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Comparison · Collab

Kagi Search vs SiYuan

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Kagi Search and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Kagi Search vs SiYuan: at a glance

FeatureKagi SearchSiYuan
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score0.06.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themessearch-api, assistant, mobile-apps, user-controllocal-first, knowledge-management, ai-agent, self-hosted
Last editorial update1mo ago3h ago
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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.

Read the full Kagi Search trajectory →

What is SiYuan?

SiYuan v3.8.4 beta cycle adds agent-controlled database fields, MiniMax image gen, and skill file management

SiYuan is deep in the v3.8.4 pre-release cycle, now at beta.4, shipping a dense stream of enhancements across each daily build. The defining theme of this release cycle is agent-control expansion: the AI can now configure database fields, manage skill files, stream Markdown previews, and use custom AI provider headers — moving SiYuan from a tool where AI assists with writing to one where AI can reshape the workspace structure itself. Mobile UX and PDF annotation improvements are running in parallel.

Read the full SiYuan trajectory →

Kagi Search vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side

K0.0

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.

S
SiYuan
COLLAB
6.3

SiYuan v3.8.4 beta cycle adds agent-controlled database fields, MiniMax image gen, and skill file management

◆ Current state

SiYuan is deep in the v3.8.4 pre-release cycle, now at beta.4, shipping a dense stream of enhancements across each daily build. The defining theme of this release cycle is agent-control expansion: the AI can now configure database fields, manage skill files, stream Markdown previews, and use custom AI provider headers — moving SiYuan from a tool where AI assists with writing to one where AI can reshape the workspace structure itself. Mobile UX and PDF annotation improvements are running in parallel.

◆ Where it's heading

SiYuan is building toward an agent-orchestrated personal knowledge base, where the AI layer can modify not just content but the organizational schema. The skill file management system suggests an emerging plugin-like architecture for agent behaviors. As multimodal generation (MiniMax image support) gets wired in, SiYuan's trajectory is toward a locally-run AI workspace that rivals cloud-based tools without the data-residency trade-off.

◆ Prediction

v3.8.4 stable will ship soon given the move to beta.4. The agentic features (database field configuration, skill management) will attract integrations from local-first AI workflow builders. Expect MiniMax and other provider integrations to expand in the next cycle.

Alternatives to Kagi Search and SiYuan

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 Kagi Search or SiYuan.

See all Kagi Search alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →

Recent activity from Kagi Search and SiYuan

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 6h agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-beta.4: agent workspace control and MiniMax image generation
  2. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-beta.3: streaming agent preview and MCP SQL fix
  3. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-beta.2: Docker fonts, custom block search
  4. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-beta.1: pinnable documents, rich text tables, remote GUI
  5. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-alpha.9: Serbian language, fullscreen agent dock
  6. 3d agoSiYuanSiYuan v3.8.4-alpha.8: document pinning, sync improvements
  7. 5mo agoKagi Search- Tuning the Orchestra #
  8. 6mo agoKagi Search- Small Web Expansion and Translate goes viral #
  9. 6mo agoKagi Search- Smoothing the edges #
  10. 7mo agoKagi Search- Kagi Translate on Android & iOS: translate anything, anywhere #
  11. 7mo agoKagi Search- Assistant reliability upgrades and Search refinements #
  12. 8mo agoKagi Search- New Year tune-up: smoother everything! #

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Kagi Search and SiYuan?

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 Kagi Search better than SiYuan?

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 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.

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.