Blinko 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.
Not the right match-up?
Blinko
Self-hosted personal note tool for capturing ideas
VS
Foam
Personal knowledge management on top of VS Code
| Feature | Blinko | Foam |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,850 | ★ 17,328 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Keep, Memos | Roam Research, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Choose Blinko if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 10.8k GitHub stars
Choose Foam if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 17.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Blinko 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 Blinko and Foam free and open-source?
Yes. Blinko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Foam under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blinko and Foam with Docker?
Blinko: yes. Foam: check the project docs for container support.