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Onyx

Self-hosted AI platform with RAG, agents, and 40+ connectors

freemiumopen sourceupdated Aug 16, 2026

Onyx is an open-core, self-hostable AI knowledge platform for enterprise search, RAG chat, deep research, custom agents, and workplace connectors. It connects to 40+ apps, supports permission-aware retrieval, and offers Cloud, Docker/Kubernetes, and enterprise deployment paths for teams that need controlled internal AI search.

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A detailed review by the aicoolies team — click to read

Enterprise AI search platform

Onyx is an open-core AI knowledge platform for workplace search, RAG chat, deep research, and internal assistant workflows. It connects to 40+ workplace applications, preserves document-permission context, and combines hybrid retrieval with agent features such as custom AI agents, Actions, MCP/OpenAPI integrations, web search, code interpreter support, and image-generation workflows. The product is strongest when a company needs an AI layer over many internal sources rather than a standalone chatbot.

Deployment and pricing

Deployment options include Onyx Cloud, Docker-oriented self-hosting, Kubernetes production paths, and enterprise self-hosted scenarios for organizations that need stronger governance or infrastructure control. Current public pricing lists Business at $20 per user per month with annual billing and Enterprise as custom. Infrastructure, model usage, support, and security requirements can change the effective cost for self-hosted or enterprise deployments.

License and due diligence

Onyx has substantial GitHub traction with more than 30K stars, but CMS copy should describe it as open-core rather than plain MIT across the whole product. The GitHub API reports NOASSERTION license metadata, and the repository license file places non-enterprise portions under MIT Expat while ee directories are covered by the Onyx Enterprise License. Buyers should verify license scope, connector behavior, and permission handling before rolling it out against sensitive company knowledge.

Pricing

Business $20/user/month billed annually; Enterprise custom. Self-hosted and open-core deployments require license, infrastructure, model-usage, and support due diligence.

Platforms

Onyx Cloud, Docker and Kubernetes self-hosting, web app, APIs, Slack integration, connectors, MCP/OpenAPI actions

Categories

Tags

Use Cases

Open WebUI logo

Open WebUI

Self-hosted AI platform with ChatGPT-like interface for local and cloud LLMs.

Extensible, self-hosted AI platform with 290M+ Docker pulls and 124K+ GitHub stars. Supports Ollama, OpenAI-compatible APIs, and any Chat Completions backend. Features built-in RAG, multi-user RBAC, voice/video calls, Python function workspace, model builder, and web browsing. Runs entirely offline with enterprise features including SSO and audit logging.

free
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LibreChat

Self-hosted multi-model AI chat platform

LibreChat is an open-source ChatGPT-like interface with 35K+ GitHub stars supporting multiple AI providers in a single self-hosted platform. Connect OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, local models via Ollama, and custom endpoints simultaneously. Features conversation branching, file uploads, code interpreter, plugins, presets, multi-user support with RBAC, and LDAP/SSO authentication. Privacy-focused alternative to commercial AI chat services with full data ownership.

Open Source
AnythingLLM logo

AnythingLLM

All-in-one self-hosted AI app with RAG, agents, and multi-user support

AnythingLLM is an open-source, privacy-first AI application that turns any document into an interactive knowledge base. It bundles document ingestion, vector storage (built-in LanceDB), RAG pipelines, AI agents, and multi-user access into a single deployable package. Supports 30+ LLM providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, and local models. With 62K+ GitHub stars and MIT license, it runs as a desktop app or Docker container with zero configuration required out of the box.

freemiumOpen Source
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OpenClaw

Open-source personal AI agent for messaging apps

OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI agent framework that turns any LLM into an autonomous personal assistant accessible through messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and Signal. Running entirely on your local machine via a Node.js gateway, it connects AI models to system tools, browsers, files, and APIs for multi-step task execution with persistent memory across sessions.

Open Source

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Comparisons

Onyx vs Open WebUI — Enterprise AI Knowledge Platform vs Self-Hosted LLM Chat Interface

Onyx provides an enterprise knowledge management platform that connects AI models to company documents, Slack messages, and internal data sources for organizational search and Q&A. Open WebUI offers a self-hosted chat interface for interacting with local and remote LLMs with conversation management and model switching. Onyx wins for enterprise knowledge access while Open WebUI wins as a personal LLM interface.

FAQ

What is Onyx?

Onyx is an open-core, self-hostable AI knowledge platform for enterprise search, RAG chat, deep research, custom agents, and workplace connectors. It connects to 40+ apps, supports permission-aware retrieval, and offers Cloud, Docker/Kubernetes, and enterprise deployment paths for teams that need controlled internal AI search.

Is Onyx free?

Onyx offers a free tier alongside paid plans. Business $20/user/month billed annually; Enterprise custom. Self-hosted and open-core deployments require license, infrastructure, model-usage, and support due diligence.

Is Onyx open source?

Yes — Onyx is open source.

What are the best Onyx alternatives?

The top editor-verified Onyx alternatives are Open WebUI, LibreChat, AnythingLLM, and more.

How does Onyx score in our review?

Our hands-on review scores Onyx 86/100 overall, based on speed, privacy, and developer-experience testing.