head to head · open source
Joplin vs SurfSense
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SurfSense has 16,159 stars, 1,537 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 249% (56,416 vs 16,159 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, SurfSense 10%. SurfSense 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 | SurfSense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 16K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| 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 SurfSense if
- You want the SurfSense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SurfSense 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 SurfSense
SurfSense is an open source NotebookLM alternative and privacy first knowledge base that can work with any AI model chosen by the user. It is a Python productivity and knowledge management project in the agent, RAG, LangChain, LangGraph, FastAPI, Next.js, and Ollama ecosystem. The project presents itself as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live data connectors and a built in knowledge base that keeps findings searchable with citations.
read the full SurfSense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or SurfSense more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and SurfSense has 16,159. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and SurfSense free?
Neither Joplin nor SurfSense 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 SurfSense?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and SurfSense in Python. 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 SurfSense?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose SurfSense if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.