head to head · open source
SiYuan vs AnyType
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnyType has 8,828 stars, 580 forks, 209 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 426% (46,409 vs 8,828 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; AnyType is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, AnyType 7%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| SiYuan | AnyType | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 8.8K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 580 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SiYuan if
- You weight community size — 46K 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 AnyType if
- You want the AnyType feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and AnyType fits your workflow better
About SiYuan
SiYuan is an open source, self hosted knowledge management system built for privacy first workflows. It operates as a local first workspace where users store data in encrypted repositories on their own infrastructure, avoiding reliance on third party cloud services. The project lives in the productivity and utilities ecosystem, specifically targeting note taking and knowledge management use cases, and positions itself as a privacy respecting alternative to Notion.
read the full SiYuan overview →
About AnyType
Anytype Desktop is the official cross platform client for Anytype, a local first, peer to peer, end to end encrypted personal knowledge base for macOS, Windows and Linux, built for people who want Notion style pages, tasks and databases while keeping their data on their own devices.
read the full AnyType overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or AnyType more popular?
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars and AnyType has 8,828. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and AnyType free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and AnyType has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SiYuan and AnyType?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and AnyType 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, SiYuan or AnyType?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose AnyType if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.