Boost Note vs VNote
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Boost Note | VNote |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 94 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,046 | ★ 12,977 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Evernote | Evernote, OneNote |
What are Boost Note and VNote?
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
VNote
VNote is a Markdown-based note-taking application focused on developers, offering folder-based notebooks, syntax highlighting, and Vim-style editing. Notes are plain files that can be synced through external tools.
- Folder-based notebooks
- Vim editing mode
- Markdown with diagrams
- Code-friendly themes
Boost Note vs VNote: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Boost Note's repository is archived and no longer developed, while VNote is actively maintained. Boost Note is written in TypeScript, while VNote is built with C++. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Boost Note versus MIT for VNote. VNote has the considerably larger community, at 12,977 GitHub stars versus 4,046.
Why pick each one
Choose Boost Note if…
- Developer-friendly
- Files you control
Watch out for
- Project direction shifted
- No first-party server
Choose VNote if…
- Fast native app
- Plain file storage
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in sync
Frequently asked questions
Is Boost Note or VNote better?
Neither is universally better. VNote has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Boost Note and VNote free and open-source?
Yes. Boost Note is licensed under GPL-3.0 and VNote under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Boost Note and VNote with Docker?
Boost Note: check the project docs for container support. VNote: check the project docs for container support.