AFFiNE vs Beavers Notes
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
Beavers Notes
Local-first note-taking with file-over-app philosophy
| Feature | AFFiNE | Beavers Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 71,312 | ★ 1,324 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Evernote, OneNote |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or Beavers Notes better?
Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community, while Beavers Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AFFiNE and Beavers Notes free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Beavers Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and Beavers Notes with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. Beavers Notes: check the project docs for container support.