head to head · open source
SiYuan vs SurfSense
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SurfSense has 16,159 stars, 1,537 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 187% (46,409 vs 16,159 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, SurfSense 10%. SurfSense 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 | SurfSense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 16K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| 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 SurfSense if
- You want the SurfSense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SurfSense 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 SurfSense
SurfSense is an open source NotebookLM alternative and privacy first knowledge base that can work with any AI model chosen by the user. It is a Python productivity and knowledge management project in the agent, RAG, LangChain, LangGraph, FastAPI, Next.js, and Ollama ecosystem. The project presents itself as an open web research platform for AI agents, with live data connectors and a built in knowledge base that keeps findings searchable with citations.
read the full SurfSense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or SurfSense more popular?
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars and SurfSense has 16,159. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and SurfSense free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SiYuan and SurfSense?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and SurfSense in Python. 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 SurfSense?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose SurfSense if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.