Outline Desktop vs SiYuan
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?
Outline Desktop
Markdown wiki and knowledge base for teams
VS
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Outline Desktop | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,228 | ★ 45,670 |
| First released | 2021 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Notion, Obsidian | Notion, Evernote |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Outline Desktop or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Outline Desktop is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Outline Desktop and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Outline Desktop is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Outline Desktop and SiYuan with Docker?
Outline Desktop: yes. SiYuan: yes.