Livebook vs Trilium Notes
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
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Livebook | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Elixir | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,837 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | — | Evernote, Notion |
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
Choose Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Frequently asked questions
Is Livebook or Trilium Notes better?
Trilium Notes is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Livebook if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Livebook and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Livebook is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Livebook and Trilium Notes with Docker?
Livebook: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.