head to head · open source
Affine vs Outline
Affine has 72,729 GitHub stars, 5,285 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Outline has 40,599 stars, 3,562 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped today. Affine leads on adoption by 79% (72,729 vs 40,599 stars). Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Affine has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Outline 9%. Outline was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Outline | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 41K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.3K | ⑂ 3.6K |
| 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 Outline if
- You want the Outline feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Outline 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 Outline
Outline is an open source knowledge base application built with React and Node.js, designed for teams needing a fast, collaborative documentation platform. It runs as a self hosted service or via a hosted option at getoutline.com, and its source code powers the public instance along with all supporting services. The project lives in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and uses MobX for state management.
read the full Outline overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Affine or Outline more popular?
Affine has 72,729 GitHub stars and Outline has 40,599. Affine has the larger community by that measure.
Are Affine and Outline free?
Neither Affine nor Outline declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Affine and Outline?
Affine is written in TypeScript and Outline in TypeScript. 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 Outline?
Choose Affine if you want the larger community (72,729 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Outline if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.