AppFlowy vs Trilium 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
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | AppFlowy | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Dart | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 76,904 | ★ 37,958 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are AppFlowy and Trilium 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
Trilium Notes
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note-taking application designed for building large personal knowledge bases with rich linking and scripting. It targets power users who want a structured second brain. It is deployed via Docker as a server with desktop and web clients.
- Deep hierarchical note tree
- Note attributes and relations
- Scripting and automation
- Encrypted protected notes
AppFlowy vs Trilium Notes: key differences
AppFlowy is written in Dart, while Trilium Notes is built with TypeScript. Trilium Notes is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. Trilium Notes is the more established project (first released 2017), while AppFlowy arrived in 2021. AppFlowy has the considerably larger community, at 76,904 GitHub stars versus 37,958.
Why pick each one
Choose AppFlowy if…
- Strong Notion alternative
- Active development
Watch out for
- Self-hosted backend is newer
- Still maturing
Choose Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Single-user oriented
Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Trilium Notes better?
Neither is universally better. AppFlowy has the larger community, while Trilium Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are AppFlowy and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AppFlowy and Trilium Notes with Docker?
AppFlowy: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, AppFlowy or Trilium Notes?
Trilium Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for AppFlowy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.