What is the main difference between Notesnook and SiYuan?

Notesnook 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: Notesnook or SiYuan?

The choice between Notesnook 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 Notesnook to SiYuan?

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

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Notesnook vs SiYuan

Learn how Notesnook 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.

Notesnook

End-to-end encrypted note-taking app with zero-knowledge architecture, cross-device sync, web clipper, and a self-hostable sync server.

Visit Notesnook Read more

14,820stars+195(+1.3%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
19 hours ago
Repository age
6 years
Version
v3.4.10
License
GPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
notesnook

SiYuan

Personal knowledge management system with WYSIWYG block editing, bidirectional links, spaced repetition flashcards, a relational database, and end-to-end encrypted sync.

Visit SiYuan Read more

46,902stars+425(+0.9%)

Last 30 days

Last commit
11 hours ago
Repository age
6 years
Version
v3.8.8
License
AGPL-3.0
Self-hosted
Yes
Repository
siyuan-note/siyuan

Detailed Comparison

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

SiYuan wins

Community & Popularity

SiYuan significantly outpaces Notesnook in community adoption with 46,902 stars compared to 14,820 stars on GitHub. This 3.2x difference suggests SiYuan has a much larger and more active community. In terms of developer contributions, SiYuan has 3,085 forks, indicating strong developer engagement.

Notesnook wins

Growth Momentum

Notesnook is growing faster, adding 195 stars in the last 30 days (+1.3%) against adding 425 stars for SiYuan (+0.9%). Notesnook is the smaller project of the two, so it is closing the gap rather than extending a lead.

Comparable

Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with Notesnook last updated 19 hours ago and SiYuan 11 hours ago.

Comparable

Technology Stack

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

Comparable

Project Maturity

Both projects started around the same time, with Notesnook beginning 6 years ago and SiYuan 6 years ago.

Comparable

Licensing

The projects use different licenses: Notesnook is licensed under GPL-3.0 while SiYuan uses AGPL-3.0. Consider the licensing requirements when choosing for your project.

Comparable

Use Cases & Features

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

Comparable