head to head · open source
flatnotes vs nowen-note
flatnotes has 3,274 GitHub stars, 222 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. nowen-note has 599 stars, 94 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. flatnotes leads on adoption by 447% (3,274 vs 599 stars). flatnotes is written in Vue under MIT; nowen-note is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. flatnotes has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, nowen-note 16%. nowen-note was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (markdown, note-taking, notes), 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
| flatnotes | nowen-note | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.3K | ★ 599 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Vue | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-29 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 222 | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick flatnotes if
- You weight community size — 3.3K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nowen-note if
- You want the nowen-note feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and nowen-note fits your workflow better
About flatnotes
A self hosted, database less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown files for storage. Log into the demo site and take a look around. Note: This site resets every 15 minutes. Contents Design Principle Features Getting Started Hosted Self Hosted Roadmap Contributing Sponsorship Thanks Design Principle flatnotes is designed to be a distraction free note taking app that puts your note content first. This means: A clean and simple user interface. No folders, notebooks or anything like that. Just all of your notes, backed by powerful search and tagging functionality. Quick access to a full text…
read the full flatnotes overview →
About nowen-note
Nowen Note（弄文笔记） 开源、自托管的知识库、每日记录与任务协作工作台 统一知识树 · 富文本 / Markdown 双编辑器 · 离线工作区 · AI RAG 问答 · 每日记录 · 任务中心 · 多端协作 English · 官方网站 / 帮助中心 · nowen.cn（维护中） · 在线体验 · 下载客户端 · 教程中心 · MCP 安装 · 更新日志 Nowen Note 不只是一个编辑器。它希望成为一套由你掌控数据、可长期运行在 NAS / 服务器上，并能通过 Web、桌面端和移动端随时访问的个人与团队知识基础设施。 NAS 远程连接登录 ：支持部署到 绿联 NAS（UGOS / UGOS Pro） 和 飞牛 NAS（fnOS） 。部署完成后，可在 Web、桌面端或 Android 客户端中，通过局域网 IP、IPv6 地址或已配置 HTTPS 的公网域名远程连接并登录。 v1.4.16 已发布 v1.4.16 聚焦 笔记切换稳定性、视频附件授权、Markdown / 代码块编辑体验与桌面发布链路 ，继续提升 Nowen Note 在多端编辑、局域网媒体访问和桌面客户端分发场景下的可靠性。 笔记切换更稳定 ：阻止旧富文本保存回执在快速切换后重新抢回激活笔记，并补充“提交后迟到回执”回归覆盖。 视频首次打开更可靠
read the full nowen-note overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flatnotes or nowen-note more popular?
flatnotes has 3,274 GitHub stars and nowen-note has 599. flatnotes has the larger community by that measure.
Are flatnotes and nowen-note free?
Both are open source. flatnotes is licensed under MIT and nowen-note under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flatnotes and nowen-note?
flatnotes is written in Vue and nowen-note in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, flatnotes or nowen-note?
Choose flatnotes if you want the larger community (3,274 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nowen-note if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.