SiYuan 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.
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
VS
Trilium Notes Next
Archived
Hierarchical note-taking app for building knowledge bases
| Feature | SiYuan | Trilium Notes Next |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,488 | ★ 2,926 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
What are SiYuan and Trilium Notes Next?
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
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
SiYuan vs Trilium Notes Next: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Trilium Notes Next's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SiYuan is actively maintained. Both projects are written in TypeScript. SiYuan is the more established project (first released 2020), while Trilium Notes Next arrived in 2024. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 2,926.
Why pick each one
Choose SiYuan if…
- Powerful block-based model
- Works offline and self-hosted
Watch out for
- Documentation strongest in Chinese
- Some advanced features are paid
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 SiYuan or Trilium Notes Next better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SiYuan and Trilium Notes Next free and open-source?
Yes. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes Next under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SiYuan and Trilium Notes Next with Docker?
SiYuan: yes. Trilium Notes Next: yes.