AFFiNE vs Blinko
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AFFiNE
Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases
VS
Blinko
Self-hosted personal note tool for capturing ideas
| Feature | AFFiNE | Blinko |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 71,312 | ★ 10,850 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Google Keep, Memos |
Why pick each one
Choose Blinko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or Blinko better?
Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community, while Blinko is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AFFiNE and Blinko free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Blinko under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and Blinko with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. Blinko: yes.