AFFiNE vs Notable

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?
FeatureAFFiNENotable
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentdockerbinary
GitHub stars★ 71,312★ 23,496
First released20222018
ReplacesNotion, MiroEvernote, Notion

Why pick each one

Choose AFFiNE if…

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

Choose Notable if…

  • Notes stay as portable files
  • Simple and focused
Notable details

Frequently asked questions

Is AFFiNE or Notable better?

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

Are AFFiNE and Notable free and open-source?

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

Can I run AFFiNE and Notable with Docker?

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

Related comparisons