Many Notes vs mdSilo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Many Notes
Markdown note-taking web app designed for simplicity
VS
mdSilo
Networked note-taking and knowledge base app
| Feature | Many Notes | mdSilo |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 63 · Good |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,087 | ★ 851 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Obsidian, Roam Research |
What are Many Notes and mdSilo?
Many Notes
Many Notes is a self-hosted Markdown note-taking web application built with Laravel. It supports multiple vaults per user, links and backlinks, tags, templates, and OAuth login from many providers.
- Multiple vaults per user
- Links, backlinks, and tags
- Smart Markdown editor
- Wide OAuth provider support
mdSilo
mdSilo is an open-source note-taking and personal knowledge management application that supports backlinks, a graph view, and Markdown editing. It can run on the desktop or be self-hosted as a web app for personal use.
- Bidirectional backlinks
- Graph visualization
- Markdown editor
- Built-in RSS reader
Many Notes vs mdSilo: key differences
Many Notes is written in PHP, while mdSilo is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Many Notes versus AGPL-3.0 for mdSilo. MdSilo is the more established project (first released 2022), while Many Notes arrived in 2024. Many Notes lists first-class Docker deployment; mdSilo does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Many Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Choose mdSilo if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in TypeScript
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Many Notes or mdSilo better?
Neither is universally better. Many Notes has the larger community, while mdSilo is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Many Notes and mdSilo free and open-source?
Yes. Many Notes is licensed under MIT and mdSilo under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Many Notes and mdSilo with Docker?
Many Notes: yes. mdSilo: check the project docs for container support.