Ledger / notes and documents workspace
Self-hosted alternatives to Notion
Read 2026-11-14 · 5 projects · 3 pass
We read the repository pages of 5 projects that people put forward as a replacement for Notion (notes and documents workspace). 3 pass all three checks: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy, siyuan-note/siyuan, suitenumerique/docs. Left out of that list: toeverything/AFFiNE (open source plus separately licensed parts); outline/outline (source-available, not open source).
| Project | License as read | License · Live · Active | Stars | Latest release / last push |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowyDart | AGPL-3.0 | licliveactive | 78,899 | 0.15.0 2026-11-02 pushed 2026-11-02 |
What it says it is 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. Install No Dockerfile, compose file or Helm chart found in the top levels of the repository README mentions collaboration, database, Notion, AI Placeholder files 8 license files inside sub-packages contain only a template line saying a license is yet to be added; the root license file is the one we read | ||||
| siyuan-note/siyuanTypeScript | AGPL-3.0 | licliveactive | 47,221 | v3.8.10 2026-11-10 pushed 2026-11-14 |
What it says it is 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 Install In the repository: Dockerfile README mentions Markdown, database, AI | ||||
| suitenumerique/docsTypeScript | MIT | licliveactive | 16,991 | v6.1.0 2026-11-13 pushed 2026-11-13 |
What it says it is Docs is an open-source text editor: web-native, made for real-time collaboration, cleanly structured documents and sub-documents with full ownership of your data. Built to scale with Django and React. Install In the repository: Dockerfile, compose file, Helm chart README mentions real-time, collaboration, Markdown, Notion, offline, AI | ||||
| toeverything/AFFiNETypeScript | MIT plus a backend directory under a separate license | x licliveactive | 74,523 | v0.27.4 2026-08-18 pushed 2026-11-13 |
What it says it is 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. Install In the repository: Dockerfile, compose file README mentions real-time, collaboration, local-first, database, whiteboard, Notion, plugin, AI | ||||
| outline/outlineTypeScript | Business Source License 1.1 | x licliveactive | 41,267 | v1.12.0 2026-10-23 pushed 2026-11-14 |
What it says it is The fastest knowledge base for growing teams. Beautiful, realtime collaborative, feature packed, and markdown compatible. Install In the repository: Dockerfile, compose file README mentions database, AI | ||||
Checks per row: lic = one open-source license across the whole repository (a commercial option on request is allowed), live = not archived, active = a release or push within 90 days of 2026-11-14. A red x marks a failed check. Full definitions and limits: method.
Why 2 of 5 did not pass
- toeverything/AFFiNE · MIT plus a backend directory under a separate license
The license file says: “All content that resides under the "packages/backend" and "packages/common/native" directory of this repository, if that directory exists, is licensed under the license defined in "packages/backend/server/LICENSE".” Repository - outline/outline · Business Source License 1.1
The license file says: “The Business Source License (this document, or the “License”) is not an Open Source license.” Repository
How they differ
Mentioned in some READMEs and not others
- real-time: suitenumerique/docs, toeverything/AFFiNE
- collaboration: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy, suitenumerique/docs, toeverything/AFFiNE
- Markdown: siyuan-note/siyuan, suitenumerique/docs
- local-first: toeverything/AFFiNE
- database: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy, siyuan-note/siyuan, toeverything/AFFiNE, outline/outline
- whiteboard: toeverything/AFFiNE
- Notion: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy, suitenumerique/docs, toeverything/AFFiNE
- offline: suitenumerique/docs
- plugin: toeverything/AFFiNE
Main language
- TypeScript: siyuan-note/siyuan, suitenumerique/docs, toeverything/AFFiNE, outline/outline
- Dart: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy
Install files
- No Dockerfile, compose file or Helm chart found in the top levels of the repository: AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy
- In the repository: Dockerfile: siyuan-note/siyuan
- In the repository: Dockerfile, compose file, Helm chart: suitenumerique/docs
- In the repository: Dockerfile, compose file: toeverything/AFFiNE, outline/outline
From each README (first part) and file tree as read; a missing mention only means the README does not use the word.
Where people asked for this
- Docs – Open source alternative to Notion or Outline 1,952 points, 454 comments
- Show HN: OpenKnowledge – open source AI-first alternative to Obsidian/Notion 381 points, 173 comments
Thread titles and counts as collected 2026-11-09. The original product: Notion.