Blinko vs QuillPad
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Blinko
Self-hosted personal note tool for capturing ideas
VS
QuillPad
Minimal note-taking app with notebooks and tags
| Feature | Blinko | QuillPad |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 84 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,035 | ★ 1,388 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Google Keep, Memos | Google Keep, OneNote |
What are Blinko and QuillPad?
Blinko
Blinko is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking application designed for quickly capturing thoughts and ideas as they occur. It stores notes with Markdown support and offers AI-assisted retrieval of past notes.
- Quick idea capture
- Markdown notes
- AI-powered retrieval
- Self-hosted privacy
QuillPad
Quillpad is an open-source note-taking application focused on a clean, distraction-free writing experience with rich text formatting. It organizes notes into notebooks and supports tags, search, and offline use.
- Rich text notes
- Notebooks and tags
- Offline-first design
- Lightweight footprint
Blinko vs QuillPad: key differences
Blinko is written in TypeScript, while QuillPad is built with Kotlin. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Blinko versus GPL-3.0 for QuillPad. QuillPad is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Blinko. QuillPad is the more established project (first released 2022), while Blinko arrived in 2024. Blinko has the considerably larger community, at 11,035 GitHub stars versus 1,388. Blinko lists first-class Docker deployment; QuillPad does not.
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 11k GitHub stars
Choose QuillPad if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Frequently asked questions
Is Blinko or QuillPad better?
Neither is universally better. Blinko has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Blinko and QuillPad free and open-source?
Yes. Blinko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QuillPad under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blinko and QuillPad with Docker?
Blinko: yes. QuillPad: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Blinko or QuillPad?
QuillPad has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Blinko. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.