Notabase vs zk
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Notabase
Personal knowledge base for networked thinking
VS
zk
Plain-text note-taking and Zettelkasten assistant
| Feature | Notabase | zk |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Wikis & Documentation |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 910 | ★ 2,748 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | Roam Research, Obsidian |
Why pick each one
Choose Notabase if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in TypeScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Choose zk if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Notabase or zk better?
zk is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Notabase if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Notabase and zk free and open-source?
Yes. Notabase is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and zk under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notabase and zk with Docker?
Notabase: check the project docs for container support. zk: check the project docs for container support.