Outline vs RocketNotes
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?
Outline
Team knowledge base and wiki
VS
RocketNotes
Web-based Markdown note-taking app with AI assistance
| Feature | Outline | RocketNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | BSL-1.1 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 40,034 | ★ 1,437 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Notion, Confluence | Notion, Evernote |
Why pick each one
Choose RocketNotes if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Outline or RocketNotes better?
Neither is universally better. Outline has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Outline and RocketNotes free and open-source?
Yes. Outline is licensed under BSL-1.1 and RocketNotes under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Outline and RocketNotes with Docker?
Outline: yes. RocketNotes: yes.