Beaver Notes vs VNote
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Beaver Notes | VNote |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,343 | ★ 12,977 |
| First released | 2023 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Evernote, OneNote | Evernote, OneNote |
What are Beaver Notes and VNote?
Beaver Notes
File-over-app note tools include several options; Beaver Notes is an open-source, privacy-focused note-taking application that stores notes locally. It offers a clean editor with tags, folders, and Markdown.
- Local-first note storage
- Markdown editor
- Tags and folders
- Cross-platform apps
VNote
VNote is a Markdown-based note-taking application focused on developers, offering folder-based notebooks, syntax highlighting, and Vim-style editing. Notes are plain files that can be synced through external tools.
- Folder-based notebooks
- Vim editing mode
- Markdown with diagrams
- Code-friendly themes
Beaver Notes vs VNote: key differences
Beaver Notes is written in JavaScript, while VNote is built with C++. VNote is the more established project (first released 2017), while Beaver Notes arrived in 2023. VNote has the considerably larger community, at 12,977 GitHub stars versus 1,343.
Why pick each one
Choose Beaver Notes if…
- Privacy-focused and local
- Clean modern interface
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Sync requires external tools
Choose VNote if…
- Fast native app
- Plain file storage
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in sync
Frequently asked questions
Is Beaver Notes or VNote better?
Neither is universally better. VNote has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Beaver Notes and VNote free and open-source?
Yes. Beaver Notes is licensed under MIT and VNote under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Beaver Notes and VNote with Docker?
Beaver Notes: check the project docs for container support. VNote: check the project docs for container support.