Compare / AFFiNE vs AppFlowy
AFFiNE vs AppFlowy
Pick AppFlowy if you want AGPL-3.0 as the license of the whole listed repo. Pick AFFiNE only after you read that packages/backend and packages/common/native are AFFiNE Enterprise Edition — not MIT.
Facts checked 18 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
AFFiNE in the catalog AppFlowy in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| AFFiNE | AppFlowy | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT outside packages/backend and packages/common/native; those dirs are AFFiNE EE source | AGPL-3.0 (AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy) source |
| Language | TypeScript (catalog) | Dart (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 73,632 stars in the catalog source | 77,535 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Desktop plus a server whose backend dirs are EE-licensed. | Desktop-first AGPL workspace; self-host cloud is documented by the project. |
| Best for | AFFiNE's canvas if you accept the EE split. | An AGPL Notion-shaped app. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
AppFlowy is AGPL-3.0 (AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy). AFFiNE's root LICENSE puts packages/backend and packages/common/native under packages/backend/server/LICENSE (EE: production use needs a valid AFFiNE subscription; CE/client-side bits are described there as MPL-2.0). The rest is MIT. Docmost remains the published c17 wiki if you wanted OSI without an EE directory.
FAQ
- Is AFFiNE fully MIT?
- No. The root LICENSE carves out packages/backend and packages/common/native as Enterprise Edition.
- Why not Docmost?
- Docmost is the published AGPL wiki with a Railway-shaped stack — /compare/outline-vs-docmost.
- Are these free?
- AppFlowy is AGPL-3.0. AFFiNE's MIT tree is MIT; backend EE terms apply in production as that LICENSE states. You pay hosting.
- Notes instead of a wiki?
- /compare/joplin-vs-obsidian and /stacks/memos-notes.
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