head to head · open source
Memos vs DeepNotes
Memos has 63,296 GitHub stars, 4,781 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. DeepNotes has 604 stars, 54 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. Memos leads on adoption by 10,379% (63,296 vs 604 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; DeepNotes is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, DeepNotes 9%. Memos 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
| Memos | DeepNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 604 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-06-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 54 |
| 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 DeepNotes if
- You want the DeepNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and DeepNotes 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 DeepNotes
DeepNotes is an open source, end to end encrypted visual note taking tool that arranges notes on an infinite canvas with deeply nested pages and realtime collaboration, aimed at individuals and teams who want private, self hostable knowledge management.
read the full DeepNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or DeepNotes more popular?
Memos has 63,296 GitHub stars and DeepNotes has 604. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and DeepNotes free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and DeepNotes under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and DeepNotes?
Memos is written in Go and DeepNotes 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, Memos or DeepNotes?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,296 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose DeepNotes if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.