head to head · open source
Docs vs flatnotes
Docs has 16,838 GitHub stars, 639 forks, 370 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flatnotes has 3,223 stars, 214 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. Docs leads on adoption by 422% (16,838 vs 3,223 stars). Docs is written in Python under MIT; flatnotes is written in Vue under MIT. Docs has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, flatnotes 7%. Docs 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
| Docs | flatnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 639 | ⑂ 214 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docs if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick flatnotes if
- You want the flatnotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and flatnotes fits your workflow better
About Docs
Docs is an open source collaborative text editor for creating, editing, and sharing documents in real time. It lives in the open source documentation and knowledge base ecosystem, and it is built with Django and React for web native use. The repository describes Docs as a web native editor made for teams that need clean documents and sub documents without surrendering data to a hosted service.
About flatnotes
flatnotes is a self hosted, database less note taking web app that keeps every note as a Markdown file in a flat folder, built for individuals and small teams who want a browser based editor without handing ownership of their notes to a hosted service.
read the full flatnotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docs or flatnotes more popular?
Docs has 16,838 GitHub stars and flatnotes has 3,223. Docs has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docs and flatnotes free?
Both are open source. Docs is licensed under MIT and flatnotes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docs and flatnotes?
Docs is written in Python and flatnotes in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docs or flatnotes?
Choose Docs if you want the larger community (16,838 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose flatnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.