Dnote vs Notable
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Dnote | Notable |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 28 · At risk |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,084 | ★ 23,496 |
| First released | 2017 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion |
What are Dnote and Notable?
Dnote
Dnote is an open-source, simple command-line notebook for programmers and terminal users. It captures quick notes without breaking focus and can sync through a self-hostable server.
- Command-line note capture
- Self-hostable sync server
- Browser extension
- Spaced-repetition digests
Notable
Notable is a note-taking application that stores notes as plain Markdown files on disk. It offers a clean editor, tags, and full-text search while keeping all data in portable files.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Tag-based organization
- Full-text search
- Clean editor
Dnote vs Notable: key differences
Dnote is written in Go, while Notable is built with TypeScript. Dnote is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Notable. Notable has the considerably larger community, at 23,496 GitHub stars versus 3,084. Dnote lists first-class Docker deployment; Notable does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Dnote if…
- Stays out of the way for developers
- Quick capture from terminal
Watch out for
- Terminal-first workflow
- Limited rich formatting
Choose Notable if…
- Notes stay as portable files
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Desktop only
Frequently asked questions
Is Dnote or Notable better?
Neither is universally better. Notable has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dnote and Notable free and open-source?
Yes. Dnote is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notable under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dnote and Notable with Docker?
Dnote: yes. Notable: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Dnote or Notable?
Dnote has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Notable. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.