head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Notesnook
AppFlowy has 76,797 GitHub stars, 6,023 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Notesnook has 14,604 stars, 1,007 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 426% (76,797 vs 14,604 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Notesnook 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 | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 15K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 Notesnook if
- You want the Notesnook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Notesnook 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 Notesnook
Notesnook is an open source, end to end encrypted note taking application in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem. It is presented as a free alternative to Evernote, with clients for the web, desktop, and mobile platforms. The project uses a TypeScript and JavaScript monorepo, React for the interface, React Native for mobile apps, and Electron for the desktop app.
read the full Notesnook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Notesnook more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,797 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,604. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Notesnook?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Notesnook 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 Notesnook?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,797 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.