Blinko 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.
Not the right match-up?
Blinko
Self-hosted personal note tool for capturing ideas
VS
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Blinko | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,850 | ★ 45,670 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Keep, Memos | Notion, Evernote |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Blinko or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Blinko is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Blinko and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Blinko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blinko and SiYuan with Docker?
Blinko: yes. SiYuan: yes.