Notable vs VNote
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Notable | VNote |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 28 · At risk | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 23,496 | ★ 12,977 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Evernote, OneNote |
What are Notable and VNote?
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
VNote
VNote is a Markdown-based note-taking application focused on developers, offering folder-based notebooks, syntax highlighting, and Vim-style editing. Notes are plain files that can be synced through external tools.
- Folder-based notebooks
- Vim editing mode
- Markdown with diagrams
- Code-friendly themes
Notable vs VNote: key differences
Notable is written in TypeScript, while VNote is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Notable versus MIT for VNote.
Why pick each one
Choose Notable if…
- Notes stay as portable files
- Simple and focused
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Desktop only
Choose VNote if…
- Fast native app
- Plain file storage
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in sync
Frequently asked questions
Is Notable or VNote better?
Neither is universally better. Notable has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Notable and VNote free and open-source?
Yes. Notable is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and VNote under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notable and VNote with Docker?
Notable: check the project docs for container support. VNote: check the project docs for container support.