head to head · open source
Memos vs QOwnNotes
Memos has 63,155 GitHub stars, 4,769 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QOwnNotes has 5,882 stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Memos leads on adoption by 974% (63,155 vs 5,882 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 9%. Memos was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (markdown, 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 | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 500 |
| 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 QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a GPL 2.0 licensed, C++ plain text notepad and todo list manager with Markdown support for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows that stores every note as a Markdown file and pairs with Nextcloud or ownCloud so the same notes stay readable on mobile and in the web service.
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or QOwnNotes more popular?
Memos has 63,155 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,882. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and QOwnNotes?
Memos is written in Go and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,155 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.