Trilium

Judgement

What it is

Complete system

What it does

A hierarchical personal knowledge base with rich notes, scripting, relation maps and encryption, as a desktop app or self-hosted server.

Adopt it when

You want a deep, scriptable personal knowledge base and like tree-structured notes.

Watch out

Still pre-1.0 under a community fork after the original author stepped back; AGPL licensed.

Ready for

Usable

Runs as

Desktop app and self-hosted server

Built with

TypeScript, Electron and SQLite

How established

Established: started 9 years ago, latest release v0.106.1.

What the license allows

Use inside your business is unrestricted. If you change it and let customers use it over the internet, you must publish your changes.

Judged on 2026-11-03 from the project's README and GitHub data. The license and age lines are worked out directly.

Built from

Follow it down: Trilium → TypeScript → Go → runs on a microchip

How compilers were built, back to punched paper tape

Open-source alternatives to Trilium

1. 1
   AppFlowy AppFlowy-IO

   Bring projects, wikis, and teams together with AI. AppFlowy is the AI collaborative workspace where you achieve more without losing control of your data. The leading open source Notion alternative.

   Complete system Usable You want a Notion alternative that keeps data local or on your own server.

   ★ 78k AGPL-3.0 Dart Active, pushed today
2. 2
   AFFiNE toeverything

   There can be more than Notion and Miro. AFFiNE(pronounced [ə‘fain]) is a next-gen knowledge base that brings planning, sorting and creating all together. Privacy first, open-source, customizable and ready to use.

   Complete system Usable You want an open alternative to Notion that also does visual whiteboarding and can run offline.

   ★ 74k See repository TypeScript Active, pushed today
3. 3
   Memos usememos

   Memos is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking app that brings your everyday thoughts together in a personal timeline. Your data stays yours, and you choose what to keep private or share.

   Complete system Production-ready You want a quick place to jot thoughts and links on your own server.

   ★ 64k MIT Go Active, pushed today
4. 4
   Joplin laurent22

   Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.

   Complete system Production-ready You want an Evernote replacement you control, across all your devices.

   ★ 57k See repository TypeScript Active, pushed today
5. 5
   SiYuan siyuan-note

   An open-source, privacy-first, self-hosted knowledge workspace where humans and AI agents work together 开源、隐私优先、自托管的知识工作空间，让人与智能体在此协作

   Complete system Production-ready You want Logseq or Roam-style block linking with richer document editing.

   ★ 47k AGPL-3.0 TypeScript Active, pushed today
6. 6
   Notesnook streetwriters

   A fully open source & end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote.

   Complete system Production-ready Privacy matters most and you want encrypted notes synced across devices.

   ★ 15k GPL-3.0 TypeScript Active, pushed today
7. 7
   VNote vnotex

   A pleasant note-taking platform with native speed, majoring in Markdown, MindMap, Typst, and plain text.

   Complete system Usable You want a fast desktop Markdown notes app rather than an Electron one.

   ★ 13k LGPL-3.0 C++ Active, pushed today
8. 8
   NoteGen codexu

   Capture first. Organize later. A local-first Markdown app that turns scattered records into clear notes with AI.

   Complete system Usable You collect scattered snippets during the day and want AI to draft notes from them.

   ★ 13k GPL-3.0 TypeScript Active, pushed today

Commercial note-taking apps

1. 1
   Obsidian Dynalist Inc.

   The free and flexible app for your private thoughts.

   Complete system Production-ready You want notes as plain files you own, work offline, and are happy to tune your setup with plugins.

   6.2k readers a month Since 2020 Commercial
2. 2
   Notion Notion Labs

   Build Custom Agents, search across all your apps, and automate busywork. The AI workspace where teams get more done, faster.

   Complete system Production-ready A small or mid-size team wants one flexible tool for docs, wiki and light project tracking.

   4.1k readers a month Since 2016 Commercial
3. 3
   Evernote Bending Spoons

   Our note taking app helps you capture and prioritize ideas, projects and to-do lists, so nothing falls through the cracks. Start your free trial today!

   Complete system Production-ready You already keep years of notes in Evernote, or want strong web clipping and scanned-document search.

   2k readers a month Since 2008 Commercial
4. 4
   Microsoft OneNote Microsoft

   Capture your ideas with Microsoft OneNote online. Organize notes, clip web content, and collaborate with others from any device.

   Complete system Production-ready You use Microsoft 365, take handwritten or pen notes, or want a free notebook that syncs through OneDrive.

   1.3k readers a month Since 2012 Commercial