head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs GitJournal
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. GitJournal has 4,246 stars, 317 forks, 132 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 1,740% (78,112 vs 4,246 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 | ★ 78K | ★ 4.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-05-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 317 |
| 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 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 ⭐️ 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 GitJournal
Mobile first Markdown Notes integrated with Git Summary GitJournal is a note taking app focused on privacy and data portability. It stores all its notes in a standardized Markdown + YAML header format (optional). The notes are stored in a Git Repo of your choice GitHub / Gitlab / Custom provider. This means you can easily self host or host your notes in one of the many Git providers. Screenshots Migrating from Existing Apps Google Keep Day One Classic Narrate Simplenote Contributing Please feel free to open an issue for any bug or feature request. Additionally, you can vote on existing Issues by reacting with a…
read the full GitJournal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or GitJournal more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars and GitJournal has 4,246. 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 (78,112 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.