head to head · open source
Logseq vs Zotero
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars, 2,815 forks, 942 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zotero has 15,308 stars, 1,120 forks, 1,600 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Logseq leads on adoption by 194% (44,955 vs 15,308 stars). Logseq is written in Clojure under AGPL-3.0; Zotero is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Logseq has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Zotero 7%. Logseq was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Zotero | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 15K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Clojure | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 1.1K |
| 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 Zotero if
- You want the Zotero feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Zotero 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 Zotero
Zotero is a free tool for research sources. It lives in the JavaScript application ecosystem and is listed under Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management. The provided GitHub metadata reports 15,272 stars, 1,117 forks, 1,600 open issues, 0 contributors, a repository age of 0 years, and a last push timestamp of 2026 09 14T16:40:51Z. The homepage is https://www.zotero.org, and no topics are listed. The license field is NOASSERTION.
read the full Zotero overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Logseq or Zotero more popular?
Logseq has 44,955 GitHub stars and Zotero has 15,308. Logseq has the larger community by that measure.
Are Logseq and Zotero free?
Both are open source. Logseq is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Zotero has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Logseq and Zotero?
Logseq is written in Clojure and Zotero in JavaScript. 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 Zotero?
Choose Logseq if you want the larger community (44,955 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zotero if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.