Many Notes 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?
Many Notes
Markdown note-taking web app designed for simplicity
VS
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Many Notes | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,037 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Obsidian, Notion | Evernote, 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 Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Frequently asked questions
Is Many Notes or Trilium Notes better?
Trilium Notes is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Many Notes if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Many Notes and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Many Notes is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Many Notes and Trilium Notes with Docker?
Many Notes: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.