head to head · open source
Open-Notebook vs Notesnook
Open-Notebook has 39,087 GitHub stars, 4,527 forks, 110 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. Notesnook has 14,604 stars, 1,007 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Open-Notebook leads on adoption by 168% (39,087 vs 14,604 stars). Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript under MIT; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Open-Notebook has attracted 12% 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. The two share 3 topic tags (note-taking, notebook, 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
| Open-Notebook | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 39K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-13 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.5K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Open-Notebook if
- You weight community size — 39K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Open-Notebook
Open Notebook is an open source, privacy focused research notebook that replicates and extends Google’s Notebook LM functionality. It runs locally or self hosted, letting users manage AI powered research workflows without surrendering data to cloud providers. Built with TypeScript, Next.js, React, SurrealDB, and LangChain, it targets researchers, students, and knowledge workers seeking control over their data and tools.
read the full Open-Notebook 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 Open-Notebook or Notesnook more popular?
Open-Notebook has 39,087 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,604. Open-Notebook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Open-Notebook and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Open-Notebook is licensed under MIT and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Open-Notebook and Notesnook?
Open-Notebook is written in TypeScript 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, Open-Notebook or Notesnook?
Choose Open-Notebook if you want the larger community (39,087 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.