SiYuan vs Mindforger Web
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?
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
VS
Mindforger Web
Thinking notebook combining notes with mind mapping
| Feature | SiYuan | Mindforger Web |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 45,670 | ★ 4,049 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Mindforger Web better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Mindforger Web is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are SiYuan and Mindforger Web free and open-source?
Yes. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Mindforger Web under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SiYuan and Mindforger Web with Docker?
SiYuan: yes. Mindforger Web: check the project docs for container support.