head to head · open source
SiYuan vs DeepNotes
SiYuan has 47,118 GitHub stars, 3,104 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. DeepNotes has 608 stars, 56 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 7,650% (47,118 vs 608 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; DeepNotes is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, DeepNotes 9%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (note-taking), 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 | DeepNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 608 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-08 | 2026-06-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 56 |
| 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 DeepNotes if
- You want the DeepNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and DeepNotes 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 DeepNotes
DeepNotes Website: DeepNotes is an open source, end to end encrypted infinite canvas tool with deep page nesting and realtime collaboration. Why DeepNotes? Infinite canvases: Free yourself from the big wall of text. Deep page nesting: Explore concepts in all their complexity. End to end encryption: Keep your notes well protected. Realtime collaboration: Create groups to collaborate with your team. Flexible note system: Organize your notes in whatever way you want. Lifelong storage: Never lose your notes ever again. Development (On Windows, use WSL or Git Bash to run the commands above) 1. Run pnpm run dev to…
read the full DeepNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or DeepNotes more popular?
SiYuan has 47,118 GitHub stars and DeepNotes has 608. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and DeepNotes free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and DeepNotes under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and DeepNotes?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and DeepNotes 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 DeepNotes?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,118 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose DeepNotes if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.