head to head · open source
Joplin vs QOwnNotes
Joplin has 56,429 GitHub stars, 6,297 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QOwnNotes has 5,882 stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 859% (56,429 vs 5,882 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 9%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (dropbox, nextcloud, 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Joplin | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 500 |
| 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 QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a GPL 2.0 licensed, C++ plain text notepad and todo list manager with Markdown support for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows that stores every note as a Markdown file and pairs with Nextcloud or ownCloud so the same notes stay readable on mobile and in the web service.
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or QOwnNotes more popular?
Joplin has 56,429 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,882. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and QOwnNotes is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and QOwnNotes?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and QOwnNotes in C++. 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 QOwnNotes?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,429 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.