head to head · open source
Notesnook vs IdeaMemo
Notesnook has 14,622 GitHub stars, 1,009 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped today. IdeaMemo has 1,158 stars, 164 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Notesnook leads on adoption by 1,163% (14,622 vs 1,158 stars). Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; IdeaMemo is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. Notesnook has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, IdeaMemo 14%. Notesnook 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Notesnook | IdeaMemo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-08-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 164 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Notesnook if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 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 →
About IdeaMemo
IdeaMemo is a free, open source Android quick capture memo app written in Kotlin with Jetpack Compose under the GPL 3.0 licence, for Android users who want to record short ideas in a local database and optionally sync them to their own WebDAV cloud.
read the full IdeaMemo overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Notesnook or IdeaMemo more popular?
Notesnook has 14,622 GitHub stars and IdeaMemo has 1,158. Notesnook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Notesnook and IdeaMemo free?
Both are open source. Notesnook is licensed under GPL-3.0 and IdeaMemo under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Notesnook and IdeaMemo?
Notesnook is written in TypeScript 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, Notesnook or IdeaMemo?
Choose Notesnook if you want the larger community (14,622 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose IdeaMemo if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.