What is the main difference between Joplin and Zen?

Joplin and Zen 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 Zen?

The choice between Joplin and Zen 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 Zen?

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

Openlane – Open-source, developer-first platform for automated compliance, risk management, and built-in Trust Center.

Learn More

Learn more

Joplin vs Zen

Learn how Joplin and Zen 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.

Visit Joplin Read more

Stars
54,446
Forks
6,063
Last commit
16 hours ago
Repository age
9 years
Self-hosted
Yes

View Repository

Auto-fetched 4 hours ago.

Zen

Minimal note-taking app storing Markdown notes in local SQLite database. Features instant search, flexible tagging, keyboard shortcuts, and offline access.

Visit Zen Read more

Stars
1,079
Forks
59
Last commit
7 hours ago
Repository age
1 year
License
AGPL-3.0

View Repository

Auto-fetched 4 hours ago.

Detailed Comparison

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

Joplin wins

Community & Popularity

Joplin significantly outpaces Zen in community adoption with 54,446 stars compared to 1,079 stars on GitHub. This 50.5x difference suggests Joplin has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, Joplin has 6,063 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Joplin last updated 16 hours ago and Zen 7 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

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

Joplin wins

Project Maturity

Joplin has been in development longer, starting 9 years ago, compared to Zen which began 1 year ago. This 8.2-year head start suggests Joplin may have more mature features and established processes.

Zen wins

Licensing

Zen 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. However, they also have distinct specializations: Joplin also focuses on Personal Knowledge Management (PKM), Secure & Encrypted Notes.

Joplin wins

Hosting & Deployment

Joplin provides self-hosting options for complete data control and customization, while Zen may be primarily cloud-based or require different deployment approaches.