head to head · open source
freeplane vs Alexandrie
freeplane has 4,456 GitHub stars, 503 forks, 453 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Alexandrie has 3,839 stars, 288 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. freeplane leads on adoption by 16% (4,456 vs 3,839 stars). freeplane is written in Java under GPL-2.0; Alexandrie is written in Vue under MIT. freeplane has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Alexandrie 8%. Alexandrie was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (knowledge-management, markdown, note-taking), 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
| freeplane | Alexandrie | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.5K | ★ 3.8K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 503 | ⑂ 288 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick freeplane if
- You weight community size — 4.5K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Alexandrie if
- You want the Alexandrie feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and Alexandrie fits your workflow better
About freeplane
Freeplane ========= Freeplane is a free and open source software application that supports thinking, sharing information, getting things done at work, in school and at home. It provides you a set of tools for mind mapping (also known as concept mapping or information mapping) and navigating the mapped information. Freeplane is also a more robust and superior alternative to Xmind, Mindmeister, and similar mind mapping software. Freeplane is written in Java using OSGi and Java Swing. It runs on any operating system that has a current version of Java installed. It can be installed or can run from removable storage…
read the full freeplane overview →
About Alexandrie
Alexandrie A self hosted, open source knowledge base with an extended Markdown editor. Organize, search, share and export your notes from any device, even offline. Why Alexandrie? Alexandrie is an open source self hosted wiki and knowledge management platform built for teams and individuals. It combines a powerful Markdown editor, offline support, collaboration tools, and enterprise grade permissions, making it an alternative to Notion, Confluence and Obsidian. One Command Deployment: Bring up the entire full stack application instantly using Docker. Advanced Markdown Engine: Native support for LaTeX, custom…
read the full Alexandrie overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is freeplane or Alexandrie more popular?
freeplane has 4,456 GitHub stars and Alexandrie has 3,839. freeplane has the larger community by that measure.
Are freeplane and Alexandrie free?
Both are open source. freeplane is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Alexandrie under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between freeplane and Alexandrie?
freeplane is written in Java and Alexandrie 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, freeplane or Alexandrie?
Choose freeplane if you want the larger community (4,456 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Alexandrie if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.