head to head · open source
freeplane vs treesheets
freeplane has 4,438 GitHub stars, 502 forks, 453 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. treesheets has 3,170 stars, 224 forks, 54 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. freeplane leads on adoption by 40% (4,438 vs 3,170 stars). freeplane is written in Java under GPL-2.0; treesheets is written in C++ under Zlib. freeplane has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, treesheets 7%. treesheets was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (knowledge-management, 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 | treesheets | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.4K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Zlib |
| Written in | Java | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-24 | 2026-10-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 502 | ⑂ 224 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick freeplane if
- You weight community size — 4.4K 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 treesheets if
- You want the treesheets feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and treesheets 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 treesheets
Welcome to the TreeSheets productivity tool! ============================================ TreeSheets is a "hierarchical spreadsheet" that is a great replacement for spreadsheets, mind mappers, outliners, PIMs, text editors and small databases. Suitable for any kind of data organization, such as todo lists, calendars, project management, brainstorming, organizing ideas, planning, requirements gathering, presentation of information, etc. It's like a spreadsheet, immediately familiar, but much more suitable for complex data because it's hierarchical. It's like a mind mapper, but more organized and compact. It's…
read the full treesheets overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is freeplane or treesheets more popular?
freeplane has 4,438 GitHub stars and treesheets has 3,170. freeplane has the larger community by that measure.
Are freeplane and treesheets free?
Both are open source. freeplane is licensed under GPL-2.0 and treesheets under Zlib. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between freeplane and treesheets?
freeplane is written in Java and treesheets in C++. 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 treesheets?
Choose freeplane if you want the larger community (4,438 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose treesheets if its feature set, stack or Zlib licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.