Memos vs Wiki.js
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 | Wiki.js |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 63,295 | ★ 28,956 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Google Keep | Confluence, Notion |
What are Memos and Wiki.js?
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
Wiki.js
Wiki.js is a modern, feature-rich wiki engine with multiple editors, authentication options, and storage backends. It targets teams and communities building a structured knowledge base. It is deployed via Docker or Node.js.
- Markdown, WYSIWYG and code editors
- Many authentication providers
- Git and storage sync
- Powerful permissions
Memos vs Wiki.js: key differences
Memos is written in Go, while Wiki.js is built with Vue. Licensing differs — MIT for Memos versus AGPL-3.0 for Wiki.js. Memos is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Wiki.js. Wiki.js is the more established project (first released 2017), while Memos arrived in 2022. Memos has the considerably larger community, at 63,295 GitHub stars versus 28,956.
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 Wiki.js if…
- Flexible and full-featured
- Many auth options
- Good content management
Watch out for
- Configuration can be involved
- Version 3 rewrite in progress
Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Wiki.js better?
Memos is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Wiki.js if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Memos and Wiki.js free and open-source?
Yes. Memos is licensed under MIT and Wiki.js under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memos and Wiki.js with Docker?
Memos: yes. Wiki.js: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Memos or Wiki.js?
Memos has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Wiki.js. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.