# Best open source note-taking apps > The best open source note-taking app is Excalidraw, with 133,574 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Memos and TriliumNext Notes are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Excalidraw leads for startups, small business, freelancers, solo developers and home use. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 25 apps in the note-taking & editors category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source note-taking app? | | Picks | 20 | | Top pick | Excalidraw (133,574 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-note-taking-apps | ## Top picks 10 of the 25 apps in the note-taking & editors category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Excalidraw](https://appsgit.com/apps/excalidraw) (133,574 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Excalidraw has 133,574 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 272 commits in the last year; it replaces Figma and Lucidchart. - [Memos](https://appsgit.com/apps/memos) (63,545 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Memos has 63,545 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 928 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep. - [TriliumNext Notes](https://appsgit.com/apps/triliumnext-notes) (38,217 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): TriliumNext Notes has 38,217 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 16,949 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. - [AFFiNE](https://appsgit.com/apps/affine) (73,246 stars, MIT / AFFiNE EE License, source-available, TypeScript, Docker): AFFiNE has 73,246 GitHub stars, is source-available under the MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 752 commits in the last year; it replaces Notion and Dropbox Paper. - [Joplin](https://appsgit.com/apps/joplin) (56,611 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript): Joplin has 56,611 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,019 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. - [Logseq](https://appsgit.com/apps/logseq) (45,147 stars, AGPL-3.0, Clojure): Logseq has 45,147 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 4,148 commits in the last year; it replaces Obsidian. - [Overleaf](https://appsgit.com/apps/overleaf) (18,210 stars, AGPL-3.0, JavaScript): Overleaf has 18,210 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,137 commits in the last year. - [Docs](https://appsgit.com/apps/docs) (16,895 stars, MIT, Python): Docs has 16,895 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,059 commits in the last year; it replaces Google Docs and Dropbox Paper. - [Blinko](https://appsgit.com/apps/blinko) (11,058 stars, GPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker, AI features): Blinko has 11,058 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 193 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep. - [HedgeDoc](https://appsgit.com/apps/hedgedoc) (7,461 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): HedgeDoc has 7,461 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 587 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Docs. ## Best for startups, small business, freelancers and solo developers Ranked for startups, small business, freelancers and solo developers (the same order for each) on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Excalidraw](https://appsgit.com/apps/excalidraw) (133,574 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Excalidraw has 133,574 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 272 commits in the last year; it replaces Figma and Lucidchart. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Memos](https://appsgit.com/apps/memos) (63,545 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Memos has 63,545 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 928 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [TriliumNext Notes](https://appsgit.com/apps/triliumnext-notes) (38,217 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): TriliumNext Notes has 38,217 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 16,949 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [AFFiNE](https://appsgit.com/apps/affine) (73,246 stars, MIT / AFFiNE EE License, source-available, TypeScript, Docker): AFFiNE has 73,246 GitHub stars, is source-available under the MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 752 commits in the last year; it replaces Notion and Dropbox Paper. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Joplin](https://appsgit.com/apps/joplin) (56,611 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript): Joplin has 56,611 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,019 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. For startups it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. ## Best for home use Ranked for home use on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Excalidraw](https://appsgit.com/apps/excalidraw) (133,574 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Excalidraw has 133,574 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 272 commits in the last year; it replaces Figma and Lucidchart. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Memos](https://appsgit.com/apps/memos) (63,545 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Memos has 63,545 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 928 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Google Keep. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [AFFiNE](https://appsgit.com/apps/affine) (73,246 stars, MIT / AFFiNE EE License, source-available, TypeScript, Docker): AFFiNE has 73,246 GitHub stars, is source-available under the MIT (client) and AFFiNE Enterprise Edition licence (server) (not an open-source license), ships a Docker image and had 752 commits in the last year; it replaces Notion and Dropbox Paper. For home use it also scores on a Docker image and a commit in the last 90 days. - [TriliumNext Notes](https://appsgit.com/apps/triliumnext-notes) (38,217 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): TriliumNext Notes has 38,217 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 16,949 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Joplin](https://appsgit.com/apps/joplin) (56,611 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript): Joplin has 56,611 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,019 commits in the last year; it replaces Evernote and Obsidian. For home use it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 25 apps in the note-taking & editors category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is Excalidraw free? Yes. Excalidraw is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source note-taking app is best for a startup? Excalidraw ranks first for startups, with 133,574 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Memos and TriliumNext Notes follow. The startups ranking adds points for Docker images, permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Which open source note-taking app is best for a small business? Excalidraw ranks first for small business, with 133,574 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Memos and TriliumNext Notes follow. The small business ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these note-taking apps with Docker? Yes, 6 of the 10 picks. Excalidraw, Memos and TriliumNext Notes publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide. ### Are all of these note-taking apps open source? 9 of the 10 apps on this list are open source; 1 is source-available. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source wiki?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-wikis) - [What is the best open source pastebin?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-pastebins) - [What is the best open source task manager?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-task-management) - [What is the best open source file sync and storage app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sync) - [What is the best open source photo management app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-photo-management) - [What is the best open source project management tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-project-management) - [What is the best open source document management system?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-document-management) - [What is the best open source HR software?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-hr-software) ## See also - [All note-taking & editors apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/note-taking) - [All wikis & knowledge bases apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/wikis-knowledge) - [All utilities apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/utilities) - [Open-source alternatives to Figma](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/figma) - [Open-source alternatives to Lucidchart](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/lucidchart) - [Open-source alternatives to Microsoft Visio](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/microsoft-visio) - [Open-source alternatives to Evernote](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/evernote) - [Open-source alternatives to Google Keep](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/google-keep) - [Open-source alternatives to Obsidian](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/obsidian) - [Memos vs Joplin](https://appsgit.com/compare/memos-vs-joplin) - [Joplin vs TriliumNext Notes](https://appsgit.com/compare/joplin-vs-triliumnext-notes) - [AppFlowy vs AFFiNE](https://appsgit.com/compare/appflowy-vs-affine) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-note-taking-apps Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.