head to head · open source
Docs vs NoteDiscovery
Docs has 16,965 GitHub stars, 693 forks, 370 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. NoteDiscovery has 2,868 stars, 247 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Docs leads on adoption by 492% (16,965 vs 2,868 stars). Docs is written in TypeScript under MIT; NoteDiscovery is written in JavaScript under MIT. Docs has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, NoteDiscovery 9%. Docs was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (knowledge-base), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Docs | NoteDiscovery | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 693 | ⑂ 247 |
| 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 TypeScript
- 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 Docs
Chat on Matrix • Documentation • Try Docs • Contact us La Suite Docs: Collaborative Text Editing Docs, where your notes can become knowledge through live collaboration. Docs is an open source collaborative editor that helps teams write, organize, and share knowledge together in real time. What is Docs? Docs is an open source alternative to tools like Notion or Google Docs, focused on: Real time collaboration Clean, structured documents Knowledge organization Data ownership & self hosting Built for public organizations, companies, and open communities. Why use Docs? Writing Rich text & Markdown editing Slash…
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 →
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Documentation & Knowledge Base projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Documentation & Knowledge Base field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Docs or NoteDiscovery more popular?
Docs has 16,965 GitHub stars and NoteDiscovery has 2,868. Docs has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docs and NoteDiscovery free?
Both are open source. Docs is licensed under MIT and NoteDiscovery under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docs and NoteDiscovery?
Docs is written in TypeScript 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, Docs or NoteDiscovery?
Choose Docs if you want the larger community (16,965 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose NoteDiscovery if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.