head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Textus
SiYuan has 47,033 GitHub stars, 3,094 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Textus has 567 stars, 30 forks, 16 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 8,195% (47,033 vs 567 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Textus is written in TypeScript under MIT. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Textus 5%. Textus 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 | Textus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 567 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 30 |
| 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 Textus if
- You want the Textus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Textus 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 Textus
Textus The next generation Markdown editor. You hold the pen. AI keeps your ink flowing. Website · Download English · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Deutsch · Русский · Português Watch on YouTube · Bilibili Hamlet , William Shakespeare Get Textus Free and open source, under the MIT license. iOS and iPadOS are coming soon. Beta: in Settings › General › About Textus , set Update channel to Beta . Writing What you see is what you get, laid out with Markdown as you type. Export to PDF, Word, HTML and more. Textus AI Works with online and local LLMs alike AI that speeds your writing along. Plugins (in…
read the full Textus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Textus more popular?
SiYuan has 47,033 GitHub stars and Textus has 567. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Textus free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Textus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Textus?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Textus 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 Textus?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,033 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Textus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.