# Khoj review (2026): is it any good? > Open-source AI assistant that searches and chats over your notes Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Khoj is a personal AI assistant you run on your own server that answers questions from your notes and documents and from the web. It indexes Markdown, org-mode, PDF, plaintext, Word and Notion files and can be used from a web app, desktop app, Obsidian, Emacs or WhatsApp. The company shut down its hosted Khoj Cloud in April 2026, so what remains is the self-hosted software. - **Category:** Note-Taking Apps - **Made by:** Khoj Inc. (since 2021) - **Website:** https://khoj.dev - **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, Linux - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want a hosted service, because Khoj Cloud was shut down on April 15, 2026. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Khoj is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** The self-hosted software is free and open source; you pay for any AI model API you connect. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Self-hosted | $0 | Run the open-source server yourself with Docker or pip; connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or a local model. | Read from https://app.khoj.dev/ on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Khoj before buying. ## Key features - **Chat with your notes:** Ask questions and Khoj answers from files you shared, and from the web when relevant. - **Natural-language search:** Find notes and documents by meaning rather than exact words, with search-as-you-type. - **Many file types:** Indexes Markdown, org-mode, PDF, plaintext and Word files and Notion pages. - **Your choice of model:** Works with OpenAI, Anthropic and Gemini keys, or a local model through Ollama or an OpenAI-compatible server. - **Several interfaces:** Use it from the web, a desktop companion app, Obsidian, Emacs or WhatsApp. - **Agents and automations:** The homepage describes building agents and scheduling automations. ## Good for - Obsidian and Emacs users who want AI over their existing notes - People who want to keep their documents on their own machine - Users comfortable running Docker or Python ## Worth knowing - Khoj Cloud was sunset on April 15, 2026; the docs still mention it, but only self-hosting remains. - The company says it is now focusing on its other products, Open Paper and Pipali. - Self-hosting needs Docker or pip plus an AI model, and commercial model APIs bill separately. - On Windows the documented Docker setup runs through WSL2. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 2.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Khoj lets you ask questions of your own notes and documents and search them by meaning, with the model of your choice. The hosted Khoj Cloud was shut down on April 15, 2026, so what remains is the free self-hosted version, which needs Docker or Python and an AI model you pay for yourself. - **Value for money: C.** The software is free and open source, but only if you host it yourself, which needs a server. Commercial model APIs bill separately, so the real cost depends on the model you pick. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The self-hosted software costs nothing and has no caps. There is no hosted trial left, since the cloud service was sunset. - **Features: C.** Chat over your files, search by meaning, Markdown, org-mode, PDF and Word support, agents and automations. The company says it is now focusing on its other products. - **Ease of use: D.** No store rating on record. Setup means Docker or pip plus an AI model, and on Windows the documented Docker route runs through WSL2. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, a desktop app on Mac, Windows and Linux, and Obsidian, Emacs and WhatsApp. No iPhone or Android app is listed. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Khoj's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among note-taking apps - Khoj's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 12 of the 152 other note-taking apps we grade, and level with 10. - It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 87 of 152) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0). - Khoj has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/note-taking ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Khoj is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 130 of the 152 other note-taking apps grade higher. - You could make: Markdown: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: A search engine with an AI model behind it. - You could not: An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Obsidian, Emacs and Notion among them. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Obsidian, Emacs, Notion, WhatsApp, Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini **Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, AI search, Chat assistant, Markdown ## Alternatives - [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/khoj-vs-obsidian) - [Logseq](https://toolgpa.com/tools/logseq): Open-source outliner for linked notes stored as local files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/khoj-vs-logseq) - [Notion](https://toolgpa.com/tools/notion): Workspace for docs, wikis, databases and projects with built-in AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/khoj-vs-notion) - [Joplin](https://toolgpa.com/tools/joplin): Open source Markdown notes with sync through a service you choose. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/joplin-vs-khoj) - [Fabric](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fabric): AI workspace for notes, files, bookmarks and meeting notes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fabric-vs-khoj) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://khoj.dev/ - https://app.khoj.dev/ - https://docs.khoj.dev/ - https://docs.khoj.dev/features/all-features - https://docs.khoj.dev/get-started/setup - https://docs.khoj.dev/clients/desktop Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/khoj Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).