QuillPad 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.
| Feature | QuillPad | Trilium Notes Next |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Kotlin | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,388 | ★ 2,926 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Keep, OneNote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are QuillPad and Trilium Notes Next?
QuillPad
Quillpad is an open-source note-taking application focused on a clean, distraction-free writing experience with rich text formatting. It organizes notes into notebooks and supports tags, search, and offline use.
- Rich text notes
- Notebooks and tags
- Offline-first design
- Lightweight footprint
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
QuillPad vs Trilium Notes Next: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Trilium Notes Next's repository is archived and no longer developed, while QuillPad is actively maintained. QuillPad is written in Kotlin, while Trilium Notes Next is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for QuillPad versus AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes Next. QuillPad is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Trilium Notes Next. QuillPad is the more established project (first released 2022), while Trilium Notes Next arrived in 2024. Trilium Notes Next has the considerably larger community, at 2,926 GitHub stars versus 1,388. Trilium Notes Next lists first-class Docker deployment; QuillPad does not.
Why pick each one
Choose QuillPad if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Kotlin
Choose Trilium Notes Next if…
- Excellent for large knowledge bases
- Powerful and extensible
Watch out for
- Steeper learning curve
- Primarily single-user
Frequently asked questions
Is QuillPad or Trilium Notes Next better?
Neither is universally better. Trilium Notes Next has the larger community, while QuillPad is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are QuillPad and Trilium Notes Next free and open-source?
Yes. QuillPad is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes Next under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run QuillPad and Trilium Notes Next with Docker?
QuillPad: check the project docs for container support. Trilium Notes Next: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, QuillPad or Trilium Notes Next?
QuillPad has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Trilium Notes Next. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.