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.
| Feature | Outline | SilverBullet |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | BSL-1.1 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 40,682 | ★ 6,142 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Notion, Confluence | Notion, Obsidian |
What are Outline and SilverBullet?
Outline
Outline is a fast, collaborative knowledge base and wiki for teams with real-time editing and powerful search. It targets organizations that want a self-hosted documentation hub. It is deployed via Docker with PostgreSQL and Redis.
- Real-time collaborative editing
- Fast full-text search
- SSO and team permissions
- Slack and API integrations
SilverBullet
SilverBullet is an extensible, Markdown-based note-taking web app that you can run on your own server and access from any browser. It targets users who want a programmable personal knowledge tool. It is deployed via Docker or Deno.
- Markdown-based with live queries
- Extensible via Space Script
- Works offline as a PWA
- Plain file storage
Outline vs SilverBullet: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — BSL-1.1 for Outline versus MIT for SilverBullet. SilverBullet is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Outline. Outline is the more established project (first released 2017), while SilverBullet arrived in 2022. Outline has the considerably larger community, at 40,682 GitHub stars versus 6,142.
Why pick each one
Choose Outline if…
- Polished team wiki
- Great search
- Strong integrations
Watch out for
- Requires Postgres and Redis
- BSL is not fully open source
Choose SilverBullet if…
- Highly hackable
- Lightweight
- Files stay portable
Watch out for
- Niche and DIY-oriented
- Smaller community
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Outline or SilverBullet?
SilverBullet has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Outline. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.