Notea vs Trilium Notes Next
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 | Trilium Notes Next |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| 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 | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,147 | ★ 2,926 |
| First released | 2021 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are Notea and Trilium Notes Next?
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
Trilium Notes Next
TriliumNext is the actively maintained community continuation of Trilium Notes, a hierarchical note-taking application for building large personal knowledge bases. It supports rich text, code notes, and scripting.
- Hierarchical note tree
- Rich text and code notes
- Scripting and automation
- Note encryption
Notea vs Trilium Notes Next: key differences
Note that both projects' repositories are archived — neither is actively developed. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Notea versus AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes Next. Notea is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Trilium Notes Next. Notea is the more established project (first released 2021), while Trilium Notes Next arrived in 2024.
Why pick each one
Choose Notea if…
- Simple storage model
- Clean editing experience
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Single-user focused
Choose Trilium Notes Next if…
- Excellent for large knowledge bases
- Powerful and extensible
Watch out for
- Steeper learning curve
- Primarily single-user
Frequently asked questions
Is Notea or Trilium Notes Next better?
Neither is universally better. Trilium Notes Next has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Notea and Trilium Notes Next free and open-source?
Yes. Notea is licensed under MIT and Trilium Notes Next under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notea and Trilium Notes Next with Docker?
Notea: yes. Trilium Notes Next: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Notea or Trilium Notes Next?
Notea has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Trilium Notes Next. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.