head to head · open source
Zotero vs Notesnook
Zotero has 15,831 GitHub stars, 1,171 forks, 1,600 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Notesnook has 14,872 stars, 1,042 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Zotero leads on adoption by 6% (15,831 vs 14,872 stars). Zotero is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Notesnook is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Zotero has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Notesnook 7%. Zotero 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
| Zotero | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 15K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.2K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Zotero if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- 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 Zotero
Zotero ====== Zotero is a free, easy to use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources. Please post feature requests or bug reports to the Zotero Forums. If you're having trouble with Zotero, see Getting Help. For more information on how to use this source code, see the Zotero documentation.
read the full Zotero overview →
About Notesnook
Notesnook An end to end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote. Website About us Roadmap Downloads Twitter Discord Overview Notesnook is a free (as in speech) & open source note taking app focused on user privacy & ease of use. To ensure zero knowledge principles, Notesnook encrypts everything on your device using XChaCha20 Poly1305 & Argon2 . Notesnook is our proof that privacy does not (always) have to come at the cost of convenience. We aim to provide users peace of mind & 100% confidence that their notes are safe and secure. The decision to go fully open source is one of the most crucial steps towards…
read the full Notesnook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zotero or Notesnook more popular?
Zotero has 15,831 GitHub stars and Notesnook has 14,872. Zotero has the larger community by that measure.
Are Zotero and Notesnook free?
Both are open source. Zotero has no licence declared in this registry, and Notesnook is licensed under GPL-3.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Zotero and Notesnook?
Zotero is written in JavaScript 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, Zotero or Notesnook?
Choose Zotero if you want the larger community (15,831 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Notesnook if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.