head to head · open source
SurfSense vs vnote
SurfSense has 16,169 GitHub stars, 1,538 forks, 130 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vnote has 12,964 stars, 1,298 forks, 270 open issues and last shipped today. SurfSense leads on adoption by 25% (16,169 vs 12,964 stars). SurfSense is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence; vnote is written in C++ under LGPL-3.0. SurfSense has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, vnote 10%. vnote 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 | vnote | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 13K |
| License | Custom / other | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 vnote if
- You want the vnote feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and vnote 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 vnote
VNote is a Qt based, free and open source note taking application written in native C++, focused on Markdown and aimed at anyone who wants structured note management and a strong editing experience instead of a bare Markdown text editor.
read the full vnote overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SurfSense or vnote more popular?
SurfSense has 16,169 GitHub stars and vnote has 12,964. SurfSense has the larger community by that measure.
Are SurfSense and vnote free?
Both are open source. SurfSense has no licence declared in this registry, and vnote is licensed under LGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SurfSense and vnote?
SurfSense is written in Python and vnote in C++. 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 vnote?
Choose SurfSense if you want the larger community (16,169 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose vnote if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.