Notea vs Zettlr
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 | Zettlr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| 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 | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,147 | ★ 13,577 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Notion, Obsidian |
What are Notea and Zettlr?
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
Zettlr
Zettlr is a desktop Markdown editor designed for academic writing and Zettelkasten note management, with citation support and internal linking. While desktop-first, it works on plain Markdown folders that can sync between machines.
- Zettelkasten linking
- Citation manager support
- Multi-format export
- Folder-based projects
Notea vs Zettlr: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Notea's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Zettlr is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Notea versus GPL-3.0 for Zettlr. Zettlr is the more established project (first released 2017), while Notea arrived in 2021. Zettlr has the considerably larger community, at 13,577 GitHub stars versus 2,147. Notea lists first-class Docker deployment; Zettlr 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 Zettlr if…
- Strong academic features
- Plain Markdown files
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No native sync server
Frequently asked questions
Is Notea or Zettlr better?
Zettlr 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 Zettlr free and open-source?
Yes. Notea is licensed under MIT and Zettlr under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Notea and Zettlr with Docker?
Notea: yes. Zettlr: check the project docs for container support.