SHSelfHostIndex

Laverna vs Reor

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 RE Reor AI-powered local-first personal knowledge management app
FeatureLavernaReor
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseMPL-2.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebinary, source
GitHub stars★ 9,182★ 8,574
First released20142024
ReplacesEvernote, SimplenoteEvernote, Notion

Why pick each one

Choose Laverna if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • No backend required
Laverna details

Choose Reor if…

  • AI features without sending data away
  • Notes stay as portable files
Reor details

Frequently asked questions

Is Laverna or Reor better?

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

Are Laverna and Reor free and open-source?

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

Can I run Laverna and Reor with Docker?

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

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