head to head · open source
Docmost vs QOwnNotes
Docmost has 22,215 GitHub stars, 1,666 forks, 326 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QOwnNotes has 5,942 stars, 498 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Docmost leads on adoption by 274% (22,215 vs 5,942 stars). Docmost is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Docmost has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 8%. Docmost 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
| Docmost | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 498 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Docmost if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and QOwnNotes fits your workflow better
About Docmost
Docmost Open source collaborative wiki and documentation software. Website Documentation Twitter / X Getting started To get started with Docmost, please refer to our documentation or try our cloud version . Features Real time collaboration Diagrams (Draw.io, Excalidraw and Mermaid) Spaces Permissions management Groups Comments Page history Search File attachments Embeds (Airtable, Loom, Miro and more) Translations (10+ languages) Screenshots License Docmost core is licensed under the open source AGPL 3.0 license. Enterprise features are available under an enterprise license (Enterprise Edition). All files in the…
read the full Docmost overview →
About QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes Installation Changelog Issues Shortcuts Documentation Privacy Policy Screenshots Nextcloud API App ownCloud API App Matrix room Telegram Group IRC Chat Mastodon QOwnNotes Web Companion Firefox extension QOwnNotes Web Companion Chrome extension QOwnNotes Web App QOwnNotes Tor Hidden Service QOwnNotes is the open source notepad with Markdown support and todo list manager for GNU/Linux , macOS and Windows , that works together with Nextcloud Notes and ownCloud Notes . You are able to write down your thoughts with QOwnNotes and edit or search for them later from your mobile device , like with QOwnNotes…
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Docmost or QOwnNotes more popular?
Docmost has 22,215 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,942. Docmost has the larger community by that measure.
Are Docmost and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Docmost is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Docmost and QOwnNotes?
Docmost is written in TypeScript and QOwnNotes in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Docmost or QOwnNotes?
Choose Docmost if you want the larger community (22,215 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.