head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs itsnotes
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. itsnotes has 43 stars, 5 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 181,556% (78,112 vs 43 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; itsnotes is written in JavaScript under MIT. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, itsnotes 12%. itsnotes 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 | itsnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 43 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 5 |
| 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 itsnotes if
- You want the itsnotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and itsnotes 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 itsnotes
itsnotes A self hosted Google Keep alternative. It sticks to the familiar masonry layout but overhauls how you actually navigate and organize a large amount of notes. Instead of an endless wall of text, the feed is broken down by month markers. There are quick search panels for colors and tags, a basic folder implementation, and a proper list view. It also handles data import natively, so moving off Keep or importing text files is straightforward. Try the demo → Features: Better navigation: The timeline has month markers to break up the list. There are quick access panels for colors, tags, saved searches, and a…
read the full itsnotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or itsnotes more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars and itsnotes has 43. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and itsnotes free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and itsnotes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and itsnotes?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and itsnotes 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 itsnotes?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (78,112 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose itsnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.