AppFlowy vs SilverBullet

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?
FeatureAppFlowySilverBullet
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageDartTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 75,074★ 5,796
First released20212022
ReplacesNotion, EvernoteNotion, Obsidian

Why pick each one

Choose AppFlowy if…

  • Strong Notion alternative
  • Active development
AppFlowy details

Choose SilverBullet if…

  • Highly hackable
  • Lightweight
  • Files stay portable
SilverBullet details

Frequently asked questions

Is AppFlowy or SilverBullet better?

Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while SilverBullet is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are AppFlowy and SilverBullet free and open-source?

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

Can I run AppFlowy and SilverBullet with Docker?

AppFlowy: yes. SilverBullet: yes.

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