head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Logseq
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Logseq has 44,955 stars, 2,815 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 3% (46,409 vs 44,955 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Logseq 6%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (knowledge-base, 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
| SiYuan | Logseq | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 45K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Clojure |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SiYuan if
- You weight community size — 46K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Logseq if
- You want the Logseq feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Clojure
- You evaluated both and Logseq fits your workflow better
About SiYuan
SiYuan is an open source, self hosted knowledge management system built for privacy first workflows. It operates as a local first workspace where users store data in encrypted repositories on their own infrastructure, avoiding reliance on third party cloud services. The project lives in the productivity and utilities ecosystem, specifically targeting note taking and knowledge management use cases, and positions itself as a privacy respecting alternative to Notion.
read the full SiYuan overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Logseq more popular?
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars and Logseq has 44,955. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Logseq free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Logseq under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Logseq?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Logseq in Clojure. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, SiYuan or Logseq?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Logseq if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.