head to head · open source
Outline vs fsnotes
Outline has 41,158 GitHub stars, 3,652 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. fsnotes has 7,562 stars, 588 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Outline leads on adoption by 444% (41,158 vs 7,562 stars). Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; fsnotes is written in Swift under MIT. Outline has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, fsnotes 8%. Outline was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Outline | fsnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 7.6K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 588 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Outline if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick fsnotes if
- You want the fsnotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and fsnotes fits your workflow better
About Outline
A fast, collaborative, knowledge base for your team built using React and Node.js. Try out Outline using our hosted version at www.getoutline.com . This is the source code that runs Outline and all the associated services. If you want to use Outline then you don't need to run this code, A hosted version of the app is offered at getoutline.com. You can also find documentation on using Outline in our guide. If you'd like to run your own copy of Outline or contribute to development then this is the place for you. Installation Please see the documentation for running your own copy of Outline in a production…
read the full Outline overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Outline or fsnotes more popular?
Outline has 41,158 GitHub stars and fsnotes has 7,562. Outline has the larger community by that measure.
Are Outline and fsnotes free?
Both are open source. Outline has no licence declared in this registry, and fsnotes is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Outline and fsnotes?
Outline is written in TypeScript and fsnotes in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Outline or fsnotes?
Choose Outline if you want the larger community (41,158 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose fsnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.