head to head · open source
Joplin vs Outline
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars, 6,296 forks, 632 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Outline has 40,590 stars, 3,562 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Joplin leads on adoption by 39% (56,416 vs 40,590 stars). Joplin is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Joplin has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, Outline 9%. Joplin was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (javascript, nodejs), 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
| Joplin | Outline | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 56K | ★ 41K |
| License | Custom / other | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.3K | ⑂ 3.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Joplin if
- You weight community size — 56K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Outline if
- You want the Outline feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Outline fits your workflow better
About Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source, privacy focused note taking and to do application that keeps notes as Markdown on your own device and synchronises them, end to end encrypted, across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
read the full Joplin overview →
About Outline
Outline is an open source knowledge base application built with React and Node.js, designed for teams needing a fast, collaborative documentation platform. It runs as a self hosted service or via a hosted option at getoutline.com, and its source code powers the public instance along with all supporting services. The project lives in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and uses MobX for state management.
read the full Outline overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Outline more popular?
Joplin has 56,416 GitHub stars and Outline has 40,590. Joplin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Joplin and Outline free?
Neither Joplin nor Outline declares a licence in this registry, so check each project's own repository before relying on either for a commercial use. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Joplin and Outline?
Joplin is written in TypeScript and Outline 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, Joplin or Outline?
Choose Joplin if you want the larger community (56,416 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Outline if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.