head to head · open source
fsnotes vs IdeaMemo
fsnotes has 7,565 GitHub stars, 588 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. IdeaMemo has 1,170 stars, 167 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. fsnotes leads on adoption by 547% (7,565 vs 1,170 stars). fsnotes is written in Swift under MIT; IdeaMemo is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. fsnotes has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, IdeaMemo 14%. fsnotes was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (notes-app), 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
| fsnotes | IdeaMemo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.6K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Swift | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 588 | ⑂ 167 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick fsnotes if
- You weight community size — 7.6K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick IdeaMemo if
- You want the IdeaMemo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and IdeaMemo fits your workflow better
About fsnotes
FSNotes 简体中文 · 繁體中文 Own your notes. Find them instantly. FSNotes is a fast, native notes app for macOS and iOS. It gives you a focused writing experience while keeping every note in portable Markdown or plain text files—not a proprietary database. Why choose FSNotes No lock in. Open and edit your notes with any compatible app, now or years from now. Fast at any scale. Search and navigate smoothly across collections of 10,000+ notes. Built around your workflow. Use multiple folders, external editors, iCloud Drive, Dropbox, and optional Git backups. More than basic Markdown. Connect ideas with tags and [[links]]…
read the full fsnotes overview →
About IdeaMemo
IdeaMemo A quick record app written with Jetpack Compose. 简体中文 English 🖌️ Screenshots ✨ Features IdeaMemo is an Android lightweight note taking app. Here are the current features: Privacy First : No need to apply any permissions, all runtime data is firmly stored in your local database or can be uploaded to your own WEBDAV private cloud. Simplicity and cleanliness : Indexed by TAG , it supports mixed text and graphics to record and organize your sudden inspirations. But as a card note, it is not recommended to record too long text. Review at any time : Support calendar view, heatmap and random walk to review…
read the full IdeaMemo overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is fsnotes or IdeaMemo more popular?
fsnotes has 7,565 GitHub stars and IdeaMemo has 1,170. fsnotes has the larger community by that measure.
Are fsnotes and IdeaMemo free?
Both are open source. fsnotes is licensed under MIT and IdeaMemo under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between fsnotes and IdeaMemo?
fsnotes is written in Swift and IdeaMemo in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, fsnotes or IdeaMemo?
Choose fsnotes if you want the larger community (7,565 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose IdeaMemo if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.