head to head · open source
AppFlowy vs Open-Notebook
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars, 6,160 forks, 1,030 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Open-Notebook has 41,377 stars, 4,762 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. AppFlowy leads on adoption by 89% (78,112 vs 41,377 stars). AppFlowy is written in Dart under AGPL-3.0; Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT. AppFlowy has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Open-Notebook 12%. Open-Notebook was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| AppFlowy | Open-Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 41K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Dart | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.2K | ⑂ 4.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick AppFlowy if
- You weight community size — 78K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Open-Notebook if
- You want the Open-Notebook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Open-Notebook fits your workflow better
About AppFlowy
AppFlowy ⭐️ The Open Source Alternative To Notion ⭐️ AppFlowy is the AI workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data Website • Forum • Discord • Reddit • Twitter User Installation Download AppFlowy Desktop (macOS, Windows, and Linux) Other channels: FlatHub, Snapcraft, Sourceforge Available on App Store: iPhone Play Store: Android 10 or above; ARMv7 is not supported Self hosting AppFlowy Source Built With Flutter Rust Stay Up to Date Getting Started with development Please view the documentation for OS specific development instructions Roadmap AppFlowy Roadmap ReadMe AppFlowy Public…
read the full AppFlowy overview →
About Open-Notebook
[![Forks][forks shield]][forks url] [![Stargazers][stars shield]][stars url] [![Issues][issues shield]][issues url] [![MIT License][license shield]][license url] Open Notebook An open source, privacy focused alternative to Google's Notebook LM! Join our Discord server for help, to share workflow ideas, and suggest features! Checkout our website » Follow @lfnovo on X for updates 📚 Get Started · 📖 User Guide · ✨ Features · 🚀 Deploy Deutsch Español français 日本語 한국어 Português Русский 中文 A private, multi model, 100% local, full featured alternative to Notebook LM In a world dominated by Artificial Intelligence…
read the full Open-Notebook 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 AppFlowy or Open-Notebook more popular?
AppFlowy has 78,112 GitHub stars and Open-Notebook has 41,377. AppFlowy has the larger community by that measure.
Are AppFlowy and Open-Notebook free?
Both are open source. AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Open-Notebook under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between AppFlowy and Open-Notebook?
AppFlowy is written in Dart and Open-Notebook 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, AppFlowy or Open-Notebook?
Choose AppFlowy if you want the larger community (78,112 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Open-Notebook if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.