AFFiNE vs WBO
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AFFiNE
Workspace for docs, whiteboards and databases
VS
WBO
Online collaborative whiteboard for sketching
| Feature | AFFiNE | WBO |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Office Suites |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 71,312 | ★ 2,627 |
| First released | 2022 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Notion, Miro | Miro, Microsoft Whiteboard |
Why pick each one
Choose WBO if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.6k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is AFFiNE or WBO better?
Neither is universally better. AFFiNE has the larger community, while WBO is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AFFiNE and WBO free and open-source?
Yes. AFFiNE is licensed under MIT and WBO under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AFFiNE and WBO with Docker?
AFFiNE: yes. WBO: yes.