Notea vs Reor
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Notea | Reor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,147 | ★ 8,551 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are Notea and Reor?
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
Reor
Reor is an open-source, private, local-first AI note-taking application. It automatically links related notes, runs AI models locally, and stores everything as plain Markdown files on your machine.
- Local AI models
- Automatic note linking
- Plain Markdown storage
- Semantic search
Notea vs Reor: key differences
Note that both projects' repositories are archived — neither is actively developed. Notea is written in TypeScript, while Reor is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Notea versus AGPL-3.0 for Reor. Notea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Reor. Notea is the more established project (first released 2021), while Reor arrived in 2024. Reor has the considerably larger community, at 8,551 GitHub stars versus 2,147. Notea lists first-class Docker deployment; Reor does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Notea if…
- Simple storage model
- Clean editing experience
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Single-user focused
Choose Reor if…
- AI features without sending data away
- Notes stay as portable files
Watch out for
- AI features need more RAM
- Younger project
Frequently asked questions
Is Notea or Reor better?
Reor is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Notea if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Notea and Reor free and open-source?
Yes. Notea is licensed under MIT and Reor under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notea and Reor with Docker?
Notea: yes. Reor: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Notea or Reor?
Notea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Reor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.