Blinko vs TriliumNext Notes

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?
FeatureBlinkoTriliumNext Notes
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, kubernetes
GitHub stars★ 10,850★ 37,298
First released20242026
ReplacesGoogle Keep, Memos

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
Blinko details

Choose TriliumNext Notes if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 37.3k GitHub stars
TriliumNext Notes details

Frequently asked questions

Is Blinko or TriliumNext Notes better?

Neither is universally better. TriliumNext Notes 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 TriliumNext Notes free and open-source?

Yes. Blinko is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and TriliumNext Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Blinko and TriliumNext Notes with Docker?

Blinko: yes. TriliumNext Notes: yes.

Related comparisons