head to head · open source
Joplin vs OpenNotas
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenNotas has 179 stars, 19 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Joplin leads on adoption by 31,417% (56,416 vs 179 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; OpenNotas is written in Vue under a custom or non-standard licence. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, OpenNotas 11%. 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 | OpenNotas | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 179 |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 19 |
| 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 OpenNotas if
- You want the OpenNotas feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and OpenNotas 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 OpenNotas
OpenNotas is a free, open source, cross platform personal note taking application delivered as a Progressive Web App for anyone who wants to capture text and Markdown notes quickly on mobile or desktop without paying for a subscription.
read the full OpenNotas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or OpenNotas more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and OpenNotas has 179. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and OpenNotas free?
Neither Joplin nor OpenNotas 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 OpenNotas?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and OpenNotas in Vue. 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 OpenNotas?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose OpenNotas if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.