Bangle.io vs Foam
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bangle.io | Foam |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,231 | ★ 17,412 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Obsidian | Roam Research, Obsidian |
What are Bangle.io and Foam?
Bangle.io
Bangle.io is a local-first web app for taking Markdown notes. It stores notes in the browser or a local folder via the file system API, supports WYSIWYG-style editing and backlinks, and works fully offline without a server.
- Local-first Markdown notes
- WYSIWYG editing
- Backlinks and tags
- Works offline in browser
Foam
Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system built as a set of extensions and conventions for Visual Studio Code. It turns a folder of Markdown files into a linked, navigable knowledge base.
- Wiki-style links
- Graph visualization
- Plain Markdown files
- VS Code integration
Bangle.io vs Foam: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Bangle.io versus MIT for Foam. Bangle.io is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Foam. Foam has the considerably larger community, at 17,412 GitHub stars versus 1,231. Bangle.io lists first-class Docker deployment; Foam does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Bangle.io if…
- Owns your files
- No server required
Watch out for
- Browser storage limits
- Small plugin ecosystem
Choose Foam if…
- Plain Markdown files
- Graph visualization included
- Git-friendly by design
Watch out for
- Requires VS Code
- Less polished than Obsidian
Frequently asked questions
Is Bangle.io or Foam better?
Neither is universally better. Foam has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bangle.io and Foam free and open-source?
Yes. Bangle.io is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Foam under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bangle.io and Foam with Docker?
Bangle.io: yes. Foam: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Bangle.io or Foam?
Bangle.io has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Foam. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.