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SiYuan vs Standard Notes

Learn how SiYuan and Standard Notes 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.

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SiYuan

Personal knowledge management system with WYSIWYG block editing, bidirectional links, spaced repetition flashcards, a relational database, and end-to-end encrypted sync.
46,902stars+425(+0.9%)

Last 30 days

Screenshot of SiYuan

Standard Notes

Cross-platform note-taking app with end-to-end encryption, offline access, and powerful organization features for privacy-conscious users.
6,681stars+49(+0.7%)

Last 30 days

Screenshot of Standard Notes

Detailed Comparison

Both SiYuan and Standard Notes 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 Standard Notes in community adoption with 46,902 stars compared to 6,681 stars on GitHub. This 7.0x 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.

Comparable
Growth Momentum

SiYuan and Standard Notes are moving at much the same rate, adding 425 stars and adding 49 stars respectively over the last 30 days (+0.9% vs +0.7%). Neither is pulling away from the other on momentum alone.

Comparable
Development Activity

Both projects show recent activity, with SiYuan last updated 12 hours ago and Standard Notes 15 hours ago.

Comparable
Technology Stack

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

Standard Notes wins
Project Maturity

Standard Notes has been in development longer, starting 10 years ago, compared to SiYuan which began 6 years ago. This 3.8-year head start suggests Standard Notes may have more mature features and established processes.

Comparable
Licensing

Both projects use the AGPL-3.0 license, providing identical terms for usage and distribution.

Comparable
Use Cases & Features

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

Comparable
Hosting & Deployment

Both SiYuan and Standard Notes offer self-hosting capabilities, giving you full control over your data and infrastructure.