Memos vs Outline Desktop
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
Outline Desktop
Markdown wiki and knowledge base for teams
| Feature | Memos | Outline Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,093 | ★ 1,228 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Notion, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Outline Desktop 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 Outline Desktop free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Outline Desktop under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Outline Desktop with Docker?
Memos: yes. Outline Desktop: yes.