head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Beaver Notes
AppFlowy has 76,797 GitHub stars, 6,023 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Beaver Notes has 1,344 stars, 65 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 5,614% (76,797 vs 1,344 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Beaver Notes is written in JavaScript under MIT. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Beaver Notes 5%. AppFlowy 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
| AppFlowy | Beaver Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 65 |
| 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 Beaver Notes if
- You want the Beaver Notes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Beaver Notes 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 Beaver Notes
Beaver Notes is an open source, local first workspace for notes, projects, and meetings. It is a JavaScript application under the MIT license, and it presents itself as a privacy focused note taking tool. The core idea is that notes stay on the user's device unless the user explicitly chooses a sync method.
read the full Beaver Notes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Beaver Notes more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,797 GitHub stars and Beaver Notes has 1,344. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Beaver Notes free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Beaver Notes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Beaver Notes?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Beaver Notes in JavaScript. 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 Beaver Notes?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,797 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Beaver Notes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.