Memos vs Turtl
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
Turtl
Encrypted note-taking and bookmarking for privacy
| Feature | Memos | Turtl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 62,093 | ★ 632 |
| First released | 2022 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Evernote, Google Keep |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Turtl better?
Memos is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Turtl if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Memos and Turtl free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Turtl under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Turtl with Docker?
Memos: yes. Turtl: check the project docs for container support.