Athens Research vs Outline Desktop
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
Outline Desktop
Markdown wiki and knowledge base for teams
| Feature | Athens Research | Outline Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | EPL-1.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Clojure | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,299 | ★ 1,228 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Notion, 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
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or Outline Desktop better?
Neither is universally better. Athens Research has the larger community, while Outline Desktop is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Athens Research and Outline Desktop free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Outline Desktop under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and Outline Desktop with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. Outline Desktop: yes.