Memos vs QuillPad
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
QuillPad
Minimal note-taking app with notebooks and tags
| Feature | Memos | QuillPad |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,093 | ★ 1,354 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Google Keep, OneNote |
Why pick each one
Choose QuillPad if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or QuillPad 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 QuillPad free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and QuillPad under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and QuillPad with Docker?
Memos: yes. QuillPad: check the project docs for container support.