head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs GitJournal
AppFlowy has 76,826 GitHub stars, 6,021 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. GitJournal has 4,224 stars, 309 forks, 132 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 1,719% (76,826 vs 4,224 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; GitJournal is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, GitJournal 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 (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 | GitJournal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-05-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 309 |
| 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 GitJournal if
- You want the GitJournal 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 GitJournal 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 GitJournal
GitJournal is a mobile first, privacy focused Markdown note taking app that stores every note in a Git repository of the user's choosing, built for people who want their writing to stay portable and version controlled instead of locked inside a proprietary sync service.
read the full GitJournal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or GitJournal more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,826 GitHub stars and GitJournal has 4,224. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and GitJournal free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and GitJournal under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and GitJournal?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and GitJournal 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 GitJournal?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,826 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose GitJournal if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.