SHSelfHostIndex

Laverna 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?
LA Laverna Markdown note-taking app with client-side encryption VS ZE Zettlr Markdown editor for writers, researchers, and Zettelkasten users
FeatureLavernaZettlr
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 9,182★ 13,354
First released20142017
ReplacesEvernote, SimplenoteNotion, Obsidian

Why pick each one

Choose Laverna if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • No backend required
Laverna details

Choose Zettlr if…

  • Strong academic features
  • Plain Markdown files
Zettlr details

Frequently asked questions

Is Laverna or Zettlr better?

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

Are Laverna and Zettlr free and open-source?

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

Can I run Laverna and Zettlr with Docker?

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

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