head to head · open source
Zotero vs QOwnNotes
Zotero has 15,327 GitHub stars, 1,124 forks, 1,600 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. QOwnNotes has 5,884 stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zotero leads on adoption by 160% (15,327 vs 5,884 stars). Zotero is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Zotero has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 8%. QOwnNotes 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
| Zotero | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 500 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zotero if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 Zotero
Zotero is a free tool for research sources. It lives in the JavaScript application ecosystem and is listed under Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management. The provided GitHub metadata reports 15,272 stars, 1,117 forks, 1,600 open issues, 0 contributors, a repository age of 0 years, and a last push timestamp of 2026 09 14T16:40:51Z. The homepage is https://www.zotero.org, and no topics are listed. The license field is NOASSERTION.
read the full Zotero overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zotero or QOwnNotes more popular?
Zotero has 15,327 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,884. Zotero has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zotero and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Zotero has no licence declared in this registry, and QOwnNotes is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Zotero and QOwnNotes?
Zotero is written in JavaScript 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, Zotero or QOwnNotes?
Choose Zotero if you want the larger community (15,327 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.