Many Notes vs NoteDiscovery
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?
Many Notes
Markdown note-taking web app designed for simplicity
VS
NoteDiscovery
Self-hosted Markdown knowledge base with graph view
| Feature | Many Notes | NoteDiscovery |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,037 | ★ 2,735 |
| First released | 2024 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Obsidian, Notion |
Why pick each one
Choose Many Notes if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1k GitHub stars)
- Written in PHP
Choose NoteDiscovery if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Many Notes or NoteDiscovery better?
Neither is universally better. NoteDiscovery has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Many Notes and NoteDiscovery free and open-source?
Yes. Many Notes is licensed under MIT and NoteDiscovery under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Many Notes and NoteDiscovery with Docker?
Many Notes: yes. NoteDiscovery: yes.