Outline Desktop 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.
Not the right match-up?
Outline Desktop
Markdown wiki and knowledge base for teams
VS
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | Outline Desktop | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,228 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Obsidian | Evernote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Choose Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Frequently asked questions
Is Outline Desktop or Trilium Notes better?
Neither is universally better. Trilium Notes has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Outline Desktop and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. Outline Desktop is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Outline Desktop and Trilium Notes with Docker?
Outline Desktop: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.