SHSelfHostIndex

Docmost vs Laverna

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?
DO Docmost Open-source collaborative wiki and documentation VS LA Laverna Markdown note-taking app with client-side encryption
FeatureDocmostLaverna
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0MPL-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 21,287★ 9,182
First released20242014
ReplacesConfluence, NotionEvernote, Simplenote

Why pick each one

Choose Docmost if…

  • Clean modern interface
  • Good team collaboration
  • Active development
Docmost details

Choose Laverna if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • No backend required
Laverna details

Frequently asked questions

Is Docmost or Laverna better?

Neither is universally better. Docmost has the larger community, while Laverna is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Docmost and Laverna free and open-source?

Yes. Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Laverna under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Docmost and Laverna with Docker?

Docmost: yes. Laverna: check the project docs for container support.

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