AppFlowy vs Many Notes
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
Many Notes
Markdown note-taking web app designed for simplicity
| Feature | AppFlowy | Many Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 75,074 | ★ 1,037 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Obsidian, Notion |
Why pick each one
Choose Many Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Many Notes 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 Many Notes free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Many Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and Many Notes with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. Many Notes: yes.