AFFiNE vs AppFlowy Cloud
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
AFFiNE
Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases
VS
AppFlowy Cloud
Archived
Self-hosted backend for the AppFlowy workspace app
| Feature | AFFiNE | AppFlowy Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 72,916 | ★ 2,004 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Notion |
What are AFFiNE and AppFlowy Cloud?
AFFiNE
AFFiNE is an open-source knowledge base that combines documents, whiteboards, and databases in a single workspace. It targets users wanting an all-in-one alternative to Notion and Miro. It is deployed via Docker.
- Docs, whiteboard and database in one
- Local-first data model
- Real-time collaboration
- Edgeless canvas mode
AppFlowy Cloud
AppFlowy Cloud is the self-hostable backend service that powers collaboration and sync for the AppFlowy open-source workspace and note-taking application. It lets teams keep documents and data on their own servers.
- Self-hosted sync backend
- Real-time collaboration
- Document storage
- Open-source server
AFFiNE vs AppFlowy Cloud: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: AppFlowy Cloud's repository is archived and no longer developed, while AFFiNE is actively maintained. AFFiNE is written in TypeScript, while AppFlowy Cloud is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for AFFiNE versus AGPL-3.0 for AppFlowy Cloud. AFFiNE has the considerably larger community, at 72,916 GitHub stars versus 2,004.
Why pick each one
Choose AFFiNE if…
- Versatile workspace
- Local-first design
- Modern UI
Watch out for
- Self-hosting still maturing
- Resource intensive
Choose AppFlowy Cloud if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or AppFlowy Cloud better?
Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are AFFiNE and AppFlowy Cloud free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and AppFlowy Cloud under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and AppFlowy Cloud with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. AppFlowy Cloud: yes.