head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Justnote
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars, 3,095 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Justnote has 67 stars, 6 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 9 months ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 70,107% (47,039 vs 67 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Justnote is written in TypeScript under GPL-2.0. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Justnote 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 | Justnote | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 67 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-02-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 6 |
| 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 Justnote if
- You want the Justnote feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Justnote 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 Justnote
Justnote Justnote is a privacy focused note taking app that you can use easily, take notes rapidly, and, importantly, truly own your account and data. 🎨 Features End to end encryption with the decryption key only you know Available on the web, Android, and iOS Nested lists (folders), pin to the top, tags, lock lists & notes, and dark mode 📸 Screenshots 🖇️ More Links Support FAQs Documentation Blog 🤖 Tech Stack Web: React, Redux, TailwindCSS, Stacks, CKEditor Mobile: React Native 💻 Run Locally Clone the project Go to the web or mobile directory Install dependencies Start the server ❤️ Feedback and…
read the full Justnote overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Justnote more popular?
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars and Justnote has 67. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Justnote free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Justnote under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Justnote?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Justnote 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 Justnote?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,039 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Justnote if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.