SiYuan vs VNote
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
VNote
Markdown note-taking application built for programmers
| Feature | SiYuan | VNote |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 46,488 | ★ 12,977 |
| First released | 2020 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Notion, Evernote | Evernote, OneNote |
What are SiYuan and VNote?
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
VNote
VNote is a Markdown-based note-taking application focused on developers, offering folder-based notebooks, syntax highlighting, and Vim-style editing. Notes are plain files that can be synced through external tools.
- Folder-based notebooks
- Vim editing mode
- Markdown with diagrams
- Code-friendly themes
SiYuan vs VNote: key differences
SiYuan is written in TypeScript, while VNote is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for SiYuan versus MIT for VNote. VNote is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for SiYuan. VNote is the more established project (first released 2017), while SiYuan arrived in 2020. SiYuan has the considerably larger community, at 46,488 GitHub stars versus 12,977. SiYuan lists first-class Docker deployment; VNote does not.
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 VNote if…
- Fast native app
- Plain file storage
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in sync
Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or VNote better?
Neither is universally better. SiYuan has the larger community, while VNote is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are SiYuan and VNote free and open-source?
Yes. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and VNote under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SiYuan and VNote with Docker?
SiYuan: yes. VNote: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, SiYuan or VNote?
VNote 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.