Memos vs Trilium Notes
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Memos | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 63,295 | ★ 37,958 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Evernote, Notion |
What are Memos and Trilium Notes?
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
Trilium Notes
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note-taking application designed for building large personal knowledge bases with rich linking and scripting. It targets power users who want a structured second brain. It is deployed via Docker as a server with desktop and web clients.
- Deep hierarchical note tree
- Note attributes and relations
- Scripting and automation
- Encrypted protected notes
Memos vs Trilium Notes: key differences
Memos is written in Go, while Trilium Notes is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Memos versus AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes. Memos is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Trilium Notes. Trilium Notes is the more established project (first released 2017), while Memos arrived in 2022.
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 Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Single-user oriented
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Trilium 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 Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Trilium Notes with Docker?
Memos: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Memos or Trilium Notes?
Memos has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Trilium Notes. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.