head to head · open source
Outline vs Tolaria
Outline has 41,145 GitHub stars, 3,650 forks, 78 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tolaria has 20,423 stars, 1,409 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Outline leads on adoption by 101% (41,145 vs 20,423 stars). Outline is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Tolaria is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Outline has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Tolaria 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.
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Side by side
| Outline | Tolaria | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 20K |
| License | Custom / other | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Outline if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tolaria if
- You want the Tolaria feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Tolaria fits your workflow better
About Outline
A fast, collaborative, knowledge base for your team built using React and Node.js. Try out Outline using our hosted version at www.getoutline.com . This is the source code that runs Outline and all the associated services. If you want to use Outline then you don't need to run this code, A hosted version of the app is offered at getoutline.com. You can also find documentation on using Outline in our guide. If you'd like to run your own copy of Outline or contribute to development then this is the place for you. Installation Please see the documentation for running your own copy of Outline in a production…
read the full Outline overview →
About Tolaria
💧 Tolaria Tolaria is a desktop app for macOS, Windows, and Linux for managing markdown knowledge bases . People use it for a variety of use cases: Operate second brains and personal knowledge Organize company docs as context for AI Store OpenClaw/assistants memory and procedures Personally, I use it to run my life (hey 👋 Luca here). I have a massive workspace of 10,000+ notes, which are the result of my Refactoring work + a ton of personal journaling and second braining . Sponsors Tolaria is supported by a small panel of tools that help keep the project healthy, tested, and ready for AI assisted development. I…
read the full Tolaria overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Outline or Tolaria more popular?
Outline has 41,145 GitHub stars and Tolaria has 20,423. Outline has the larger community by that measure.
Are Outline and Tolaria free?
Both are open source. Outline has no licence declared in this registry, and Tolaria is licensed under AGPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Outline and Tolaria?
Outline is written in TypeScript and Tolaria 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, Outline or Tolaria?
Choose Outline if you want the larger community (41,145 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Tolaria if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.