head to head · open source
Joplin vs Vrite
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Vrite has 1,998 stars, 84 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 2,724% (56,416 vs 1,998 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Vrite is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Vrite 4%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (javascript), 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 | Vrite | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 2.0K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 84 |
| 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 Vrite if
- You want the Vrite feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Vrite 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 Vrite
Vrite is an open source collaborative developer content platform. It lives in the Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management category, and its topics place it in the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystem for content management, documentation, blogging, and headless CMS work. The project presents itself as a space where technical teams can create, manage, and deploy product documentation, technical blogs, and knowledge bases.
read the full Vrite overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Vrite more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and Vrite has 1,998. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Vrite free?
Neither Joplin nor Vrite 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 Vrite?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Vrite 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 Vrite?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Vrite if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.