Logseq vs org-roam
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?
Logseq
Privacy-first outliner for networked thought
VS
org-roam
Plain-text personal knowledge management for Emacs
| Feature | Logseq | org-roam |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Clojure | Emacs Lisp |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, bare-metal | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 44,329 | ★ 6,007 |
| First released | 2020 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Roam Research | Roam Research, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Choose org-roam if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Emacs Lisp
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or org-roam better?
Logseq is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider org-roam if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Logseq and org-roam free and open-source?
Yes. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and org-roam under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Logseq and org-roam with Docker?
Logseq: check the project docs for container support. org-roam: check the project docs for container support.