head to head · open source
SurfSense vs fsnotes
SurfSense has 16,770 GitHub stars, 1,598 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. fsnotes has 7,562 stars, 588 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SurfSense leads on adoption by 122% (16,770 vs 7,562 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under Apache-2.0; fsnotes is written in Swift under MIT. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, fsnotes 8%. SurfSense 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| SurfSense | fsnotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 7.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 588 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 SurfSense
English Español Português हिन्दी 简体中文 SurfSense: The Open Source NotebookLM Alternative for Open Web Research SurfSense is the open source NotebookLM alternative for AI agents , an open web research platform with live data connectors. Your agents research the live web with structured data from Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, Walmart, Google Maps, Google Search, Indeed, and any page on the open web , through one REST API or MCP server . Scheduled and event triggered agents turn what they find into briefs and alerts, and a built in knowledge base keeps every finding searchable with citations. [!NOTE]…
read the full SurfSense 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 →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or fsnotes more popular?
SurfSense has 16,770 GitHub stars and fsnotes has 7,562. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and fsnotes free?
Both are open source. SurfSense is licensed under Apache-2.0 and fsnotes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SurfSense and fsnotes?
SurfSense is written in Python 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, SurfSense or fsnotes?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,770 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose fsnotes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.