head to head · open source
Logseq vs iwe
Logseq has 45,024 GitHub stars, 2,826 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped today. iwe has 1,715 stars, 88 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Logseq leads on adoption by 2,525% (45,024 vs 1,715 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; iwe is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, iwe 5%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (knowledge-graph, local-first, markdown), 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 | iwe | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Clojure | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 88 |
| 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 iwe if
- You want the iwe feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and iwe fits your workflow better
About Logseq
Logseq is an open source, privacy first knowledge management platform built for local first workflows. It runs as a desktop application and web interface, storing data locally in Markdown or Org mode files, with optional SQLite backed DB graphs for advanced features. The project lives in the Clojure/ClojureScript ecosystem and is licensed under AGPL 3.0.
read the full Logseq overview →
About iwe
IWE is a local first Rust tool that turns a directory of Markdown files into a knowledge graph, serving the same notes to your editor through a language server and to AI agents through a CLI and MCP server — it is built for anyone who wants database style queries over plain notes they continue to own.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or iwe more popular?
Logseq has 45,024 GitHub stars and iwe has 1,715. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and iwe free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and iwe under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Logseq and iwe?
Logseq is written in Clojure and iwe in Rust. 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 iwe?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (45,024 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose iwe if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.