Compare / SurfSense vs Onyx
SurfSense vs Onyx
Pick SurfSense if you want the published NotebookLM notebook (skip BUSL proprietary). Pick Onyx if you want MIT-community chat and search (skip ee/).
Facts checked 22 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
SurfSense in the catalog Onyx in the catalog Start on Railway
How they compare
| SurfSense | Onyx | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 core (catalog; skip BUSL proprietary) source | MIT community (catalog; skip ee/) source |
| Language | Language not in the catalog row | Language not in the catalog row |
| GitHub activity | Stars not in the catalog row source | Stars not in the catalog row source |
| Self-host | Published as /stacks/surfsense-research. Notebook over sources. | Chat and connectors. Skip ee/ if you want OSS-only. |
| Best for | A NotebookLM-shaped notebook. | Help-center answers and search. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
SurfSense is /stacks/surfsense-research. Onyx is already on /best/helpdesk and /best/llm-chat-ui. WeKnora is /compare/surfsense-vs-weknora. Stars for both sides are not in the catalog row.
FAQ
- Is this ChatGPT?
- No. A chat UI is /replace/chatgpt. This pair is research versus search.
- Why skip ee/?
- Onyx Enterprise directories are a different license. Community is MIT.
- Are these free?
- SurfSense core is Apache-2.0 if you skip BUSL proprietary. Onyx community is MIT if you skip ee/. You pay tokens.
- How do I deploy Onyx?
- Follow onyx-dot-app docs. The published NotebookLM path remains /stacks/surfsense-research.
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