AppFlowy vs nb Notes
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
VS
nb Notes
Command-line note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving tool
| Feature | AppFlowy | nb Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Dart | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 76,904 | ★ 8,410 |
| First released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are AppFlowy and nb Notes?
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
nb Notes
nb is a command-line and local web tool for plain-text note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving with Git-backed versioning and syncing. It works entirely in the terminal and supports encryption.
- Plain-text notes and bookmarks
- Git-backed sync
- Optional encryption
- Tagging and search
AppFlowy vs nb Notes: key differences
AppFlowy is written in Dart, while nb Notes is built with Shell. Nb Notes is the lighter option, starting around 32 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. Nb Notes is the more established project (first released 2019), while AppFlowy arrived in 2021. AppFlowy has the considerably larger community, at 76,904 GitHub stars versus 8,410. AppFlowy lists first-class Docker deployment; nb Notes does not.
Why pick each one
Choose AppFlowy if…
- Strong Notion alternative
- Active development
Watch out for
- Self-hosted backend is newer
- Still maturing
Choose nb Notes if…
- Powerful for terminal users
- Versioned with Git
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- No graphical client
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or nb Notes better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while nb Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AppFlowy and nb Notes free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and nb Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and nb Notes with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. nb Notes: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, AppFlowy or nb Notes?
nb Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 32 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.