Athens Research vs Tangent 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
Tangent Notes
Local-first Markdown note editor with linked notes
| Feature | Athens Research | Tangent Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 534 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Obsidian, Roam Research |
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 Tangent Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or Tangent Notes better?
Neither is universally better. Athens Research has the larger community, while Tangent Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Athens Research and Tangent Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and Tangent Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and Tangent Notes with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. Tangent Notes: check the project docs for container support.