org-roam vs TriliumNext Notes
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?
org-roam
Plain-text personal knowledge management for Emacs
VS
TriliumNext Notes
Cross-platform hierarchical note taking application with focus on
| Feature | org-roam | TriliumNext Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Emacs Lisp | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,007 | ★ 37,298 |
| First released | 2020 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Roam Research, Obsidian | — |
Why pick each one
Choose org-roam if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 6k GitHub stars
- Written in Emacs Lisp
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose TriliumNext Notes if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 37.3k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is org-roam or TriliumNext Notes better?
Neither is universally better. TriliumNext Notes has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are org-roam and TriliumNext Notes free and open-source?
Yes. org-roam is licensed under GPL-3.0 and TriliumNext Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run org-roam and TriliumNext Notes with Docker?
org-roam: check the project docs for container support. TriliumNext Notes: yes.