head to head · open source
saber vs IdeaMemo
saber has 5,018 GitHub stars, 424 forks, 401 open issues and last shipped today. IdeaMemo has 1,170 stars, 167 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. saber leads on adoption by 329% (5,018 vs 1,170 stars). saber is written in Dart under GPL-3.0; IdeaMemo is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. saber has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, IdeaMemo 14%. saber was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (android, notes-app), 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
| saber | IdeaMemo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.0K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Dart | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 424 | ⑂ 167 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick saber if
- You weight community size — 5.0K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick IdeaMemo if
- You want the IdeaMemo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and IdeaMemo fits your workflow better
About saber
Saber [ ][google play] [ ][f droid] [ ][app store] [ ][download windows] [ ][flathub] [ ][download appimage] English čeština Deutsch 中文 (简体中文, 中国) 中文 (繁體, 台灣) العربية Tiếng Việt Saber is the notes app built for handwriting. It's designed to be as simple and intuitive as possible, while still delivering unique features that you'll actually use. Additionally, Saber is available across all your devices, large and small, and syncs between them seamlessly. Notably, it can invert your notes when you're in dark mode. This allows you to write with white ink on a black background, which is much easier on the eyes in low…
read the full saber overview →
About IdeaMemo
IdeaMemo A quick record app written with Jetpack Compose. 简体中文 English 🖌️ Screenshots ✨ Features IdeaMemo is an Android lightweight note taking app. Here are the current features: Privacy First : No need to apply any permissions, all runtime data is firmly stored in your local database or can be uploaded to your own WEBDAV private cloud. Simplicity and cleanliness : Indexed by TAG , it supports mixed text and graphics to record and organize your sudden inspirations. But as a card note, it is not recommended to record too long text. Review at any time : Support calendar view, heatmap and random walk to review…
read the full IdeaMemo overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is saber or IdeaMemo more popular?
saber has 5,018 GitHub stars and IdeaMemo has 1,170. saber has the larger community by that measure.
Are saber and IdeaMemo free?
Both are open source. saber is licensed under GPL-3.0 and IdeaMemo under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between saber and IdeaMemo?
saber is written in Dart and IdeaMemo in Kotlin. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, saber or IdeaMemo?
Choose saber if you want the larger community (5,018 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose IdeaMemo if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.