head to head · open source
Tolaria vs QOwnNotes
Tolaria has 19,834 GitHub stars, 1,380 forks, 49 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. QOwnNotes has 5,884 stars, 500 forks, 63 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tolaria leads on adoption by 237% (19,834 vs 5,884 stars). Tolaria is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; QOwnNotes is written in C++ under GPL-2.0. Tolaria has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, QOwnNotes 8%. QOwnNotes 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
| Tolaria | QOwnNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 5.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 500 |
| 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 QOwnNotes if
- You want the QOwnNotes feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and QOwnNotes 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 QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a GPL 2.0 licensed, C++ plain text notepad and todo list manager with Markdown support for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows that stores every note as a Markdown file and pairs with Nextcloud or ownCloud so the same notes stay readable on mobile and in the web service.
read the full QOwnNotes overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Tolaria or QOwnNotes more popular?
Tolaria has 19,834 GitHub stars and QOwnNotes has 5,884. Tolaria has the larger community by that measure.
Are Tolaria and QOwnNotes free?
Both are open source. Tolaria is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and QOwnNotes under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Tolaria and QOwnNotes?
Tolaria is written in TypeScript and QOwnNotes 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, Tolaria or QOwnNotes?
Choose Tolaria if you want the larger community (19,834 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose QOwnNotes if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.