head to head · open source
Joplin vs AnyType
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnyType has 8,828 stars, 580 forks, 209 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 539% (56,416 vs 8,828 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; AnyType is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, AnyType 7%. Joplin 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
| Joplin | AnyType | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 580 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Joplin if
- You weight community size — 56K 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 AnyType if
- You want the AnyType feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and AnyType fits your workflow better
About Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source, privacy focused note taking and to do application that keeps notes as Markdown on your own device and synchronises them, end to end encrypted, across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
read the full Joplin overview →
About AnyType
Anytype Desktop is the official cross platform client for Anytype, a local first, peer to peer, end to end encrypted personal knowledge base for macOS, Windows and Linux, built for people who want Notion style pages, tasks and databases while keeping their data on their own devices.
read the full AnyType overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or AnyType more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and AnyType has 8,828. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and AnyType free?
Neither Joplin nor AnyType declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and AnyType?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and AnyType 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, Joplin or AnyType?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose AnyType if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.