head to head · open source
jsdoc vs poznote
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars, 1,492 forks, 459 open issues and last shipped yesterday. poznote has 852 stars, 35 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. jsdoc leads on adoption by 1,715% (15,465 vs 852 stars). jsdoc is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; poznote is written in JavaScript under MIT. jsdoc has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, poznote 4%. jsdoc was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (documentation), 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
| jsdoc | poznote | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 852 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 35 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick jsdoc if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick poznote if
- You want the poznote feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and poznote fits your workflow better
About jsdoc
JSDoc is an API documentation generator for JavaScript that reads annotations in source comments and produces a browsable documentation site, aimed at JavaScript developers and library maintainers who need reference documentation to stay in sync with code.
read the full jsdoc overview →
About poznote
Poznote is a free, self hosted, open source note taking web application for individuals, homelabs, and teams who want Notion , Obsidian , Evernote , or OneNote style notes running on hardware they control.
read the full poznote overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is jsdoc or poznote more popular?
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars and poznote has 852. jsdoc has the larger community by that measure.
Are jsdoc and poznote free?
Both are open source. jsdoc is licensed under Apache-2.0 and poznote under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between jsdoc and poznote?
jsdoc is written in JavaScript and poznote in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, jsdoc or poznote?
Choose jsdoc if you want the larger community (15,465 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose poznote if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.