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.
Not the right match-up?
SiYuan
Privacy-first personal knowledge management system
VS
Trilium Notes Next
Hierarchical note-taking app for building knowledge bases
| Feature | SiYuan | Trilium Notes Next |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ★ 45,670 | ★ 2,932 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote, Notion |
Why pick each one
Choose Trilium Notes Next if…
- Excellent for large knowledge bases
- Powerful and extensible
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.