BookStack vs Trilium Notes (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Trilium Notes grades higher than BookStack: 3.2 against 2.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
BookStack grades higher on features. Trilium Notes grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
BookStack
Free self-hosted wiki organized into books, chapters and pages
Trilium Notes
Open-source hierarchical note-taking and personal knowledge base
Which one is for you
Pick BookStack if
- Fits if you want a free wiki on your own server and someone can run it
- Works for companies that need LDAP, SAML2 or OIDC sign-in without paying for it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if nobody on the team can look after a PHP app and its database
- Not for you if you want a hosted wiki you just sign up for, because BookStack doesn't run one
- Pricey if you need support with a promised reply, which starts at £450 a year before VAT
- Watch out: it needs PHP 8.2 or later and MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6, and shared PHP hosting isn't supported
- Skip it if you want phone or desktop apps or many integrations; diagrams.net is the one listed
Pick Trilium Notes if
- Fits if you want your notes on your own computer with no account
- Works for people who like organising notes in a tree rather than folders
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want native iPhone or Android apps, as phones use a web app on a server
- Tight if you want sync without running a server, since the paid host listed is third-party
- Not for you if you want a team wiki with shared editing, as the listing describes a personal notes app
- Watch out: the old TriliumNext docs repository is archived and the project now lives at triliumnotes.org
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABookStackGood | 3.2GPATrilium NotesVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing. The whole application is MIT licensed with no paid edition at all, so there's no tier to climb; the only thing on sale is support, from £450 a year, and you can do without it. | AFree under the AGPL-3.0 license, and you can just download the desktop apps and use them, so it is under the category's cheapest quarter. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright with nothing held back, LDAP, SAML2 and OIDC sign-in and multi-factor authentication included, and no cap a team would reach. Free support is the community, with no promise of a reply. | AFree outright with no account and no paid plan from the team. |
| Features | BBooks, chapters and pages for structure, a WYSIWYG editor with an optional Markdown one, search inside a book or across the lot, links to any paragraph, diagrams.net drawing in the editor, page revisions, roles and permissions, and a documented API. The wiki job, covered. | CNote tree, many note types, search, a REST API, scripting and a web clipper. The listing shows a gap: syncing across devices needs a self-hosted server. |
| Ease of use | DYou host it yourself, and that's the whole difficulty: a server running PHP 8.2 or later with MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6, and shared PHP hosting is ruled out. There's no hosted version to sign up for instead. | BNo store rating on record, but you install a desktop app and start writing with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with no phone or desktop apps on record and diagrams.net the one integration listed. Every install does document an API covering pages, chapters, books, shelves and attachments. | BWindows, Mac and Linux apps plus a web app for phones, and a REST API. No native phone apps. |
| Best for | a free wiki on your own server | a free note tree you keep on your own machine |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: BookStack and Trilium Notes. How we grade
Price against what you get
BookStack starts at about $50.25 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Trilium Notes has no paid plan and scores 2.7.
Trilium Notes scores higher and starts $50.25 a month lower. Of the other docs and wiki tools on the chart, 37 score higher than BookStack for less, and none scores higher than Trilium Notes for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- BookStack also covers Markdown, templates and diagrams.
- Trilium Notes also covers notes and web clipper.
At a glance
| BookStack | Trilium Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | £450 per year for an optional support plan; the software itself is free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole application is free and MIT licensed, with no cost to download and install your own instance. Community support carries no assurance of a response. | Free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, with no account needed. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | Dan Brown | Elian Doran and the community |
| Price read from | bookstackapp.com | triliumnotes.org |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
BookStack
- There is no official hosted version: you install and maintain it yourself, which takes some knowledge of hosting a PHP application and database.
- It needs PHP 8.2 or later with MySQL 8.0 or MariaDB 10.6 or later, and shared PHP hosting is not supported.
- Paid support is priced in pounds, at £450 or £4,500 a year before VAT; free community support has no assured response.
Trilium Notes
- The download page offers Windows, Linux and macOS desktop apps; phone access is through a web app (PWA) on a server.
- Syncing needs a self-hosted server; the paid host listed is third-party, not affiliated with the team.
- The roster's TriliumNext docs repo is archived; the project now lives at triliumnotes.org.
Key features
BookStack
- Books, chapters and pages
- All content sits in a three-level structure of books, chapters and pages, and pages can be re-sorted across books.
- WYSIWYG and Markdown editors
- Pages are written in a simple WYSIWYG editor by default. An optional Markdown editor shows a live preview as you write.
- Search and paragraph links
- Search works within a single book or across every book, chapter and page, and any paragraph can be linked to directly.
- Built-in diagrams
- The page editor has diagrams.net drawing built in, so diagrams can be created without leaving the documentation.
- Roles, permissions and sign-in
- A role and permission system locks down content and actions. Sign-in supports OIDC, SAML2 and LDAP besides email and password, and multi-factor authentication can be enforced per role.
- Revisions and API
- Page revisions and image management are built in, and each instance documents an API covering pages, chapters, books, shelves and attachments.
Trilium Notes
- Note tree
- Notes nest as sub-notes with no folders, and a note can be cloned into several places.
- Many note types
- Text, Markdown, code, spreadsheet, canvas, Mermaid, mind map and file notes.
- Sync and sharing
- A self-hosted or cloud server syncs notes, and a subtree can be published as a public read-only site.
- Search and protection
- Fuzzy title navigation, full-text search including text in images and PDFs via OCR, and password-locked protected notes.
- REST API and scripting
- A built-in REST API and scripting for automation.
- Web clipper
- A browser extension saves pages and screenshots into Trilium.
Plans
BookStack
BookStack (self-hosted)Free
The full application on your own server, with community support through the project's discussions, Codeberg and Reddit.
Professional Support Plan£450
per year, VAT not included
Email and help-desk support covering installation and updating issues, with high-priority handling of bug and issue reports.
Enterprise Support Plan£4,500
per year, VAT not included
Everything in Professional, plus highest-priority handling, help with API integrations and up to 10 hours of video support a year.
Trilium Notes
Open source$0
Desktop apps and a self-hostable server, free; third-party paid hosting is available on PikaPods.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, BookStack or Trilium Notes?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Trilium Notes is cheaper to start with: it is free, against about $50.25 a month for BookStack. BookStack starts at £450 per year for an optional support plan; the software itself is free, and Trilium Notes is free.
Which has a free plan, BookStack or Trilium Notes?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both BookStack and Trilium Notes have a free plan.
Which platforms do BookStack and Trilium Notes run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Trilium Notes lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.