AppFlowy vs Notesnook

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureAppFlowyNotesnook
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageDartTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, source
GitHub stars★ 75,074★ 14,380
First released20212021
ReplacesNotion, EvernoteEvernote, OneNote, Notion

Why pick each one

Choose AppFlowy if…

  • Strong Notion alternative
  • Active development
AppFlowy details

Choose Notesnook if…

  • Strong privacy by default
  • Polished apps on all platforms
Notesnook details

Frequently asked questions

Is AppFlowy or Notesnook 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 Notesnook free and open-source?

Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run AppFlowy and Notesnook with Docker?

AppFlowy: yes. Notesnook: yes.

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