head to head · open source
docsify vs flatnotes
docsify has 31,513 GitHub stars, 5,789 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped yesterday. flatnotes has 3,224 stars, 214 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. docsify leads on adoption by 877% (31,513 vs 3,224 stars). docsify is written in JavaScript under MIT; flatnotes is written in Vue under MIT. docsify has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, flatnotes 7%. docsify was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (markdown), 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
| docsify | flatnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 214 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick docsify if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 docsify
Docsify is a client side documentation site generator that turns one or more Markdown files into a website with no build process, aimed at developers and maintainers who want to publish documentation from a static host such as GitHub Pages.
read the full docsify overview →
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 docsify or flatnotes more popular?
docsify has 31,513 GitHub stars and flatnotes has 3,224. docsify has the larger community by that measure.
Are docsify and flatnotes free?
Both are open source. docsify is licensed under MIT and flatnotes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between docsify and flatnotes?
docsify is written in JavaScript 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, docsify or flatnotes?
Choose docsify if you want the larger community (31,513 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose flatnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.