head to head · open source
SiYuan vs XWiki
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars, 3,012 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. XWiki has 1,311 stars, 663 forks, 218 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 3,440% (46,409 vs 1,311 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; XWiki is written in Java under LGPL-2.1. SiYuan has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, XWiki 51%. XWiki 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 | XWiki | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 46K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 663 |
| 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 XWiki if
- You want the XWiki feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and XWiki 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 XWiki
XWiki is an open source knowledge management and collaboration platform written in Java and licensed under LGPL 2.1. It is described as a generic wiki platform, and it lives in the Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management category. The project is part of the XWiki.org software forge, where XWiki Commons, XWiki Rendering, and XWiki Platform are released together and share the same version.
read the full XWiki overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or XWiki more popular?
SiYuan has 46,409 GitHub stars and XWiki has 1,311. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and XWiki free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and XWiki under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SiYuan and XWiki?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and XWiki in Java. 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 XWiki?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (46,409 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose XWiki if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.