Joplin vs Planka

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureJoplinPlanka
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseProject Management & Tasks
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 55,856★ 12,330
First released20172019
ReplacesEvernote, OneNoteTrello

Why pick each one

Choose Joplin if…

  • Strong privacy with E2EE
  • Flexible sync options
  • Active development
Joplin details

Choose Planka if…

  • Fast real-time updates
  • Familiar interface
  • Lightweight
Planka details

Frequently asked questions

Is Joplin or Planka better?

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

Are Joplin and Planka free and open-source?

Yes. Joplin is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Planka under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Joplin and Planka with Docker?

Joplin: yes. Planka: yes.

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