Notea vs Notesnook
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Notesnook
Private, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app
| Feature | Notea | Notesnook |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 94 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,147 | ★ 14,628 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are Notea and Notesnook?
Notea
Notea is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking application with a Notion-like editor that stores all data on S3-compatible object storage. It runs serverlessly and requires no traditional database.
- Notion-like editor
- Stores data on S3
- No database required
- Markdown support
Notesnook
Notesnook is an open-source, privacy-focused note-taking app with end-to-end encryption on all notes. Its sync server can be self-hosted so users keep complete control of their encrypted data.
- End-to-end encrypted notes
- Self-hostable sync server
- Rich text editor
- Cross-platform apps
Notea vs Notesnook: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Notea's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Notesnook is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Notea versus GPL-3.0 for Notesnook. Notea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Notesnook. Notesnook has the considerably larger community, at 14,628 GitHub stars versus 2,147.
Why pick each one
Choose Notea if…
- Simple storage model
- Clean editing experience
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Single-user focused
Choose Notesnook if…
- Strong privacy by default
- Polished apps on all platforms
Watch out for
- Self-hosting is relatively new
- Some features tied to subscription
Frequently asked questions
Is Notea or Notesnook better?
Neither is universally better. Notesnook has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Notea and Notesnook free and open-source?
Yes. Notea is licensed under MIT and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notea and Notesnook with Docker?
Notea: yes. Notesnook: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Notea or Notesnook?
Notea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Notesnook. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.