head to head · open source
BookStack vs NoteDiscovery
BookStack has 19,123 GitHub stars, 2,435 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NoteDiscovery has 2,868 stars, 247 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. BookStack leads on adoption by 567% (19,123 vs 2,868 stars). BookStack is written in PHP under MIT; NoteDiscovery is written in JavaScript under MIT. BookStack has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, NoteDiscovery 9%. BookStack 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
| BookStack | NoteDiscovery | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | PHP | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 247 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick BookStack if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick NoteDiscovery if
- You want the NoteDiscovery feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and NoteDiscovery fits your workflow better
About BookStack
BookStack A platform for storing and organising information and documentation. Details for BookStack can be found on the official website at Installation Instructions Documentation Demo Instance Screenshots BookStack Blog Issue List Community Discussions Support Options 📚 Project Definition BookStack is an opinionated documentation platform that provides a pleasant and simple out of the box experience. New users to an instance should find the experience intuitive and only basic word processing skills should be required to get involved in creating content on BookStack. The platform should provide advanced power…
read the full BookStack overview →
About NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery Your Self Hosted Knowledge Base What is NoteDiscovery? NoteDiscovery is a lightweight, self hosted note taking application that puts you in complete control of your knowledge base. Write, organize, and discover your notes with a beautiful, modern interface—all running on your own server. Write · Find · Discover 🎯 Who is it for? Privacy conscious users who want complete control over their data Developers who prefer markdown and local file storage Knowledge workers building a personal wiki or second brain Teams looking for a self hosted alternative to commercial apps Anyone who values simplicity…
read the full NoteDiscovery overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is BookStack or NoteDiscovery more popular?
BookStack has 19,123 GitHub stars and NoteDiscovery has 2,868. BookStack has the larger community by that measure.
Are BookStack and NoteDiscovery free?
Both are open source. BookStack is licensed under MIT and NoteDiscovery under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between BookStack and NoteDiscovery?
BookStack is written in PHP and NoteDiscovery 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, BookStack or NoteDiscovery?
Choose BookStack if you want the larger community (19,123 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose NoteDiscovery if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.