head to head · open source
Zotero vs Notesnook
Zotero has 15,327 GitHub stars, 1,124 forks, 1,600 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Notesnook has 14,614 stars, 1,009 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Zotero leads on adoption by 5% (15,327 vs 14,614 stars). Zotero is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Zotero has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Notesnook was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Zotero | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 15K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zotero if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 Zotero
Zotero is a free tool for research sources. It lives in the JavaScript application ecosystem and is listed under Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management. The provided GitHub metadata reports 15,272 stars, 1,117 forks, 1,600 open issues, 0 contributors, a repository age of 0 years, and a last push timestamp of 2026 09 14T16:40:51Z. The homepage is https://www.zotero.org, and no topics are listed. The license field is NOASSERTION.
read the full Zotero 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 Zotero or Notesnook more popular?
Zotero has 15,327 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,614. Zotero has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zotero and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Zotero has no licence declared in this registry, and Notesnook is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Zotero and Notesnook?
Zotero is written in JavaScript 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, Zotero or Notesnook?
Choose Zotero if you want the larger community (15,327 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.