AppFlowy vs Reor
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
Reor
Archived
AI-powered local-first personal knowledge management app
| Feature | AppFlowy | Reor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Dart | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 76,904 | ★ 8,551 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are AppFlowy and Reor?
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
Reor
Reor is an open-source, private, local-first AI note-taking application. It automatically links related notes, runs AI models locally, and stores everything as plain Markdown files on your machine.
- Local AI models
- Automatic note linking
- Plain Markdown storage
- Semantic search
AppFlowy vs Reor: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Reor's repository is archived and no longer developed, while AppFlowy is actively maintained. AppFlowy is written in Dart, while Reor is built with JavaScript. AppFlowy is the more established project (first released 2021), while Reor arrived in 2024. AppFlowy has the considerably larger community, at 76,904 GitHub stars versus 8,551. AppFlowy lists first-class Docker deployment; Reor 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 Reor if…
- AI features without sending data away
- Notes stay as portable files
Watch out for
- AI features need more RAM
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Reor better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while Reor is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AppFlowy and Reor free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Reor under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and Reor with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. Reor: check the project docs for container support.