head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Affine
AppFlowy has 76,809 GitHub stars, 6,022 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Affine has 72,729 stars, 5,285 forks, 732 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 6% (76,809 vs 72,729 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Affine is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Affine 7%. AppFlowy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (notion-alternative), 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
| AppFlowy | Affine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 73K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 5.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AppFlowy if
- You weight community size — 77K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Affine if
- You want the Affine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Affine fits your workflow better
About AppFlowy
AppFlowy is an open source collaborative workspace platform that combines note taking, project management, wikis, and AI features into a single interface. It runs as a desktop and mobile application and supports self hosting, built with Flutter for the frontend and Rust for the backend. AppFlowy lives in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem, positioned explicitly as a Notion alternative.
read the full AppFlowy overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Affine more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,809 GitHub stars and Affine has 72,729. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Affine free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Affine has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Affine?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Affine 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, AppFlowy or Affine?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,809 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Affine if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.