Dnote 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.
Not the right match-up?
Dnote
Simple command-line notebook with multi-device sync
VS
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Dnote | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,051 | ★ 45,670 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Simplenote | Notion, Evernote |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Dnote or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Dnote is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Dnote and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Dnote is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dnote and SiYuan with Docker?
Dnote: yes. SiYuan: yes.