Memos vs Beavers 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?
Memos
Lightweight self-hosted note and memo hub
VS
Beavers Notes
Local-first note-taking with file-over-app philosophy
| Feature | Memos | Beavers Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,093 | ★ 1,324 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Evernote, OneNote |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Beavers Notes better?
Neither is universally better. Memos has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Memos and Beavers Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Beavers Notes under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Beavers Notes with Docker?
Memos: yes. Beavers Notes: check the project docs for container support.