head to head · open source
QOwnNotes vs thoughtdag
QOwnNotes has 5,890 GitHub stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. thoughtdag has 511 stars, 50 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped yesterday. QOwnNotes leads on adoption by 1,053% (5,890 vs 511 stars). QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0; thoughtdag is written in TypeScript under MIT. QOwnNotes has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, thoughtdag 10%. thoughtdag was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (llm, local-first), 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
| QOwnNotes | thoughtdag | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.9K | ★ 511 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-30 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 500 | ⑂ 50 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick QOwnNotes if
- You weight community size — 5.9K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick thoughtdag if
- You want the thoughtdag feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and thoughtdag fits your workflow better
About QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a GPL 2.0 licensed, C++ plain text notepad and todo list manager with Markdown support for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows that stores every note as a Markdown file and pairs with Nextcloud or ownCloud so the same notes stay readable on mobile and in the web service.
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
About thoughtdag
ThoughtDAG is an MIT licensed TypeScript application that turns LLM conversations into an editable thought graph on an infinite canvas, where each exchange becomes a node and the wires between nodes, rather than the whole transcript, decide what the model sees next; it is built for people who branch into side questions and want to keep the useful paths.
read the full thoughtdag overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is QOwnNotes or thoughtdag more popular?
QOwnNotes has 5,890 GitHub stars and thoughtdag has 511. QOwnNotes has the larger community by that measure.
Are QOwnNotes and thoughtdag free?
Both are open source. QOwnNotes is licensed under GPL-2.0 and thoughtdag under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between QOwnNotes and thoughtdag?
QOwnNotes is written in C++ and thoughtdag 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, QOwnNotes or thoughtdag?
Choose QOwnNotes if you want the larger community (5,890 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose thoughtdag if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.