AppFlowy vs BatNoter
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
AppFlowy
Open-source workspace and Notion alternative
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BatNoter
Markdown notes web app that stores notes in your Git repo
| Feature | AppFlowy | BatNoter |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 18 · At risk |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 76,892 | ★ 2,421 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Standard Notes, Evernote |
What are AppFlowy and BatNoter?
AppFlowy
AppFlowy is an open-source workspace for notes, wikis, and project management designed as a privacy-first alternative to Notion. It can run locally and supports a self-hosted sync backend.
- Notion-like blocks and databases
- Local-first data
- Self-hostable cloud backend
- Cross-platform apps
BatNoter
BatNoter is an open-source, Markdown-based note-taking web application that stores all notes in a user's own Git repository. It provides an editor with preview and keeps notes versioned and portable.
- Notes stored in your Git repo
- Markdown editor with preview
- Versioned, portable notes
- Self-hosted backend
AppFlowy vs BatNoter: key differences
AppFlowy is written in Dart, while BatNoter is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for AppFlowy versus MIT for BatNoter. BatNoter is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. AppFlowy has the considerably larger community, at 76,892 GitHub stars versus 2,421.
Why pick each one
Choose AppFlowy if…
- Strong Notion alternative
- Active development
Watch out for
- Self-hosted backend is newer
- Still maturing
Choose BatNoter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or BatNoter better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are AppFlowy and BatNoter free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and BatNoter under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and BatNoter with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. BatNoter: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, AppFlowy or BatNoter?
BatNoter has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.