Atomic Server vs Trilium 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?
Atomic Server
Knowledge graph database with documents (similar to Notion), tables,
VS
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Atomic Server | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,585 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | — | Evernote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Choose Atomic Server if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Frequently asked questions
Is Atomic Server or Trilium Notes better?
Trilium Notes is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Atomic Server if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Atomic Server and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Atomic Server is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Atomic Server and Trilium Notes with Docker?
Atomic Server: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.