head to head · open source
Affine vs Logseq
Affine has 72,729 GitHub stars, 5,285 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Logseq has 44,957 stars, 2,815 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped today. Affine leads on adoption by 62% (72,729 vs 44,957 stars). Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0. Affine has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Logseq 6%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (knowledge-base, markdown), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Affine | Logseq | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 45K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Clojure |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Affine if
- You weight community size — 73K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Logseq if
- You want the Logseq feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Clojure
- You evaluated both and Logseq fits your workflow better
About Affine
AFFiNE is an open source, privacy first workspace that merges documentation, whiteboarding, and databases into one hyper fused platform. It lives in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, positioned as a direct alternative to Notion and Miro. Built with local first principles, it ensures users retain full control of their data while supporting real time collaboration across web and desktop clients.
read the full Affine overview →
About Logseq
Logseq is an open source, privacy first knowledge management platform built for local first workflows. It runs as a desktop application and web interface, storing data locally in Markdown or Org mode files, with optional SQLite backed DB graphs for advanced features. The project lives in the Clojure/ClojureScript ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL 3.0.
read the full Logseq overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Affine or Logseq more popular?
Affine has 72,729 GitHub stars and Logseq has 44,957. Affine has the larger community by that measure.
Are Affine and Logseq free?
Both are open source. Affine has no licence declared in this registry, and Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Affine and Logseq?
Affine is written in TypeScript and Logseq in Clojure. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Affine or Logseq?
Choose Affine if you want the larger community (72,729 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Logseq if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.