head to head · open source
Kaneo vs freeplane
Kaneo has 9,708 GitHub stars, 930 forks, 70 open issues and last shipped yesterday. freeplane has 4,456 stars, 503 forks, 453 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Kaneo leads on adoption by 118% (9,708 vs 4,456 stars). Kaneo is written in TypeScript under MIT; freeplane is written in Java under GPL-2.0. Kaneo has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, freeplane 11%. Kaneo 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
| Kaneo | freeplane | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.7K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 930 | ⑂ 503 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kaneo if
- You weight community size — 9.7K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick freeplane if
- You want the freeplane feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and freeplane fits your workflow better
About Kaneo
Quick Start Website Cloud Discord Why Kaneo? After years of using bloated, overcomplicated project management platforms that distracted from actual work, we built Kaneo to be different. The problem with most tools isn't that they lack features, it's that they have too many . Every notification, every unnecessary button, every complex workflow pulls your team away from what matters: building great products . We believe the best tools are invisible . They should amplify your team's natural workflow, not force you to adapt to theirs. Kaneo is built on the principle that less is more : every feature exists because…
read the full Kaneo overview →
About freeplane
Freeplane ========= Freeplane is a free and open source software application that supports thinking, sharing information, getting things done at work, in school and at home. It provides you a set of tools for mind mapping (also known as concept mapping or information mapping) and navigating the mapped information. Freeplane is also a more robust and superior alternative to Xmind, Mindmeister, and similar mind mapping software. Freeplane is written in Java using OSGi and Java Swing. It runs on any operating system that has a current version of Java installed. It can be installed or can run from removable storage…
read the full freeplane overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kaneo or freeplane more popular?
Kaneo has 9,708 GitHub stars and freeplane has 4,456. Kaneo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kaneo and freeplane free?
Both are open source. Kaneo is licensed under MIT and freeplane under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kaneo and freeplane?
Kaneo is written in TypeScript and freeplane in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Kaneo or freeplane?
Choose Kaneo if you want the larger community (9,708 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose freeplane if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.