Anytype vs Trilium Notes Next
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
Trilium Notes Next
Archived
Hierarchical note-taking app for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Anytype | Trilium Notes Next |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| 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 | ★ 2,926 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are Anytype and Trilium Notes Next?
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
Trilium Notes Next
TriliumNext is the actively maintained community continuation of Trilium Notes, a hierarchical note-taking application for building large personal knowledge bases. It supports rich text, code notes, and scripting.
- Hierarchical note tree
- Rich text and code notes
- Scripting and automation
- Note encryption
Anytype vs Trilium Notes Next: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Trilium Notes Next's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Anytype is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Anytype versus AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes Next. Anytype has the considerably larger community, at 8,846 GitHub stars versus 2,926.
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 Trilium Notes Next if…
- Excellent for large knowledge bases
- Powerful and extensible
Watch out for
- Steeper learning curve
- Primarily single-user
Frequently asked questions
Is Anytype or Trilium Notes Next better?
Neither is universally better. Anytype has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Anytype and Trilium Notes Next free and open-source?
Yes. Anytype is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes Next under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Anytype and Trilium Notes Next with Docker?
Anytype: yes. Trilium Notes Next: yes.