AppFlowy Cloud 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.
| Feature | AppFlowy Cloud | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 28 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,004 | ★ 23,496 |
| First released | 2023 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Notion | Evernote, Notion |
What are AppFlowy Cloud and Notable?
AppFlowy Cloud
AppFlowy Cloud is the self-hostable backend service that powers collaboration and sync for the AppFlowy open-source workspace and note-taking application. It lets teams keep documents and data on their own servers.
- Self-hosted sync backend
- Real-time collaboration
- Document storage
- Open-source server
Notable
Notable is a note-taking application that stores notes as plain Markdown files on disk. It offers a clean editor, tags, and full-text search while keeping all data in portable files.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Tag-based organization
- Full-text search
- Clean editor
AppFlowy Cloud vs Notable: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: AppFlowy Cloud's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Notable is actively maintained. AppFlowy Cloud is written in Rust, while Notable is built with TypeScript. Notable is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AppFlowy Cloud. Notable is the more established project (first released 2018), while AppFlowy Cloud arrived in 2023. Notable has the considerably larger community, at 23,496 GitHub stars versus 2,004. AppFlowy Cloud lists first-class Docker deployment; Notable does not.
Why pick each one
Choose AppFlowy Cloud if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
Choose Notable if…
- Notes stay as portable files
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Desktop only
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy Cloud or Notable better?
Notable is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider AppFlowy Cloud if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are AppFlowy Cloud and Notable free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy Cloud is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notable under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy Cloud and Notable with Docker?
AppFlowy Cloud: yes. Notable: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, AppFlowy Cloud or Notable?
Notable has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for AppFlowy Cloud. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.