Dnote vs Obsidian
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Obsidian
Local-first knowledge base on a folder of Markdown files
| Feature | Dnote | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 78 · Good | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Proprietary |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,084 | ★ 21,797 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Evernote, Notion, OneNote |
What are Dnote and Obsidian?
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
Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful personal knowledge base that works on a local folder of plain Markdown files. While the app is proprietary, your notes remain fully local and portable, and self-hosted sync is possible via plugins.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Bidirectional links and graph view
- Large community plugin ecosystem
- Local-first and private
Dnote vs Obsidian: key differences
Dnote is written in Go, while Obsidian is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Dnote versus Proprietary for Obsidian. Dnote is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Obsidian. Dnote is the more established project (first released 2017), while Obsidian arrived in 2020. Obsidian has the considerably larger community, at 21,797 GitHub stars versus 3,084. Dnote lists first-class Docker deployment; Obsidian 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 Obsidian if…
- Notes stay portable and local
- Highly extensible
Watch out for
- Core app is closed source
- Official sync is a paid service
Frequently asked questions
Is Dnote or Obsidian better?
Neither is universally better. Obsidian has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Dnote and Obsidian free and open-source?
Yes. Dnote is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Obsidian under Proprietary. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dnote and Obsidian with Docker?
Dnote: yes. Obsidian: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Dnote or Obsidian?
Dnote has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Obsidian. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.