Dnote vs nb 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?
Dnote
Simple command-line notebook with multi-device sync
VS
nb Notes
Command-line note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving tool
| Feature | Dnote | nb Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,051 | ★ 8,343 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dnote or nb Notes better?
Neither is universally better. nb Notes has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dnote and nb Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Dnote is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and nb Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dnote and nb Notes with Docker?
Dnote: yes. nb Notes: check the project docs for container support.