SHSelfHostIndex

Notesnook Sync Server 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.

Not the right match-up?
NO Notesnook Sync Server Self-hosted backend for the Notesnook encrypted notes app VS TR Trilium Notes Next Archived Hierarchical note-taking app for building knowledge bases
FeatureNotesnook Sync ServerTrilium Notes Next
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score78 · Good15 · At risk
StatusActively maintainedArchived
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguageC#TypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 925★ 2,926
First released20232024
ReplacesEvernote, OneNoteEvernote, OneNote, Notion

What are Notesnook Sync Server and Trilium Notes Next?

Notesnook Sync Server

The Notesnook sync server is the self-hostable backend for the Notesnook end-to-end encrypted note-taking application. It allows users to keep their encrypted note data fully under their own control.

  • Self-hosted sync backend
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Open-source server

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

Notesnook Sync Server vs Trilium Notes Next: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: Trilium Notes Next's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Notesnook Sync Server is actively maintained. Notesnook Sync Server is written in C#, while Trilium Notes Next is built with TypeScript. Trilium Notes Next has the considerably larger community, at 2,926 GitHub stars versus 925.

Why pick each one

Choose Notesnook Sync Server if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in C#
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Notesnook Sync Server details

Choose Trilium Notes Next if…

  • Excellent for large knowledge bases
  • Powerful and extensible

Watch out for

  • Steeper learning curve
  • Primarily single-user
Trilium Notes Next details

Frequently asked questions

Is Notesnook Sync Server 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 Notesnook Sync Server and Trilium Notes Next free and open-source?

Yes. Notesnook Sync Server is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes Next under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Notesnook Sync Server and Trilium Notes Next with Docker?

Notesnook Sync Server: yes. Trilium Notes Next: yes.

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