SHSelfHostIndex

Foam vs Zettlr

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?
FO Foam Personal knowledge management on top of VS Code VS ZE Zettlr Markdown editor for writers, researchers, and Zettelkasten users
FeatureFoamZettlr
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectRead-the-docs project
Health score95 · Excellent94 · Excellent
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentsourcebare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 17,415★ 13,577
First released20202017
ReplacesRoam Research, ObsidianNotion, Obsidian

What are Foam and Zettlr?

Foam

Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system built as a set of extensions and conventions for Visual Studio Code. It turns a folder of Markdown files into a linked, navigable knowledge base.

  • Wiki-style links
  • Graph visualization
  • Plain Markdown files
  • VS Code integration

Read the full Foam guide →

Zettlr

Zettlr is a desktop Markdown editor designed for academic writing and Zettelkasten note management, with citation support and internal linking. While desktop-first, it works on plain Markdown folders that can sync between machines.

  • Zettelkasten linking
  • Citation manager support
  • Multi-format export
  • Folder-based projects

Read the full Zettlr guide →

Foam vs Zettlr: key differences

Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Foam versus GPL-3.0 for Zettlr. Zettlr is the more established project (first released 2017), while Foam arrived in 2020.

Why pick each one

Choose Foam if…

  • Plain Markdown files
  • Graph visualization included
  • Git-friendly by design

Watch out for

  • Requires VS Code
  • Less polished than Obsidian
Foam details

Choose Zettlr if…

  • Strong academic features
  • Plain Markdown files

Watch out for

  • Desktop only
  • No native sync server
Zettlr details

Frequently asked questions

Is Foam or Zettlr better?

Neither is universally better. Foam has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Foam and Zettlr free and open-source?

Yes. Foam is licensed under MIT and Zettlr under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Foam and Zettlr with Docker?

Foam: check the project docs for container support. Zettlr: check the project docs for container support.

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