nb Notes vs Self-hosted LiveSync
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
Self-hosted LiveSync
Self-hosted real-time sync backend for Obsidian vaults
| Feature | nb Notes | Self-hosted LiveSync |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Shell | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,343 | ★ 11,908 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Obsidian Sync |
Why pick each one
Choose Self-hosted LiveSync if…
- Free alternative to Obsidian Sync
- Encrypted by default
Frequently asked questions
Is nb Notes or Self-hosted LiveSync better?
Neither is universally better. Self-hosted LiveSync 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 Self-hosted LiveSync free and open-source?
Yes. nb Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Self-hosted LiveSync under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nb Notes and Self-hosted LiveSync with Docker?
nb Notes: check the project docs for container support. Self-hosted LiveSync: yes.