Boost Note 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.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Boost Note | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,046 | ★ 46,488 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote | Notion, Evernote |
What are Boost Note and SiYuan?
Boost Note
Boost Note is an open-source note-taking app aimed at developers, with Markdown editing, code snippet notes, tagging, and syntax highlighting. Notes are stored as files. The upstream app repository is archived and no longer actively developed.
- Markdown and snippet notes
- Tag-based organization
- File-based storage
- Code syntax highlighting
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
Boost Note vs SiYuan: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Boost Note's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SiYuan is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Boost Note versus AGPL-3.0 for SiYuan. Boost Note is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. Boost Note is the more established project (first released 2016), while SiYuan arrived in 2020. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 4,046. SiYuan lists first-class Docker deployment; Boost Note does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Boost Note if…
- Developer-friendly
- Files you control
Watch out for
- Project direction shifted
- No first-party server
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Boost Note or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Boost Note is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Boost Note and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Boost Note is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Boost Note and SiYuan with Docker?
Boost Note: check the project docs for container support. SiYuan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Boost Note or SiYuan?
Boost Note has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SiYuan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.