head to head · open source
Outline vs Notesnook
Outline has 41,145 GitHub stars, 3,650 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Notesnook has 14,875 stars, 1,042 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Outline leads on adoption by 177% (41,145 vs 14,875 stars). Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Outline has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Outline 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
| Outline | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 15K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Outline if
- You weight community size — 41K 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 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 Outline
A fast, collaborative, knowledge base for your team built using React and Node.js. Try out Outline using our hosted version at www.getoutline.com . This is the source code that runs Outline and all the associated services. If you want to use Outline then you don't need to run this code, A hosted version of the app is offered at getoutline.com. You can also find documentation on using Outline in our guide. If you'd like to run your own copy of Outline or contribute to development then this is the place for you. Installation Please see the documentation for running your own copy of Outline in a production…
read the full Outline overview →
About Notesnook
Notesnook An end to end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote. Website About us Roadmap Downloads Twitter Discord Overview Notesnook is a free (as in speech) & open source note taking app focused on user privacy & ease of use. To ensure zero knowledge principles, Notesnook encrypts everything on your device using XChaCha20 Poly1305 & Argon2 . Notesnook is our proof that privacy does not (always) have to come at the cost of convenience. We aim to provide users peace of mind & 100% confidence that their notes are safe and secure. The decision to go fully open source is one of the most crucial steps towards…
read the full Notesnook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Outline or Notesnook more popular?
Outline has 41,145 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,875. Outline has the larger community by that measure.
Are Outline and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Outline 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 Outline and Notesnook?
Outline 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, Outline or Notesnook?
Choose Outline if you want the larger community (41,145 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.