Athens Research vs zk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — 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
zk
Plain-text note-taking and Zettelkasten assistant
| Feature | Athens Research | zk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | EPL-1.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Clojure | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,299 | ★ 2,748 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| 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 zk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Athens Research or zk better?
Neither is universally better. Athens Research has the larger community, while zk is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Athens Research and zk free and open-source?
Yes. Athens Research is licensed under EPL-1.0 and zk under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Athens Research and zk with Docker?
Athens Research: yes. zk: check the project docs for container support.