Notable 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.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Notable | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 28 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,496 | ★ 46,488 |
| First released | 2018 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Notion, Evernote |
What are Notable and SiYuan?
Notable
Notable is a note-taking application that stores notes as plain Markdown files on disk. It offers a clean editor, tags, and full-text search while keeping all data in portable files.
- Plain Markdown file storage
- Tag-based organization
- Full-text search
- Clean editor
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
Notable vs SiYuan: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Notable is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. Notable is the more established project (first released 2018), while SiYuan arrived in 2020. SiYuan lists first-class Docker deployment; Notable does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Notable if…
- Notes stay as portable files
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Desktop only
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Notable or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Notable is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Notable and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Notable is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notable and SiYuan with Docker?
Notable: check the project docs for container support. SiYuan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Notable or SiYuan?
Notable has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SiYuan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.