What is the main difference between Joplin and SiYuan?

Joplin and SiYuan are both note-taking tools 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: Joplin or SiYuan?

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

Can I migrate from Joplin to SiYuan?

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

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Joplin vs SiYuan

Learn how Joplin and SiYuan differ in their key features, development activity, technology stack and community adoption, so you can decide which of these note-taking tools is best for you.

Joplin

A free, cross-platform note-taking and to-do application with end-to-end encryption for seamless organization and productivity.

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Stars
54,477
Forks
6,069
Last commit
19 hours ago
Repository age
9 years
Self-hosted
Yes

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SiYuan

SiYuan is a personal knowledge management system that prioritizes privacy, supports Markdown, and offers block-level referencing and bidirectional linking.

Visit SiYuan Read more

Stars
42,949
Forks
2,720
Last commit
13 hours ago
Repository age
6 years
License
AGPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes

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Auto-fetched 32 minutes ago.

Detailed Comparison

Both Joplin and SiYuan have their unique strengths and serve similar purposes effectively. Consider your specific needs regarding popularity, activity, technology, maturity, licensing and features when making your decision.

Comparable

Community & Popularity

Both tools have similar popularity levels, with Joplin having 54,477 stars and SiYuan having 42,949 stars on GitHub. In terms of developer contributions, Joplin has 6,069 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Joplin last updated 19 hours ago and SiYuan 13 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

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

Joplin wins

Project Maturity

Joplin has been in development longer, starting 9 years ago, compared to SiYuan which began 6 years ago. This 3.7-year head start suggests Joplin may have more mature features and established processes.

SiYuan wins

Licensing

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

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

Both tools serve similar use cases in Note-Taking, Personal Knowledge Management (PKM). However, they also have distinct specializations: Joplin also focuses on Secure & Encrypted Notes.

Comparable