head to head · open source
MiaoYan vs IdeaMemo
MiaoYan has 8,741 GitHub stars, 522 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped today. IdeaMemo has 1,170 stars, 167 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. MiaoYan leads on adoption by 647% (8,741 vs 1,170 stars). MiaoYan is written in Swift under MIT; IdeaMemo is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. MiaoYan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, IdeaMemo 14%. MiaoYan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (notes-app), 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
| MiaoYan | IdeaMemo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.7K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Swift | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 522 | ⑂ 167 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick MiaoYan if
- You weight community size — 8.7K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick IdeaMemo if
- You want the IdeaMemo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and IdeaMemo fits your workflow better
About MiaoYan
English 简体中文 MiaoYan Lightweight Markdown note taking app for macOS Features Fantastic : Local first, no data collection, split editor & preview, wikilink backlinks, LaTeX, Mermaid Beautiful : Minimalist design, three column layout, dark mode, macOS 26 glass, distraction free Fast : Swift 6 native, better performance than Electron based apps Simple : Lightweight, version history, keyboard shortcuts, auto formatting Installation 1. Mac App Store (paid, automatic updates): 2. Homebrew : 3. GitHub Releases : download the latest DMG from GitHub Releases (macOS 11.5+) All three options share the same codebase and…
read the full MiaoYan overview →
About IdeaMemo
IdeaMemo A quick record app written with Jetpack Compose. 简体中文 English 🖌️ Screenshots ✨ Features IdeaMemo is an Android lightweight note taking app. Here are the current features: Privacy First : No need to apply any permissions, all runtime data is firmly stored in your local database or can be uploaded to your own WEBDAV private cloud. Simplicity and cleanliness : Indexed by TAG , it supports mixed text and graphics to record and organize your sudden inspirations. But as a card note, it is not recommended to record too long text. Review at any time : Support calendar view, heatmap and random walk to review…
read the full IdeaMemo overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is MiaoYan or IdeaMemo more popular?
MiaoYan has 8,741 GitHub stars and IdeaMemo has 1,170. MiaoYan has the larger community by that measure.
Are MiaoYan and IdeaMemo free?
Both are open source. MiaoYan is licensed under MIT and IdeaMemo under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between MiaoYan and IdeaMemo?
MiaoYan is written in Swift and IdeaMemo in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, MiaoYan or IdeaMemo?
Choose MiaoYan if you want the larger community (8,741 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose IdeaMemo if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.