Trilium Notes 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.
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking for building knowledge bases
VS
VNote
Markdown note-taking application built for programmers
| Feature | Trilium Notes | VNote |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 94 · Excellent |
| Category | Notes & Knowledge Base | Notes & Knowledge Base |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,958 | ★ 12,977 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Evernote, Notion | Evernote, OneNote |
What are Trilium Notes and VNote?
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
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
Trilium Notes vs VNote: key differences
Trilium Notes is written in TypeScript, while VNote is built with C++. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Trilium Notes versus MIT for VNote. Trilium Notes has the considerably larger community, at 37,958 GitHub stars versus 12,977. Trilium Notes lists first-class Docker deployment; VNote does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Trilium Notes if…
- Powerful for big knowledge bases
- Flexible structure
- Scriptable
Watch out for
- Steep learning curve
- Single-user oriented
Choose VNote if…
- Fast native app
- Plain file storage
Watch out for
- Desktop only
- No built-in sync
Frequently asked questions
Is Trilium Notes or VNote better?
Neither is universally better. Trilium Notes has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Trilium Notes and VNote free and open-source?
Yes. Trilium Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and VNote under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Trilium Notes and VNote with Docker?
Trilium Notes: yes. VNote: check the project docs for container support.