head to head · open source
SiYuan vs OpenNotas
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenNotas has 179 stars, 19 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 25,827% (46,409 vs 179 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; OpenNotas is written in Vue under a custom or non-standard licence. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, OpenNotas 11%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | OpenNotas | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 179 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 19 |
| 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 OpenNotas if
- You want the OpenNotas feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and OpenNotas 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 OpenNotas
OpenNotas is a free, open source, cross platform personal note taking application delivered as a Progressive Web App for anyone who wants to capture text and Markdown notes quickly on mobile or desktop without paying for a subscription.
read the full OpenNotas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or OpenNotas more popular?
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars and OpenNotas has 179. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and OpenNotas free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and OpenNotas has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SiYuan and OpenNotas?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and OpenNotas in Vue. 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 OpenNotas?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose OpenNotas if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.