head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs pm-brain
AppFlowy has 76,826 GitHub stars, 6,021 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. pm-brain has 868 stars, 171 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 8,751% (76,826 vs 868 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; pm-brain is written in Python under MIT. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, pm-brain 20%. AppFlowy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | pm-brain | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 77K | ★ 868 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-05-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.0K | ⑂ 171 |
| 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 pm-brain if
- You want the pm-brain feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and pm-brain 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 pm-brain
PM Brain is an MIT licensed Claude Code skill that gives a product manager a second brain made of plain markdown files in a local folder, which Claude reads before answering, writes to after, and sweeps every Friday.
read the full pm-brain overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is AppFlowy or pm-brain more popular?
AppFlowy has 76,826 GitHub stars and pm-brain has 868. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and pm-brain free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and pm-brain under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and pm-brain?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and pm-brain in Python. 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 pm-brain?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (76,826 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pm-brain if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.