head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs DeepNotes
AppFlowy has 76,904 GitHub stars, 6,039 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. DeepNotes has 604 stars, 54 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 12,632% (76,904 vs 604 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; DeepNotes is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, DeepNotes 9%. AppFlowy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | DeepNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 604 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-06-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 54 |
| 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 DeepNotes if
- You want the DeepNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and DeepNotes 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 DeepNotes
DeepNotes is an open source, end to end encrypted visual note taking tool that arranges notes on an infinite canvas with deeply nested pages and realtime collaboration, aimed at individuals and teams who want private, self hostable knowledge management.
read the full DeepNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or DeepNotes more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,904 GitHub stars and DeepNotes has 604. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and DeepNotes free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and DeepNotes under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and DeepNotes?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and DeepNotes 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 DeepNotes?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,904 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose DeepNotes if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.