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Comparison · Collab
SiYuan vs Kagi Search
A side-by-side editorial comparison of SiYuan and Kagi Search — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
SiYuan vs Kagi Search: at a glance
| Feature | SiYuan | Kagi Search |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Collab | Collab |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| Sparks · 30d | 1 | 0 |
| Top themes | mcp, semantic-search, ai-agent, oidc | search-api, assistant, mobile-apps, user-control |
| Last editorial update | 7h ago | 1h ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan's 3.8 alpha turns the note vault into an agent surface: embeddings, reranking, MCP.
SiYuan runs a rolling alpha train in which each release restates the cumulative changelog of the one before it, so the feed reads as repetition unless you track first appearances. The 3.7.4 alphas were a long run of platform polish — Android and HarmonyOS audio recording, S Pen hover on tablets, mobile font import, sync performance, drag-and-drop cues. Then 3.8.0-alpha.1 opened a new block with three things absent from that line: OIDC authentication, an AI Agent with embedding-based semantic search and reranking, and Model Context Protocol support.
What is Kagi Search?
Kagi is unbundling itself: search as an API, Assistant as an app, AI as a switch.
The dated part of this feed stops in April on housekeeping releases — reliability work, refinements, a Small Web expansion. Everything since sits in undated rows and is more substantial: the Search API went to public preview in May carrying each account's own lenses and blocklists, June started rebuilding search widgets, July added a global off-switch for AI in search, and July 30 put Kagi Assistant on iOS and Android as a standalone app.
SiYuan vs Kagi Search: editorial side-by-side
SiYuan
6.3COLLAB
SiYuan's 3.8 alpha turns the note vault into an agent surface: embeddings, reranking, MCP.
◆ Current state
SiYuan runs a rolling alpha train in which each release restates the cumulative changelog of the one before it, so the feed reads as repetition unless you track first appearances. The 3.7.4 alphas were a long run of platform polish — Android and HarmonyOS audio recording, S Pen hover on tablets, mobile font import, sync performance, drag-and-drop cues. Then 3.8.0-alpha.1 opened a new block with three things absent from that line: OIDC authentication, an AI Agent with embedding-based semantic search and reranking, and Model Context Protocol support.
◆ Where it's heading
The 3.7.4 line was about making an existing editor pleasant on more devices; 3.8.0 is about making the vault legible to something other than a human. Semantic search over the note graph plus an MCP server positions the personal knowledge base as a context source for external agents, and OIDC landing in the same release suggests the multi-user and self-hosted deployments that make agent access worth governing. The alpha train will keep restating this block verbatim until 3.8.0 stabilizes, so the feed will understate how much has changed.
◆ Prediction
The AI Agent and MCP features will likely accumulate configuration surface across the remaining 3.8.0 alphas — model and embedding-provider choice, and scoping of which notebooks an agent may read — before a stable release.
Kagi Search
0.0COLLAB
Kagi is unbundling itself: search as an API, Assistant as an app, AI as a switch.
◆ Current state
The dated part of this feed stops in April on housekeeping releases — reliability work, refinements, a Small Web expansion. Everything since sits in undated rows and is more substantial: the Search API went to public preview in May carrying each account's own lenses and blocklists, June started rebuilding search widgets, July added a global off-switch for AI in search, and July 30 put Kagi Assistant on iOS and Android as a standalone app.
◆ Where it's heading
Kagi is separating what used to be one subscription into distinct products with distinct surfaces: a search index other people can query, an assistant that lives on a phone, and a search page where the AI layer is optional. The through-line is user control — preferences that follow the API key, widgets that can be switched off individually, threads that can be exported or deleted in bulk — which is the one thing an ad-funded competitor cannot match on. Growth now depends on those surfaces rather than on convincing people to change their default search engine.
◆ Prediction
The Search API is the piece with launch details still outstanding, so expect it to leave preview with firm pricing and the beta users migrated; the mobile Assistant is described as a first step, which points to the missing platform features arriving next.
Alternatives to SiYuan and Kagi Search
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either SiYuan or Kagi Search.
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects makes time tracking the product's center of gravity, and lets Zia build the schema.
Discord
Discord is turning the chat client into a storefront and Nitro into a rewards program.
Monday.com
monday.com is building the control room for AI it already sold customers on.
Jira
Jira is being pushed upward — from tracking the work to judging its cost, risk and business health.
Basecamp
Steady small-surface polish across Basecamp and HEY, with no directional move.
See all SiYuan alternatives → · See all Kagi Search alternatives →
Recent activity from SiYuan and Kagi Search
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12h agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.0-alpha.2 restates the 3.8.0 changelog unchanged
- 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.0-alpha.1 adds an AI agent, semantic search and MCP support ⚡
- 3d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.7.4-alpha.6 adds document-tab dragging into the Documents panel
- 4d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.7.4-alpha.5 speeds up opening the Add to Database list
- 4d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.7.4-alpha.4 adds S Pen hover for block popovers on Android tablets
- 6d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.7.4-alpha.3 improves built-in Pandoc storage and upgrade compatibility
- 3mo agoKagi Search- Tuning the Orchestra #
- 4mo agoKagi Search- Small Web Expansion and Translate goes viral # ⚡
- 5mo agoKagi Search- Smoothing the edges #
- 5mo agoKagi Search- Kagi Translate on Android & iOS: translate anything, anywhere # ⚡
- 6mo agoKagi Search- Assistant reliability upgrades and Search refinements #
- 6mo agoKagi Search- New Year tune-up: smoother everything! #
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SiYuan and Kagi Search?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is SiYuan better than Kagi Search?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Kagi Search?
Top Kagi Search alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Kagi Search alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kagi for the full list with editorial commentary on each.