head to head · open source
Logseq vs Open-Notebook
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars, 2,815 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open-Notebook has 39,087 stars, 4,527 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Logseq leads on adoption by 15% (44,955 vs 39,087 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Open-Notebook 12%. 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 | Open-Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 39K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Clojure | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 4.5K |
| 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 Open-Notebook if
- You want the Open-Notebook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Open-Notebook 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 Open-Notebook
Open Notebook is an open source, privacy focused research notebook that replicates and extends Google’s Notebook LM functionality. It runs locally or self hosted, letting users manage AI powered research workflows without surrendering data to cloud providers. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, React, SurrealDB, and LangChain, it targets researchers, students, and knowledge workers seeking control over their data and tools.
read the full Open-Notebook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or Open-Notebook more popular?
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars and Open-Notebook has 39,087. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and Open-Notebook free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Open-Notebook under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Logseq and Open-Notebook?
Logseq is written in Clojure and Open-Notebook 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, Logseq or Open-Notebook?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (44,955 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Open-Notebook if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.