head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Outline
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Outline has 41,145 stars, 3,650 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 90% (78,112 vs 41,145 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Outline 9%. Outline was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (wiki), 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 | Outline | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 41K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 3.6K |
| 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 Outline if
- You want the Outline feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Outline 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 Outline
A fast, collaborative, knowledge base for your team built using React and Node.js. Try out Outline using our hosted version at www.getoutline.com . This is the source code that runs Outline and all the associated services. If you want to use Outline then you don't need to run this code, A hosted version of the app is offered at getoutline.com. You can also find documentation on using Outline in our guide. If you'd like to run your own copy of Outline or contribute to development then this is the place for you. Installation Please see the documentation for running your own copy of Outline in a production…
read the full Outline overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or Outline more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars and Outline has 41,145. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Outline free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Outline has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Outline?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Outline 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 Outline?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (78,112 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Outline if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.