head to head · open source
Memos vs Standard Notes
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars, 4,766 forks, 67 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Standard Notes has 6,633 stars, 551 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Memos leads on adoption by 852% (63,129 vs 6,633 stars). Memos is written in Go under MIT; Standard Notes is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Memos has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Standard Notes 8%. 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 | Standard Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 63K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.8K | ⑂ 551 |
| 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 Standard Notes if
- You want the Standard Notes 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 Standard 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 Standard Notes
Standard Notes is an end to end encrypted note taking application for individuals and professionals who want to capture notes, files, and long term work in a place only they can read, with clients on Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and the web.
read the full Standard Notes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Memos or Standard Notes more popular?
Memos has 63,129 GitHub stars and Standard Notes has 6,633. Memos has the larger community by that measure.
Are Memos and Standard Notes free?
Both are open source. Memos is licensed under MIT and Standard Notes under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Memos and Standard Notes?
Memos is written in Go and Standard Notes 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 Standard Notes?
Choose Memos if you want the larger community (63,129 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Standard Notes if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.