SHSelfHostIndex

AFFiNE vs memEx

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 ME memEx Structured personal knowledge base, inspired by zettlekasten and
FeatureAFFiNEmemEx
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptDocker
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 71,312—
First released20222020
ReplacesNotion, Miro—

Why pick each one

Choose AFFiNE if…

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

Choose memEx if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Docker
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
memEx details

Frequently asked questions

Is AFFiNE or memEx 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 memEx free and open-source?

Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and memEx under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run AFFiNE and memEx with Docker?

AFFiNE: yes. memEx: yes.

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