BatNoter vs SiYuan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | BatNoter | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 18 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,421 | ★ 46,471 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Standard Notes, Evernote | Notion, Evernote |
What are BatNoter and SiYuan?
BatNoter
BatNoter is an open-source, Markdown-based note-taking web application that stores all notes in a user's own Git repository. It provides an editor with preview and keeps notes versioned and portable.
- Notes stored in your Git repo
- Markdown editor with preview
- Versioned, portable notes
- Self-hosted backend
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
BatNoter vs SiYuan: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for BatNoter versus AGPL-3.0 for SiYuan. BatNoter is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. SiYuan is the more established project (first released 2020), while BatNoter arrived in 2022. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,471 GitHub stars versus 2,421.
Why pick each one
Choose BatNoter if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is BatNoter or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BatNoter and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. BatNoter is licensed under MIT and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BatNoter and SiYuan with Docker?
BatNoter: yes. SiYuan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BatNoter or SiYuan?
BatNoter has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SiYuan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.