head to head · open source
Memos vs Notesnook
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars, 4,766 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Notesnook has 14,604 stars, 1,007 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Memos leads on adoption by 332% (63,129 vs 14,604 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Memos was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (foss, 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 | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 Notesnook if
- You want the Notesnook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Notesnook 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 Notesnook
Notesnook is an open source, end to end encrypted note taking application in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem. It is presented as a free alternative to Evernote, with clients for the web, desktop, and mobile platforms. The project uses a TypeScript and JavaScript monorepo, React for the interface, React Native for mobile apps, and Electron for the desktop app.
read the full Notesnook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Notesnook more popular?
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,604. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and Notesnook?
Memos is written in Go and Notesnook 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 Notesnook?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,129 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.