head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Blinko
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars, 3,095 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Blinko has 11,153 stars, 791 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 322% (47,039 vs 11,153 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Blinko is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Blinko 7%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (markdown, self-hosted), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| SiYuan | Blinko | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 11K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 791 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SiYuan if
- You weight community size — 47K 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 Blinko if
- You want the Blinko feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Blinko fits your workflow better
About SiYuan
From thought to insight, with agents English 中文 日本語 Türkçe Table of Contents 💡 Introduction 🔮 Features 🏗️ Architecture and Ecosystem 🗺️ Roadmap 🚀 Download Setup App Market Installation Package Package Manager Docker Hosting Unraid Hosting TrueNAS Hosting Test Channels ⌨️ Command line Interface 🏘️ Community 🛠️ Development Guide ❓ FAQ How does SiYuan store data? Does it support data synchronization through a third party sync disk? Is SiYuan open source? How to upgrade to a new version? What if some blocks (such as paragraph blocks in list items) cannot find the block icon? What should I do if the data repo…
read the full SiYuan overview →
About Blinko
Blinko Live Demo • Official Site • Documents • Telegram Chinese • Telegram English • 中文 Live Demo: username:blinko password:blinko Blinko is an AI powered card note taking project. Designed for individuals who want to quickly capture and organize their fleeting thoughts. Blinko allows users to seamlessly jot down ideas the moment they strike, ensuring that no spark of creativity is lost. 🚀Main Features 🤖 AI Enhanced Note Retrieval ：With Blinko's advanced AI powered RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), you can quickly search and access your notes using natural language queries, making it effortless to find…
read the full Blinko overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Blinko more popular?
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars and Blinko has 11,153. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Blinko free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Blinko under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Blinko?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Blinko 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 Blinko?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,039 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Blinko if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.