head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Beaver Notes
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Beaver Notes has 1,361 stars, 66 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 5,639% (78,112 vs 1,361 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 | ★ 78K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-10-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 66 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AppFlowy if
- You weight community size — 78K 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 ⭐️ The Open Source Alternative To Notion ⭐️ AppFlowy is the AI workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data Website • Forum • Discord • Reddit • Twitter User Installation Download AppFlowy Desktop (macOS, Windows, and Linux) Other channels: FlatHub, Snapcraft, Sourceforge Available on App Store: iPhone Play Store: Android 10 or above; ARMv7 is not supported Self hosting AppFlowy Source Built With Flutter Rust Stay Up to Date Getting Started with development Please view the documentation for OS specific development instructions Roadmap AppFlowy Roadmap ReadMe AppFlowy Public…
read the full AppFlowy overview →
About Beaver Notes
Beaver Notes Built for people who actually read privacy policies. Your notes, your rules: on your device, your server, or ours. Website · Blog · Docs · Downloads · Roadmap You're on the tauri branch. The v5 rewrite. This is where Beaver Notes is heading. The current stable release lives on development . Most note taking apps make the same quiet trade: your convenience in exchange for access to your data. It's easy to miss in the onboarding flow, buried somewhere in a terms of service document most people never open. Beaver Notes starts from a different place. Your notes live on your device. They're not indexed…
read the full Beaver Notes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Beaver Notes more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars and Beaver Notes has 1,361. 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 (78,112 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.