head to head · open source
Memos vs mindforger
Memos has 63,163 GitHub stars, 4,768 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mindforger has 2,719 stars, 173 forks, 625 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Memos leads on adoption by 2,223% (63,163 vs 2,719 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; mindforger is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, mindforger 6%. Memos was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (markdown), 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 | mindforger | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 173 |
| 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 mindforger if
- You want the mindforger 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 mindforger 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 mindforger
MindForger is a free, open source thinking notebook and Markdown editor for people who keep private remarks — ideas, personal plans, gift tips, how tos, dreams, business vision, finance strategy, auto coaching notes — on their own machine and want to find and connect them again instead of scattering them across the file system, cloud, web, and Post it notes.
read the full mindforger overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or mindforger more popular?
Memos has 63,163 GitHub stars and mindforger has 2,719. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and mindforger free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and mindforger under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and mindforger?
Memos is written in Go and mindforger 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, Memos or mindforger?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,163 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mindforger if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.