AFFiNE vs DeepNotes

AFFiNE

• People who want documents and a whiteboard in the same workspace
• Users who want notes stored on their own device
• Teams looking to self-host a knowledge base

DeepNotes

• Visual thinkers who map ideas as notes and arrows on a canvas
• People who want encrypted notes with the source code published
• Small groups editing canvases together, each on a Pro subscription

AFFiNE

• The Free cloud tier is capped at 10 GB of storage, 10 MB per file, 3 members per workspace and 3 login devices.
• AFFiNE AI is a separate add-on at $8.9 a month, billed annually, rather than part of the Pro or Team feature lists.
• The self-hosted backend uses the AFFiNE Enterprise Edition license, which allows source review only without a commercial agreement.
• The Believer Plan's lifetime license is for personal use.

DeepNotes

• There is no offline mode: the help center says DeepNotes does not support offline usage.
• Text cannot be searched across pages; the vendor gave that up as a trade-off of encrypting each page separately.
• The Basic plan stops at 50 pages and is for personal use; pages created on Pro become read-only when the subscription expires.
• The download page shows App Store and Google Play badges, but both store listings returned a not-found page on 2026-10-09.

AFFiNE

Docs, whiteboards and databases together

Block-based documents, the Edgeless whiteboard and databases live in one workspace, used for wikis, mood boards, storyboards, project tasks and mind maps.

Local-first storage

The desktop apps run documents, databases and the whiteboard locally and fully offline, with no account required. Cloud sync is optional.

Cloud collaboration

AFFiNE Cloud adds real-time co-editing of documents and whiteboards, a notification center and version history: 7 days on Free, 30 days on Pro.

AFFiNE AI

A paid add-on that drafts and rewrites text, translates, fixes grammar, finds action items and turns outlines into mind maps or presentations (beta).

Self-hosting

The full stack can run on your own servers with Docker. Self-hosting is free for up to 10 seats per workspace, and a Team license adds more.

Templates

Ready-made templates include a digital planner, storyboard, Cornell notes, one-pager, checklist and vision board.

DeepNotes

Infinite canvas pages

Each page is an unbounded canvas. Double-clicking creates a note, and notes can be moved, expanded, colored and connected with arrows.

Nested notes and linked pages

Containers hold notes inside other notes, and pages link to one another, so navigation follows the links you make and not a fixed page hierarchy.

End-to-end encryption

Notes and arrows are encrypted under a key hierarchy that starts from the user's password, set out in a public whitepaper. Email addresses and metadata are not end-to-end encrypted.

Real-time collaboration in groups

Pro subscribers can create private, public or password-protected groups, invite other subscribed members and manage their roles. Public groups can be viewed by anyone with a page link.

Page history

The Pro plan keeps 14 days of history for each page. Page history is not in the Basic plan's feature list.

Web and desktop apps

DeepNotes runs in the browser, with a Windows app in the Microsoft Store and Mac and Linux builds published on GitHub.

AFFiNE

• Free$0

  Listed as Local FOSS + Cloud Basic: unlimited local workspaces and editing, with 10 GB of cloud storage and up to 3 members per workspace.

• Pro$6.75

  per month, billed annually

  100 GB of cloud storage, 100 MB per file, up to 10 members per workspace and 30 days of version history.

• AFFiNE AI$8.9

  per month, billed annually

  Add-on that brings AI writing, rewriting, translation, mind maps and presentations into docs and whiteboards.

• Team$10

  per seat / month, billed annually; $12 billed monthly

  100 GB of storage plus 20 GB per seat, 500 MB per file, multiple admin roles and priority support. Also sold for self-hosted use.

• Believer Plan$499.99

  one-time purchase

  Lifetime personal use of everything in Pro, with 1 TB of cloud storage.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For 100+ seats and regulated industries: custom contract, dedicated contact, source code review and hybrid self-host and cloud options.

DeepNotes

• Basic$0

  Up to 50 pages for personal use, with end-to-end encryption, graph-based navigation, use across your own devices and two-factor authentication.

• Pro$3.99

  per month, billed yearly ($47.88)

  Unlimited pages, private, public and password-protected groups, user roles and 14-day page history. $4.99 if billed monthly; full refund within 7 days.

AFFiNE

• Annual discount

  Save 15% with annual billing

  The pricing page states a 15% saving on annual billing. Team is $10 per seat a month billed annually or $12 billed monthly, and the App Store lists Pro at $7.99 monthly or $81 yearly.

• Lifetime license

  Believer Plan lifetime license

  A single $499.99 payment gives lifetime personal use of AFFiNE Pro with 1 TB of cloud storage and no subscription.

DeepNotes

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with yearly billing

  The pricing page labels yearly billing as saving 20%: Pro comes to $3.99 per month ($47.88 per year) against $4.99 when billed monthly.