SHSelfHostIndex

AFFiNE vs Laverna

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?
AF AFFiNE Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases VS LA Laverna Markdown note-taking app with client-side encryption
FeatureAFFiNELaverna
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITMPL-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 71,312★ 9,182
First released20222014
ReplacesNotion, MiroEvernote, Simplenote

Why pick each one

Choose AFFiNE if…

  • Versatile workspace
  • Local-first design
  • Modern UI
AFFiNE details

Choose Laverna if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • No backend required
Laverna details

Frequently asked questions

Is AFFiNE or Laverna better?

Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community, while Laverna is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are AFFiNE and Laverna free and open-source?

Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Laverna under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run AFFiNE and Laverna with Docker?

AFFiNE: yes. Laverna: check the project docs for container support.

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