Reor vs SiYuan
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted notes & knowledge base options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
| Feature | Reor | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 100 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,551 | ★ 46,488 |
| First released | 2024 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Notion, Evernote |
What are Reor and SiYuan?
Reor
Reor is an open-source, private, local-first AI note-taking application. It automatically links related notes, runs AI models locally, and stores everything as plain Markdown files on your machine.
- Local AI models
- Automatic note linking
- Plain Markdown storage
- Semantic search
SiYuan
SiYuan is an open-source, privacy-first personal knowledge management system that supports block-level references and bidirectional links. It can run locally or be self-hosted for access across devices.
- Block-level referencing
- Bidirectional links
- Self-hosted or local mode
- End-to-end encrypted sync
Reor vs SiYuan: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Reor's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SiYuan is actively maintained. Reor is written in JavaScript, while SiYuan is built with TypeScript. SiYuan is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Reor. SiYuan is the more established project (first released 2020), while Reor arrived in 2024. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 8,551. SiYuan lists first-class Docker deployment; Reor does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Reor if…
- AI features without sending data away
- Notes stay as portable files
Watch out for
- AI features need more RAM
- Younger project
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
Frequently asked questions
Is Reor or SiYuan better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Reor is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Reor and SiYuan free and open-source?
Yes. Reor is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SiYuan under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Reor and SiYuan with Docker?
Reor: check the project docs for container support. SiYuan: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Reor or SiYuan?
SiYuan has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Reor. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.