AFFiNE vs Drawio Desktop Server
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AFFiNE
Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases
VS
Drawio Desktop Server
Self-hosted collaborative whiteboard backend for diagrams
| Feature | AFFiNE | Drawio Desktop Server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 71,312 | ★ 528 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Miro, Lucidchart |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or Drawio Desktop Server better?
Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community, while Drawio Desktop Server is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AFFiNE and Drawio Desktop Server free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Drawio Desktop Server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and Drawio Desktop Server with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. Drawio Desktop Server: yes.