head to head · open source
Joplin vs Paperling
Joplin has 57,139 GitHub stars, 6,426 forks, 679 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperling has 598 stars, 40 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Joplin leads on adoption by 9,455% (57,139 vs 598 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Paperling is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Paperling 7%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (note-taking), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | Paperling | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 57K | ★ 598 |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-11-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.4K | ⑂ 40 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Joplin if
- You weight community size — 57K 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 Paperling if
- You want the Paperling feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Paperling fits your workflow better
About Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor. The notes are in Markdown format. Notes exported from Evernote can be imported into Joplin, including the formatted content (which is converted to Markdown), resources (images, attachments, etc.) and complete metadata (geolocation, updated time, created time, etc.). Plain Markdown files can also be imported. Joplin is "offline first", which means you…
read the full Joplin overview →
About Paperling
Paperling A no setup Markdown reader and editor. Open any .md file and read it beautifully, edit with live preview (math, chemistry, and diagrams as you type), and use an optional free AI that proposes edits you accept or reject inline. No vaults, no plugins, no heavy app. Built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript. ⬇ Download · Website · Features · Contribute 📱 Now on Android — get the APK from the releases page . Why Paperling? As a developer, I frequently work with markdown files for documentation, notes, and project READMEs. The frustration of opening .md files in Notepad or basic text editors, only to see…
read the full Paperling overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Paperling more popular?
Joplin has 57,139 GitHub stars and Paperling has 598. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Paperling free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and Paperling is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and Paperling?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Paperling 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 Paperling?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (57,139 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Paperling if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.