BatNoter 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.
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | BatNoter | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 18 · At risk | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,421 | ★ 37,943 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Standard Notes, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are BatNoter and Trilium Notes?
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
Trilium Notes
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note-taking application designed for building large personal knowledge bases with rich linking and scripting. It targets power users who want a structured second brain. It is deployed via Docker as a server with desktop and web clients.
- Deep hierarchical note tree
- Note attributes and relations
- Scripting and automation
- Encrypted protected notes
BatNoter vs Trilium Notes: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for BatNoter versus AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes. BatNoter is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Trilium Notes. Trilium Notes is the more established project (first released 2017), while BatNoter arrived in 2022. Trilium Notes has the considerably larger community, at 37,943 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 Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Single-user oriented
Frequently asked questions
Is BatNoter or Trilium Notes better?
Trilium Notes is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider BatNoter if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are BatNoter and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. BatNoter is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BatNoter and Trilium Notes with Docker?
BatNoter: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, BatNoter or Trilium Notes?
BatNoter has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Trilium Notes. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.