nb Notes 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.
Not the right match-up?
nb Notes
Command-line note-taking, bookmarking, and archiving tool
VS
Notesnook
Private, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app
| Feature | nb Notes | Notesnook |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,343 | ★ 14,380 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is nb Notes or Notesnook better?
Neither is universally better. Notesnook has the larger community, while nb Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are nb Notes and Notesnook free and open-source?
Yes. nb Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nb Notes and Notesnook with Docker?
nb Notes: check the project docs for container support. Notesnook: yes.