AFFiNE vs Notea
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
AFFiNE
Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases
VS
Notea
Archived
Self-hosted note-taking app stored on S3
| Feature | AFFiNE | Notea |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 72,916 | ★ 2,147 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Notion, Evernote |
What are AFFiNE and Notea?
AFFiNE
AFFiNE is an open-source knowledge base that combines documents, whiteboards, and databases in a single workspace. It targets users wanting an all-in-one alternative to Notion and Miro. It is deployed via Docker.
- Docs, whiteboard and database in one
- Local-first data model
- Real-time collaboration
- Edgeless canvas mode
Notea
Notea is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking application with a Notion-like editor that stores all data on S3-compatible object storage. It runs serverlessly and requires no traditional database.
- Notion-like editor
- Stores data on S3
- No database required
- Markdown support
AFFiNE vs Notea: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Notea's repository is archived and no longer developed, while AFFiNE is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Notea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AFFiNE. AFFiNE has the considerably larger community, at 72,916 GitHub stars versus 2,147.
Why pick each one
Choose AFFiNE if…
- Versatile workspace
- Local-first design
- Modern UI
Watch out for
- Self-hosting still maturing
- Resource intensive
Choose Notea if…
- Simple storage model
- Clean editing experience
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Single-user focused
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or Notea 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 Notea free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and Notea under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and Notea with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. Notea: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, AFFiNE or Notea?
Notea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for AFFiNE. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.