head to head · open source
SiYuan vs Zotero
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars, 3,095 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Zotero has 15,838 stars, 1,173 forks, 1,600 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SiYuan leads on adoption by 197% (47,039 vs 15,838 stars). SiYuan is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Zotero is written in JavaScript under a custom or non-standard licence. SiYuan has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Zotero 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
| SiYuan | Zotero | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 16K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick SiYuan if
- You weight community size — 47K 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 Zotero if
- You want the Zotero feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Zotero fits your workflow better
About SiYuan
From thought to insight, with agents English 中文 日本語 Türkçe Table of Contents 💡 Introduction 🔮 Features 🏗️ Architecture and Ecosystem 🗺️ Roadmap 🚀 Download Setup App Market Installation Package Package Manager Docker Hosting Unraid Hosting TrueNAS Hosting Test Channels ⌨️ Command line Interface 🏘️ Community 🛠️ Development Guide ❓ FAQ How does SiYuan store data? Does it support data synchronization through a third party sync disk? Is SiYuan open source? How to upgrade to a new version? What if some blocks (such as paragraph blocks in list items) cannot find the block icon? What should I do if the data repo…
read the full SiYuan overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is SiYuan or Zotero more popular?
SiYuan has 47,039 GitHub stars and Zotero has 15,838. SiYuan has the larger community by that measure.
Are SiYuan and Zotero free?
Both are open source. SiYuan is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and Zotero has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between SiYuan and Zotero?
SiYuan is written in TypeScript and Zotero in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, SiYuan or Zotero?
Choose SiYuan if you want the larger community (47,039 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Zotero if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.