head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Butterfly
AppFlowy has 78,162 GitHub stars, 6,170 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Butterfly has 2,089 stars, 159 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 3,642% (78,162 vs 2,089 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Butterfly is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Butterfly 8%. Butterfly was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (flutter, note-taking), 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 | Butterfly | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 159 |
| 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 Butterfly if
- You want the Butterfly feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and Butterfly 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 Butterfly
Butterfly 🎨 Take notes, draw freely, and organize ideas across an endless workspace 🎨 Website • Download • Crowdin • Matrix • Discord • Mastodon • Bluesky • Linwood • Contribute Think visually. Keep your canvas yours. Butterfly is an open source app for people who think better with space around their ideas. Instead of writing everything from top to bottom on a fixed page, you get an endless workspace where you can place notes, sketches, diagrams, images, and documents wherever they make sense. Use it for class notes, meeting notes, research, math, worksheets, planning, whiteboarding, storyboards, product…
read the full Butterfly overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Butterfly more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,162 GitHub stars and Butterfly has 2,089. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Butterfly free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Butterfly under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Butterfly?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Butterfly in Dart. 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 Butterfly?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (78,162 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Butterfly if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.