Outline vs SilverBullet

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?
FeatureOutlineSilverBullet
CategoryNotes & Knowledge BaseNotes & Knowledge Base
LicenseBSL-1.1MIT
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 40,034★ 5,796
First released20172022
ReplacesNotion, ConfluenceNotion, Obsidian

Why pick each one

Choose Outline if…

  • Polished team wiki
  • Great search
  • Strong integrations
Outline details

Choose SilverBullet if…

  • Highly hackable
  • Lightweight
  • Files stay portable
SilverBullet details

Frequently asked questions

Is Outline or SilverBullet better?

Neither is universally better. Outline has the larger community, while SilverBullet is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Outline and SilverBullet free and open-source?

Yes. Outline is licensed under BSL-1.1 and SilverBullet under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Outline and SilverBullet with Docker?

Outline: yes. SilverBullet: yes.

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