Best Open Source Alternatives to Obsidian

Compare the best free and open-source alternatives to Obsidian — self-hosted and desktop replacements you fully control, ranked by GitHub stars, license and platform support.

Curated by open-source.store · Updated August 2026 · 11 alternatives

Obsidian

Proprietary SaaS

PricingFreemium

Platformsdesktop, mobile, windows, macos, linux, android, ios

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Obsidian alternatives compared

Open-source alternatives to Obsidian, compared by stars, license and platform
Tool		License	Platforms	Self-hosted
AppFlowy	74,748	AGPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsandroid	No	Jul 2026	Visit
Joplin	55,795	MIT	LinuxmacOSWindowsandroid	No	Aug 2026	Visit
Logseq	44,196	AGPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsWeb	Yes	Jul 2026	Visit
Trilium Notes	37,182	AGPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsDocker	Yes	Aug 2026	Visit
Foam	17,317	MIT	LinuxmacOSWindowsWeb	No	Jul 2026	Visit
Notesnook	14,349	GPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsWeb	Yes	Aug 2026	Visit
Dendron	7,459	AGPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsWeb	No	Nov 2025	Visit
Standard Notes	6,574	AGPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindowsDocker	Yes	Jul 2026	Visit
Org-roam	6,005	GPL-3.0	LinuxmacOSWindows	No	Apr 2026	Visit
SilverBullet	5,749	MIT	LinuxmacOSWindowsDocker	Yes	Aug 2026	Visit