head to head · open source
Logseq vs Butterfly
Logseq has 45,467 GitHub stars, 2,866 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Butterfly has 2,089 stars, 159 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Logseq leads on adoption by 2,076% (45,467 vs 2,089 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; Butterfly is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Butterfly 8%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| Logseq | Butterfly | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 2.1K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Clojure | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 159 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Logseq if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Clojure
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Butterfly if
- You want the Butterfly feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and Butterfly fits your workflow better
About Logseq
Logseq A privacy first, open source platform for knowledge management and collaboration Home Page Blog Documentation Roadmap Table of Contents 🚀 Database Version 🤔 Why Logseq? 👀 How can I use it? 📚 Learn more 🫶 Support Logseq Development 💡 Feature requests 🔌 Plugin API 🌟 Contributing to Logseq 🛠️ Setting Up a Development Environment ✨ Inspiration 🙏 Thank You 🚀 Database Version The Database version (DB version) of Logseq introduces DB graphs. See this page to get an overview of the main features for DB graphs. If you are an existing user, see changes with the DB version. The DB version has its own new…
read the full Logseq overview →
About Butterfly
Butterfly 🎨 Take notes, draw freely, and organize ideas across an endless workspace 🎨 Website • Download • Crowdin • Matrix • Discord • Mastodon • Bluesky • Linwood • Contribute Think visually. Keep your canvas yours. Butterfly is an open source app for people who think better with space around their ideas. Instead of writing everything from top to bottom on a fixed page, you get an endless workspace where you can place notes, sketches, diagrams, images, and documents wherever they make sense. Use it for class notes, meeting notes, research, math, worksheets, planning, whiteboarding, storyboards, product…
read the full Butterfly overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or Butterfly more popular?
Logseq has 45,467 GitHub stars and Butterfly has 2,089. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and Butterfly free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Butterfly under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Logseq and Butterfly?
Logseq is written in Clojure and Butterfly in Dart. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Logseq or Butterfly?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (45,467 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Butterfly if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.