head to head · open source
Logseq vs QOwnNotes
Logseq has 45,460 GitHub stars, 2,866 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. QOwnNotes has 5,939 stars, 498 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Logseq leads on adoption by 665% (45,460 vs 5,939 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 8%. QOwnNotes was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (local-first, markdown, 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 | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Clojure | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 498 |
| 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 QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes Installation Changelog Issues Shortcuts Documentation Privacy Policy Screenshots Nextcloud API App ownCloud API App Matrix room Telegram Group IRC Chat Mastodon QOwnNotes Web Companion Firefox extension QOwnNotes Web Companion Chrome extension QOwnNotes Web App QOwnNotes Tor Hidden Service QOwnNotes is the open source notepad with Markdown support and todo list manager for GNU/Linux , macOS and Windows , that works together with Nextcloud Notes and ownCloud Notes . You are able to write down your thoughts with QOwnNotes and edit or search for them later from your mobile device , like with QOwnNotes…
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or QOwnNotes more popular?
Logseq has 45,460 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,939. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Logseq and QOwnNotes?
Logseq is written in Clojure and QOwnNotes in C++. 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 QOwnNotes?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (45,460 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.