Memos vs Mindwendel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Memos | Mindwendel |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 71 · Good |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Elixir |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 63,295 | ★ 140 |
| First released | 2022 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Miro, Google Keep |
What are Memos and Mindwendel?
Memos
Memos is a lightweight, privacy-first note-taking service for quick notes and memos with a clean timeline interface. It targets individuals who want a fast personal microblog-style note tool. It is deployed via Docker as a single container.
- Fast Markdown memo timeline
- Tagging and filtering
- REST API
- Tiny single-binary footprint
Mindwendel
Mindwendel is an open-source, self-hosted application for brainstorming and capturing ideas as quick notes on shared boards. Teams use it to collect, group, and vote on ideas in real time.
- Shared brainstorming boards
- Real-time idea capture
- Grouping and voting
- Lightweight to host
Memos vs Mindwendel: key differences
Memos is written in Go, while Mindwendel is built with Elixir. Licensing differs — MIT for Memos versus Apache-2.0 for Mindwendel. Memos is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Mindwendel. Memos has the considerably larger community, at 63,295 GitHub stars versus 140.
Why pick each one
Choose Memos if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Quick capture workflow
- Simple deployment
Watch out for
- Not for long structured docs
- Limited organization features
Choose Mindwendel if…
- Great for team idea sessions
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Not a general note app
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Mindwendel better?
Memos is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Mindwendel if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Memos and Mindwendel free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Mindwendel under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Mindwendel with Docker?
Memos: yes. Mindwendel: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Memos or Mindwendel?
Memos has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Mindwendel. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.