head to head · open source
SurfSense vs silverbullet
SurfSense has 16,770 GitHub stars, 1,598 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. silverbullet has 6,456 stars, 528 forks, 345 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. SurfSense leads on adoption by 160% (16,770 vs 6,456 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under Apache-2.0; silverbullet is written in TypeScript under MIT. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, silverbullet 8%. 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
| SurfSense | silverbullet | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 17K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 528 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SurfSense if
- You weight community size — 17K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick silverbullet if
- You want the silverbullet feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and silverbullet fits your workflow better
About SurfSense
English Español Português हिन्दी 简体中文 SurfSense: The Open Source NotebookLM Alternative for Open Web Research SurfSense is the open source NotebookLM alternative for AI agents , an open web research platform with live data connectors. Your agents research the live web with structured data from Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Amazon, Walmart, Google Maps, Google Search, Indeed, and any page on the open web , through one REST API or MCP server . Scheduled and event triggered agents turn what they find into briefs and alerts, and a built in knowledge base keeps every finding searchable with citations. [!NOTE]…
read the full SurfSense overview →
About silverbullet
SilverBullet SilverBullet is a Programmable, Private, Browser based, Open Source, Self Hosted, Personal Knowledge Database — a fancy term for a "notes app on steroids". Yowza! That surely is a lot of adjectives to describe a browser based Markdown editor programmable with Lua. Let’s get more specific. SilverBullet combines a clean live preview editor with wiki style linking, a built in database and query language, and a fully integrated Space Lua scripting environment, turning your notes into a programmable system that grows with you. In SilverBullet you keep your content as a collection of Markdown Pages…
read the full silverbullet overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or silverbullet more popular?
SurfSense has 16,770 GitHub stars and silverbullet has 6,456. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and silverbullet free?
Both are open source. SurfSense is licensed under Apache-2.0 and silverbullet under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between SurfSense and silverbullet?
SurfSense is written in Python and silverbullet 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 silverbullet?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,770 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose silverbullet if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.