What is the main difference between Affine and AppFlowy?

Affine and AppFlowy are both collaborative notes & wikis but differ in their approach, features, and target audience. Compare their GitHub stats, technology stack, and community adoption to make the best choice.

Which is better: Affine or AppFlowy?

The choice between Affine and AppFlowy depends on your specific needs, technical requirements, and team preferences. Both are quality open source solutions with active communities.

Can I migrate from Affine to AppFlowy?

Migration between Affine and AppFlowy is possible but requires careful planning. Consider data export/import capabilities, feature parity, and potential workflow changes.

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Affine vs AppFlowy

Learn how Affine and AppFlowy differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these collaborative notes & wikis is best for you.

Affine

An open-source, local-first knowledge base that merges structured docs, infinite whiteboards, databases, and AI into a single workspace for teams and creators.

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Stars
69,587
Forks
4,948
Last commit
10 hours ago
Repository age
4 years
Self-hosted
Yes

Activity score

98/100

View Repository

AppFlowy

Open source collaborative workspace combining notes, databases, and AI with full data ownership, offline support, and self-hosting options.

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Stars
72,636
Forks
5,492
Last commit
12 hours ago
Repository age
5 years
License
AGPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes

Activity score

99/100

View Repository

Detailed Comparison

AppFlowy appears to have several advantages over Affine, particularly in maturity and licensing. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Comparable

Community & Popularity

Both Affine and AppFlowy show comparable community engagement with 69,587 and 72,636 stars respectively. In terms of developer contributions, AppFlowy has 5,492 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Affine last updated 10 hours ago and AppFlowy 12 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

Both tools share common technology foundations, being built with JavaScript, Bash, Rust, C, Objective-C, Java, Swift, Kotlin. However, they differ in their additional technology choices: Affine uses CSS, Typescript, JSX, Ruby while AppFlowy leverages C++, MATLAB, Dart.

AppFlowy wins

Project Maturity

AppFlowy has been in development longer, starting 5 years ago, compared to Affine which began 4 years ago. This 1.1-year head start suggests AppFlowy may have more mature features and established processes.

AppFlowy wins

Licensing

AppFlowy is licensed under AGPL-3.0, while Affine's license terms are not publicly specified.

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in Collaborative Notes & Wikis. However, they also have distinct specializations: Affine also focuses on Collaborative Workspaces, Whiteboarding while AppFlowy extends into Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), Task Management.

Comparable