BookStack vs Reor
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
BookStack
Simple self-hosted documentation and wiki platform
VS
Reor
Archived
AI-powered local-first personal knowledge management app
| Feature | BookStack | Reor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 19,050 | ★ 8,551 |
| First released | 2017 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Confluence, Notion | Evernote, Notion |
What are BookStack and Reor?
BookStack
BookStack is a self-hosted platform for organizing and storing documentation in a books, chapters, and pages structure. It targets teams that want an approachable wiki without complexity. It is deployed via Docker or a LAMP stack.
- Books, chapters and pages structure
- WYSIWYG and Markdown editors
- Roles, permissions and SSO
- Full-text search
Reor
Reor is an open-source, private, local-first AI note-taking application. It automatically links related notes, runs AI models locally, and stores everything as plain Markdown files on your machine.
- Local AI models
- Automatic note linking
- Plain Markdown storage
- Semantic search
BookStack vs Reor: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Reor's repository is archived and no longer developed, while BookStack is actively maintained. BookStack is written in PHP, while Reor is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for BookStack versus AGPL-3.0 for Reor. BookStack is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Reor. BookStack is the more established project (first released 2017), while Reor arrived in 2024. BookStack has the considerably larger community, at 19,050 GitHub stars versus 8,551. BookStack lists first-class Docker deployment; Reor does not.
Why pick each one
Choose BookStack if…
- Very easy to learn
- Clean organized structure
- Good permissions
Watch out for
- Rigid structure for some
- Fewer integrations than rivals
Choose Reor if…
- AI features without sending data away
- Notes stay as portable files
Watch out for
- AI features need more RAM
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is BookStack or Reor better?
Neither is universally better. BookStack has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are BookStack and Reor free and open-source?
Yes. BookStack is licensed under MIT and Reor under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run BookStack and Reor with Docker?
BookStack: yes. Reor: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, BookStack or Reor?
BookStack has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Reor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.