head to head · open source
SurfSense vs Blinko
SurfSense has 16,159 GitHub stars, 1,537 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Blinko has 11,020 stars, 782 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. SurfSense leads on adoption by 47% (16,159 vs 11,020 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; Blinko is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Blinko 7%. SurfSense was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (nextjs), 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
| SurfSense | Blinko | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 11K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 782 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Blinko if
- You want the Blinko feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Blinko fits your workflow better
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 →
About Blinko
Blinko is AI powered note taking app. It lives in Productivity & Utilities / Note Taking & Knowledge Management category. Project targets individuals who need quick capture and organization of fleeting thoughts. It stores notes as plain text with Markdown. It supports self hosted deployment, so users keep notes and data in their own environment. Project uses TypeScript and GPL 3.0 license. GitHub metadata lists 11011 stars, 780 forks, and last push 2026 08 27. Project has 418 open issues. README lists live demo, official site, and documents.
read the full Blinko overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or Blinko more popular?
SurfSense has 16,159 GitHub stars and Blinko has 11,020. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and Blinko free?
Both are open source. SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry, and Blinko is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SurfSense and Blinko?
SurfSense is written in Python and Blinko 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, SurfSense or Blinko?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,159 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Blinko if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.