Independent comparison · October 2026

An open-source Perplexica alternative you can own

Perplexica is an open-source answer engine you run yourself, and it now ships as Vane. If you want more than search, Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, memory and connectors in one git repo you own, self-hosted or on Kortix Cloud. The comparison on this page helps you pick.

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Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem

The open-source AI Operating System

Excerptkortix.yaml

# kortix.yamlagents:  support-triage:    file: agents/support-triage.md   # what it does, in plain markdown    connectors: all                  # what it may reach

Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna

An agent is agents/<name>.md (behavior) plus an agents.<name> block in kortix.yaml (governance).

§ 01

The Perplexica alternatives, side by side

Rival columns state what each project documents; the Kortix column quotes Kortix.

01KortixPick

What it is: The open-source AI Operating System: agents, skills, memory, connectors in one repo
Open source: Yes. Read it, fork it, audit it
Self-host: Yes. Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem
What you own: Agents, memory and connectors as files in one git repo
Model choice: Any provider with your own keys
Price shape: Free tier plus a flat per-seat team plan
Best for: Teams that want agents that finish real work

02Perplexica, now Vane

What it is: A privacy-focused AI answering engine that runs on your hardware
Open source: Yes. Free and self-hosted
Self-host: Yes. One Docker command on your machine
What you own: Your deployment and your local search history
Model choice: Ollama locally, or OpenAI, Claude, Groq
Price shape: Free to self-host; you pay only your model
Best for: One person who wants private, cited web answers

03Perplexity

What it is: A hosted AI answer engine with cited sources
Open source: No. A closed hosted service
Self-host: No
What you own: Your account; nothing you host
Model choice: Hosted models, routed per task for you
Price shape: Free tier plus paid Pro and Max plans
Best for: Fast hosted answers with no setup

04Open WebUI

What it is: A self-hosted AI interface for any model
Open source: Yes. Free to self-host
Self-host: Yes. pip, Docker or Kubernetes
What you own: Your chats, files and knowledge bases
Model choice: Ollama local, or any OpenAI-compatible API
Price shape: Free to self-host; optional enterprise terms
Best for: Teams that want a governed chat workspace

05Khoj

What it is: A self-hosted personal AI over your docs and the web
Open source: Yes. Open source and self-hostable
Self-host: Yes. Docker or pip
What you own: Your instance and your indexed documents
Model choice: Local models via Ollama, or OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini
Price shape: Free to self-host; its hosted cloud has closed
Best for: One person searching their own notes and files

§ 02

How Kortix works

Four layers, each one a file or a command you can read.

01
Repo
One git repo that is the company
Your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector in one git repo you own.
Excerptkortix.yaml
```
kortix_version: 2default_agent: kortixagents:  kortix:    file: agents/kortix.md
```
Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/manifest
02
Connectors
Every tool the company runs on
3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP.
Excerptkortix.yaml
```
connectors:  - slug: gmail    name: Gmail    provider: composio    app: gmail
```
Source: https://kortix.com/docs/connect/connectors
03
Models
Any model, your keys
Any model provider with your own keys, or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for.
Excerptterminal
```
$ kortix providers login opencode$ kortix providers login opencode-go
```
Source: https://kortix.com/docs/project/models

Review

Change requests

Session work reaches main through a change request.

Excerptterminal

$ kortix projects clone <project_id> my-project$ git checkout -b tighten-triage$ git push origin tighten-triage$ kortix cr open --head tighten-triage --title "Tighten the triage prompt"

Source: https://kortix.com/docs/git

20,000+

GitHub stars

Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it.

§ 03

Questions people ask before they switch

Is Perplexica free and open source?

Yes. Perplexica is free to self-host, and the project now ships as Vane. Your only cost is the model you connect, and a local model through Ollama avoids provider fees.

What is the closest self-hosted alternative to Perplexica?

Vane itself, Open WebUI and Khoj all run on your own hardware. When the job is bigger than search, Kortix is the open-source system we recommend for the whole team.

Can I run a Perplexica alternative without a cloud account?

Yes. Vane, Open WebUI and Khoj install on your own machine, and Kortix self-host is free on your own server too.

Is Perplexica the same as Perplexity?

No. Perplexica, now Vane, is an open-source project you run yourself. Perplexity is a closed hosted answer engine you subscribe to.

When is a full platform better than a search tool?

When a team needs shared memory, connectors and reviewed changes, Kortix fits. Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.

What does Kortix cost?

Free is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project. The team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled. Self-host is free.

Run your whole company from one repo you own.

Start with one job and grow from there.

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