AppFlowy vs Flatnotes
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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Flatnotes
Self-hosted, database-less note-taking web app
| Feature | AppFlowy | Flatnotes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 76,904 | ★ 3,230 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Simplenote |
What are AppFlowy and Flatnotes?
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
Flatnotes
Flatnotes is a self-hosted web application for taking notes, with a focus on simplicity and storing all notes as flat Markdown files. It has no database and keeps notes easy to back up and access.
- Flat Markdown file storage
- No database required
- Full-text search
- Clean minimal interface
AppFlowy vs Flatnotes: key differences
AppFlowy is written in Dart, while Flatnotes is built with Vue. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for AppFlowy versus MIT for Flatnotes. Flatnotes is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. AppFlowy has the considerably larger community, at 76,904 GitHub stars versus 3,230.
Why pick each one
Choose AppFlowy if…
- Strong Notion alternative
- Active development
Watch out for
- Self-hosted backend is newer
- Still maturing
Choose Flatnotes if…
- Trivial to back up
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- Basic feature set
- Single-user oriented
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Flatnotes better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while Flatnotes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AppFlowy and Flatnotes free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Flatnotes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and Flatnotes with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. Flatnotes: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, AppFlowy or Flatnotes?
Flatnotes 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.