head to head · open source
Joplin vs TidGi-Desktop
Joplin has 56,442 GitHub stars, 6,298 forks, 637 open issues and last shipped yesterday. TidGi-Desktop has 2,003 stars, 116 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 2,718% (56,442 vs 2,003 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; TidGi-Desktop is written in TypeScript under MPL-2.0. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, TidGi-Desktop 6%. TidGi-Desktop was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (electron, 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Joplin | TidGi-Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Custom / other | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 116 |
| 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 TidGi-Desktop if
- You want the TidGi-Desktop feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and TidGi-Desktop 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 TidGi-Desktop
TidGi Desktop is a free, MPL 2.0 licensed, cross platform desktop note taking and knowledge management application built on TiddlyWiki and running as an Electron app, aimed at people who want their notes stored locally as files they own, backed up to Git automatically, and optionally published as a blog.
read the full TidGi-Desktop 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 TidGi-Desktop more popular?
Joplin has 56,442 GitHub stars and TidGi-Desktop has 2,003. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and TidGi-Desktop free?
Both are open source. Joplin has no licence declared in this registry, and TidGi-Desktop is licensed under MPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and TidGi-Desktop?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and TidGi-Desktop 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 TidGi-Desktop?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,442 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose TidGi-Desktop if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.