head to head · open source
freeplane vs mdSilo-app
freeplane has 4,456 GitHub stars, 503 forks, 453 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. mdSilo-app has 854 stars, 49 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped yesterday. freeplane leads on adoption by 422% (4,456 vs 854 stars). freeplane is written in Java under GPL-2.0; mdSilo-app is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. freeplane has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, mdSilo-app 6%. mdSilo-app was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (mindmap, 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 | mdSilo-app | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.5K | ★ 854 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 503 | ⑂ 49 |
| 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 mdSilo-app if
- You want the mdSilo-app feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and mdSilo-app 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 mdSilo-app
mdSilo A local first mind silo for storing ideas, thought, knowledge with a powerful all in one writing tool. built with React and Tauri. see Demo or discuss on Discord You can get the app on release page or build from the source code: install Rust: install Node js: git clone cd mdSilo app yarn && yarn tauri build or npm install && npm run tauri build Then you can find the app in ./src tauri/target/release folder. Features I/O: Input and output in one place; All In One Editor: Markdown, WYSIWYG, MindMap... Markdown and extensions: Diagram, Table, Math/Chemical, Code block(Highlight)... Slash commands, Hovering…
read the full mdSilo-app overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is freeplane or mdSilo-app more popular?
freeplane has 4,456 GitHub stars and mdSilo-app has 854. freeplane has the larger community by that measure.
Are freeplane and mdSilo-app free?
Both are open source. freeplane is licensed under GPL-2.0 and mdSilo-app under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between freeplane and mdSilo-app?
freeplane is written in Java and mdSilo-app 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, freeplane or mdSilo-app?
Choose freeplane if you want the larger community (4,456 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose mdSilo-app if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.