onyx when you want MIT-community chat and search (skip ee/), and Docmost when the job is a team wiki rather than a notebook. You still pay model tokens. A ChatGPT-shaped UI stays on /best/llm-chat-ui.
Open the stackStart on Railway
Ranked picks
1
SurfSenseApache-2.0 core research notebook — the c17 NotebookLM path. Skip BUSL proprietary.
When to pick it: Cited answers over sources you add.
2
WeKnoraLLM knowledge/RAG platform — /compare/surfsense-vs-weknora. Catalog license is Other.
When to pick it: Documents to a queryable wiki-shaped RAG.
33,834 stars in the catalog
3
onyxMIT community chat and search — skip ee/. /compare/surfsense-vs-onyx.
When to pick it: Help-center answers, not a notebook UI.
4
DocmostA team wiki, not a research notebook — /replace/notion and /compare/surfsense-vs-docmost.
When to pick it: Humans editing a space, not source-backed Q&A.
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| SurfSense | Apache-2.0 (core); BUSL-1.1 (proprietary directory) | Medium | Cited answers over sources you add. |
| WeKnora | Other | Medium | Documents to a queryable wiki-shaped RAG. |
| onyx | MIT (community); Onyx Enterprise License (ee directories) | Medium | Help-center answers, not a notebook UI. |
| Docmost | Not listed | Easy | Humans editing a space, not source-backed Q&A. |
Related pages
- SurfSense stack
- Docmost / BookStack / Tela stack
- Open WebUI + LiteLLM stack
- Replace NotebookLM
- Replace Notion
- Replace Confluence
- Replace GitBook
- Replace Coda
- Replace Slite
- Replace Nuclino
- Replace Dropbox Paper
- Replace Quip
- Replace Guru
- Replace Document360
- Replace ChatGPT Team
- Replace OpenAI API
- Replace Claude
- Replace Google Gemini
- Replace Jasper
- Replace Copy.ai
- Replace Notion AI
- Replace Writesonic
- Replace Rytr
- SurfSense vs WeKnora
- SurfSense vs Docmost
- SurfSense vs Onyx
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- SurfSense or WeKnora?
- SurfSense if you want the published NotebookLM path (skip BUSL proprietary). WeKnora if you want that RAG box — /compare/surfsense-vs-weknora.
- Is this Notion?
- No. A team wiki is /replace/notion (Docmost). This page is a notebook over sources.
- Why skip BUSL?
- SurfSense marks a proprietary directory BUSL-1.1. The published path is the Apache-2.0 core.
- Are these free?
- SurfSense core is Apache-2.0 if you skip BUSL proprietary. Onyx community is MIT if you skip ee/. You pay hosting and tokens. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/surfsense-research. Persist the store. Add one source. Ask one cited question.
Stack of the Week
Get one stack a week that replaces a SaaS bill.