head to head · open source
Joplin vs Paperling
Joplin has 56,493 GitHub stars, 6,305 forks, 639 open issues and last shipped today. Paperling has 568 stars, 40 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 9,846% (56,493 vs 568 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 | ★ 56K | ★ 568 |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-27 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 40 |
| 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 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, 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 Paperling
Paperling is a minimal, distraction free Markdown reader and editor built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript for developers and note takers who want to open a single .md file, read it rendered beautifully, and edit it with live preview instead of managing a vault.
read the full Paperling overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Paperling more popular?
Joplin has 56,493 GitHub stars and Paperling has 568. 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 (56,493 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.