AFFiNE vs Memos

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?
FeatureAFFiNEMemos
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageTypeScriptGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB64 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 71,312★ 62,093
First released20222022
ReplacesNotion, MiroNotion, Google Keep

Why pick each one

Choose AFFiNE if…

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

Choose Memos if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Quick capture workflow
  • Simple deployment
Memos details

Frequently asked questions

Is AFFiNE or Memos better?

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

Are AFFiNE and Memos free and open-source?

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

Can I run AFFiNE and Memos with Docker?

AFFiNE: yes. Memos: yes.

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