Anytype vs SiYuan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Anytype
Local-first encrypted knowledge workspace
VS
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Anytype | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,846 | ★ 46,488 |
| First released | 2023 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion | Notion, Evernote |
What are Anytype and SiYuan?
Anytype
Anytype is a local-first, encrypted knowledge management app for notes, tasks, and objects with a flexible data model. It targets users wanting a private Notion-like tool. It uses peer-to-peer sync and an optional self-hosted sync node.
- Local-first encrypted storage
- Flexible object-based model
- Peer-to-peer sync
- Self-hostable sync node
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
Anytype vs SiYuan: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Anytype versus AGPL-3.0 for SiYuan. SiYuan is the more established project (first released 2020), while Anytype arrived in 2023. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 8,846.
Why pick each one
Choose Anytype if…
- Strong privacy model
- Flexible structure
- Works offline
Watch out for
- Self-hosting sync is advanced
- Ecosystem still young
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Anytype or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Anytype and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Anytype is licensed under MIT and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Anytype and SiYuan with Docker?
Anytype: yes. SiYuan: yes.