SiYuan vs Trilium Notes
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
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
| Feature | SiYuan | Trilium Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 99 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,488 | ★ 37,958 |
| First released | 2020 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, Notion |
What are SiYuan and Trilium Notes?
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
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note-taking application designed for building large personal knowledge bases with rich linking and scripting. It targets power users who want a structured second brain. It is deployed via Docker as a server with desktop and web clients.
- Deep hierarchical note tree
- Note attributes and relations
- Scripting and automation
- Encrypted protected notes
SiYuan vs Trilium Notes: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Trilium Notes is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. Trilium Notes is the more established project (first released 2017), while SiYuan arrived in 2020.
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 if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Single-user oriented
Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Trilium Notes better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while Trilium Notes is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are SiYuan and Trilium Notes free and open-source?
Yes. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Trilium Notes under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SiYuan and Trilium Notes with Docker?
SiYuan: yes. Trilium Notes: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SiYuan or Trilium Notes?
Trilium Notes has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for SiYuan. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.