head to head · open source
SiYuan vs NotallyX
SiYuan has 46,493 GitHub stars, 3,025 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped today. NotallyX has 743 stars, 50 forks, 297 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 6,157% (46,493 vs 743 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; NotallyX is written in Kotlin under GPL-3.0. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, NotallyX 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 (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| SiYuan | NotallyX | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 743 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-25 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 50 |
| 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 NotallyX if
- You want the NotallyX 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 NotallyX 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 NotallyX
NotallyX is a minimalistic, open source Android note taking and task list application written in Kotlin under the GPL 3.0 licence, aimed at Android users who want a lightweight local notes app and who are willing to install and back it up themselves — it is the extended fork of the original Notally app.
read the full NotallyX 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 NotallyX more popular?
SiYuan has 46,493 GitHub stars and NotallyX has 743. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and NotallyX free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and NotallyX under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and NotallyX?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and NotallyX 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, SiYuan or NotallyX?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,493 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose NotallyX if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.