AppFlowy vs TriliumNext Notes

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?
FeatureAppFlowyTriliumNext Notes
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageDartTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, kubernetes
GitHub stars★ 75,074★ 37,298
First released20212026
ReplacesNotion, Evernote

Why pick each one

Choose AppFlowy if…

  • Strong Notion alternative
  • Active development
AppFlowy details

Choose TriliumNext Notes if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 37.3k GitHub stars
TriliumNext Notes details

Frequently asked questions

Is AppFlowy or TriliumNext Notes 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 TriliumNext Notes free and open-source?

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

Can I run AppFlowy and TriliumNext Notes with Docker?

AppFlowy: yes. TriliumNext Notes: yes.

Related comparisons