Athens Research vs Foam
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?
Athens Research
Open-source networked note-taking and knowledge graph
VS
Foam
Personal knowledge management on top of VS Code
| Feature | Athens Research | Foam |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | EPL-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | Clojure | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,299 | ★ 17,328 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Roam Research, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Choose Athens Research if…
- Released under the EPL-1.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Clojure
Choose Foam if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 17.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or Foam better?
Foam is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Athens Research if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Athens Research and Foam free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Foam under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and Foam with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. Foam: check the project docs for container support.