head to head · open source
Tolaria vs Notesnook
Tolaria has 19,807 GitHub stars, 1,381 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Notesnook has 14,604 stars, 1,007 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tolaria leads on adoption by 36% (19,807 vs 14,604 stars). Tolaria is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Tolaria has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Tolaria 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Tolaria | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 15K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Tolaria if
- You weight community size — 20K 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 Notesnook if
- You want the Notesnook 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 Notesnook fits your workflow better
About Tolaria
Tolaria is an open source desktop application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, written in TypeScript and licensed under AGPL 3.0. It manages markdown knowledge bases as local files, with each vault stored as a Git repository. The project lives in the personal knowledge management ecosystem as a local first, Git native tool for second brains, company documentation used as AI context, and assistant memory or procedures.
read the full Tolaria overview →
About Notesnook
Notesnook is an open source, end to end encrypted note taking application in the productivity and knowledge management ecosystem. It is presented as a free alternative to Evernote, with clients for the web, desktop, and mobile platforms. The project uses a TypeScript and JavaScript monorepo, React for the interface, React Native for mobile apps, and Electron for the desktop app.
read the full Notesnook overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Note Taking & Knowledge Management projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Note Taking & Knowledge Management field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tolaria or Notesnook more popular?
Tolaria has 19,807 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,604. Tolaria has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tolaria and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Tolaria is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Notesnook under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Tolaria and Notesnook?
Tolaria is written in TypeScript and Notesnook 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, Tolaria or Notesnook?
Choose Tolaria if you want the larger community (19,807 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.