head to head · open source
Memos vs Beaver Notes
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars, 4,766 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Beaver Notes has 1,344 stars, 65 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Memos leads on adoption by 4,597% (63,129 vs 1,344 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; Beaver Notes is written in JavaScript under MIT. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Beaver Notes 5%. Memos 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
| Memos | Beaver Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 65 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Memos if
- You weight community size — 63K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Beaver Notes if
- You want the Beaver Notes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Beaver Notes fits your workflow better
About Memos
Memos is an open source, self hosted note taking tool designed for rapid capture of short form content like daily logs, links, code snippets, and microblog style entries. It lives in the Go ecosystem and uses a Markdown native, timeline based interface. Unlike traditional note apps that enforce folders or rigid templates, Memos prioritizes speed and simplicity: users write in Markdown, attach media, and save without selecting titles or locations.
read the full Memos overview →
About Beaver Notes
Beaver Notes is an open source, local first workspace for notes, projects, and meetings. It is a JavaScript application under the MIT license, and it presents itself as a privacy focused note taking tool. The core idea is that notes stay on the user's device unless the user explicitly chooses a sync method.
read the full Beaver Notes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Beaver Notes more popular?
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars and Beaver Notes has 1,344. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and Beaver Notes free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and Beaver Notes under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and Beaver Notes?
Memos is written in Go and Beaver Notes 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, Memos or Beaver Notes?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,129 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Beaver Notes if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.