head to head · open source
SiYuan vs OpenNotas
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars, 3,095 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenNotas has 179 stars, 19 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 26,179% (47,039 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 7% 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 | ★ 47K | ★ 179 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 19 |
| 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 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
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 OpenNotas
OpenNotas A Simple, Lightweight, Cross Platform Personal Note Taking Application. Focusing on Security and Completely Free. Features If you're tired of numerous complex note taking apps with too many features that are difficult to use, then try OpenNotas. OpenNotas is an open source note taking application, cross platform based on PWA, focusing on security and device synchronization . Follows the philosophy of "simplicity in usage" , catering to anyone who needs to quickly and reliably jot down their notes in text format. OpenNotas supports Markdown , utilizing open source text editing tools that can easily be…
read the full OpenNotas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or OpenNotas more popular?
SiYuan has 47,039 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 (47,039 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.