head to head · open source
flatnotes vs poznote
flatnotes has 3,274 GitHub stars, 222 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. poznote has 979 stars, 48 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flatnotes leads on adoption by 234% (3,274 vs 979 stars). flatnotes is written in Vue under MIT; poznote is written in JavaScript under MIT. flatnotes has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, poznote 5%. poznote was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (note-taking, notes, wiki), 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 | poznote | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.3K | ★ 979 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Vue | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-29 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 222 | ⑂ 48 |
| 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 poznote if
- You want the poznote feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and poznote 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 poznote
English · Français · Deutsch · Español · Português · Русский · 简体中文 Powerful note taking without the hassle. A free, self hosted, open source alternative to Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, or OneNote. Features Discover all the features here. Screenshots See all the screenshots here. Demo Login : poznote Password : poznote They talk about Poznote Discord Join the community to ask questions, share feedback or follow the development: Table of content Install Access Change Settings Update application Authentication App Passwords Note types Snapshots Personalization Multi users Activity Log Webhooks Git Synchronization…
read the full poznote overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is flatnotes or poznote more popular?
flatnotes has 3,274 GitHub stars and poznote has 979. flatnotes has the larger community by that measure.
Are flatnotes and poznote free?
Both are open source. flatnotes is licensed under MIT and poznote under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between flatnotes and poznote?
flatnotes is written in Vue and poznote 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, flatnotes or poznote?
Choose flatnotes if you want the larger community (3,274 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose poznote if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.