head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Paperling
SiYuan has 47,186 GitHub stars, 3,114 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Paperling has 598 stars, 40 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. SiYuan leads on adoption by 7,791% (47,186 vs 598 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Paperling is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Paperling 7%. SiYuan was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (markdown, 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 | Paperling | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 598 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-11-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 40 |
| 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 Paperling if
- You want the Paperling feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Paperling 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 Paperling
Paperling A no setup Markdown reader and editor. Open any .md file and read it beautifully, edit with live preview (math, chemistry, and diagrams as you type), and use an optional free AI that proposes edits you accept or reject inline. No vaults, no plugins, no heavy app. Built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript. ⬇ Download · Website · Features · Contribute 📱 Now on Android — get the APK from the releases page . Why Paperling? As a developer, I frequently work with markdown files for documentation, notes, and project READMEs. The frustration of opening .md files in Notepad or basic text editors, only to see…
read the full Paperling overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Paperling more popular?
SiYuan has 47,186 GitHub stars and Paperling has 598. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Paperling free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Paperling under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Paperling?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Paperling 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 Paperling?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,186 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Paperling if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.