AppFlowy vs Dillinger
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
AppFlowy
Open-source workspace and Notion alternative
VS
Dillinger
Cloud-enabled Markdown editor you can self-host
| Feature | AppFlowy | Dillinger |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 75,074 | ★ 8,271 |
| First released | 2021 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | StackEdit |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Dillinger better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while Dillinger is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AppFlowy and Dillinger free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Dillinger under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and Dillinger with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. Dillinger: yes.