Memos vs SilverBullet
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 | SilverBullet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 63,295 | ★ 6,142 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Notion, Obsidian |
What are Memos and SilverBullet?
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
SilverBullet
SilverBullet is an extensible, Markdown-based note-taking web app that you can run on your own server and access from any browser. It targets users who want a programmable personal knowledge tool. It is deployed via Docker or Deno.
- Markdown-based with live queries
- Extensible via Space Script
- Works offline as a PWA
- Plain file storage
Memos vs SilverBullet: key differences
Memos is written in Go, while SilverBullet is built with TypeScript. Memos is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for SilverBullet. Memos has the considerably larger community, at 63,295 GitHub stars versus 6,142.
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 SilverBullet if…
- Highly hackable
- Lightweight
- Files stay portable
Watch out for
- Niche and DIY-oriented
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or SilverBullet 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 SilverBullet free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and SilverBullet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and SilverBullet with Docker?
Memos: yes. SilverBullet: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Memos or SilverBullet?
Memos has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for SilverBullet. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.