SurfSense
A desktop research workspace that answers questions over local documents with citations and turns source material into reports, slides and podcasts.
About SurfSense
People need to reuse private document collections for research and finished work without moving the collection into a hosted workspace.
Who it’s for
- Researchers working with private document collections
- Teams preparing briefings and presentations from source files
When to consider it
Consider SurfSense when you want a local document research workspace with your choice of a local model or an API provider.
Tradeoffs & limitations
- Bring your own model API keys or run a local model; scraper plugins require a separate paid licence and do not ship in version 2.0.
- The former cloud service is export-only, with stored cloud data scheduled for deletion on October 18, 2026.
- The repository is Apache-2.0 except a proprietary backend directory under the Business Source License 1.1; the Docker stack is community-supported with no SLA.
SOTA overview · Documentation-based assessment · Sources & review method
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Comparisons & guides
Sources & review method
Documentation-based assessment · Oct 6, 2026 · Prepared with AI assistance; not a hands-on benchmark.
- SurfSense desktop repository
- Desktop app pricing and plugin availability
- Cloud retirement and desktop migration
- SurfSense licence
Checked by SOTA · AI-assisted documentation review. Selection advice is our assessment; verify current requirements for your deployment.
Import history & original evidence
SurfSense official website
A desktop research workspace that answers questions over local documents with citations and turns source material into reports, slides and podcasts.
Based on official pages and announcements checked on 2026-10-06. No hands-on test, performance benchmark or popularity ranking is claimed.