AFFiNE vs Livebook
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
Livebook
Realtime collaborative notebook app based on Markdown that supports
| Feature | AFFiNE | Livebook |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 71,312 | ★ 5,837 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Livebook if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or Livebook 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 Livebook free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Livebook under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and Livebook with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. Livebook: yes.