Foam vs TriliumNext 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?
Foam
Personal knowledge management on top of VS Code
VS
TriliumNext Notes
Cross-platform hierarchical note taking application with focus on
| Feature | Foam | TriliumNext Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 17,328 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2020 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Foam if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 17.3k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose TriliumNext Notes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 37.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Foam or TriliumNext Notes better?
Neither is universally better. TriliumNext Notes has the larger community, while Foam is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Foam and TriliumNext Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Foam is licensed under MIT and TriliumNext Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Foam and TriliumNext Notes with Docker?
Foam: check the project docs for container support. TriliumNext Notes: yes.