Livebook vs SiYuan
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?
Livebook
Realtime collaborative notebook app based on Markdown that supports
VS
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Livebook | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,837 | ★ 45,670 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | — | Notion, Evernote |
Why pick each one
Choose Livebook if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Elixir
Frequently asked questions
Is Livebook or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Livebook and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Livebook is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Livebook and SiYuan with Docker?
Livebook: yes. SiYuan: yes.