Athens Research vs Many 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?
Athens Research
Open-source networked note-taking and knowledge graph
VS
Many Notes
Markdown note-taking web app designed for simplicity
| Feature | Athens Research | Many Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | EPL-1.0 | MIT |
| Language | Clojure | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,299 | ★ 1,037 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Obsidian, Notion |
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 Many Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or Many Notes better?
Neither is universally better. Athens Research has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Athens Research and Many Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Many Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and Many Notes with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. Many Notes: yes.