head to head · open source
Joplin vs Docmost
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Docmost has 21,710 stars, 1,567 forks, 326 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 160% (56,416 vs 21,710 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Docmost is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Docmost 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 | Docmost | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 22K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 Docmost if
- You want the Docmost feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Docmost 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 Docmost
Docmost is an open source collaborative wiki and documentation software written in TypeScript and licensed under the AGPL 3.0 license. It positions itself as an open alternative to Atlassian Confluence and Notion, and its tagline describes it as a self hosted wiki with AI, compliance, and real time editing. The project lives in the knowledge management and note taking ecosystem, where teams manage documentation and knowledge base content.
read the full Docmost overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Docmost more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and Docmost has 21,710. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Docmost free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and Docmost?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Docmost 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 Docmost?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Docmost if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.