Bangle.io vs org-roam
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 | org-roam |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 68 · Good |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Emacs Lisp |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,231 | ★ 6,030 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Obsidian | Roam Research, Obsidian |
What are Bangle.io and org-roam?
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
org-roam
Org-roam is a plain-text personal knowledge management system for Emacs that brings Zettelkasten-style note-taking on top of Org-mode files. It maintains a database of links between notes for backlinks and graph views.
- Zettelkasten workflow
- Backlinks panel
- Org-mode based
- Link graph
Bangle.io vs org-roam: key differences
Bangle.io is written in TypeScript, while org-roam is built with Emacs Lisp. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Bangle.io versus GPL-3.0 for org-roam. Org-roam has the considerably larger community, at 6,030 GitHub stars versus 1,231. Bangle.io lists first-class Docker deployment; org-roam 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 org-roam if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Emacs Lisp
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Bangle.io or org-roam better?
Neither is universally better. org-roam has the larger community, while Bangle.io is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bangle.io and org-roam free and open-source?
Yes. Bangle.io is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and org-roam under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bangle.io and org-roam with Docker?
Bangle.io: yes. org-roam: check the project docs for container support.