head to head · open source
Joplin vs Standard Notes
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Standard Notes has 6,633 stars, 551 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 751% (56,416 vs 6,633 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Standard Notes is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Standard Notes 8%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (evernote, 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 | Standard Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 551 |
| 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 Standard Notes if
- You want the Standard Notes 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 Standard Notes 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 Standard Notes
Standard Notes is an end to end encrypted note taking application for individuals and professionals who want to capture notes, files, and long term work in a place only they can read, with clients on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web.
read the full Standard Notes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Standard Notes more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and Standard Notes has 6,633. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Standard Notes free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and Standard Notes is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and Standard Notes?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Standard Notes 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 Standard Notes?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Standard Notes if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.