flatnotes vs Memos
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Where they differ
- flatnotes is free. Memos is free.
- Only Memos lists a browser extension.
- Memos also covers web clipper.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APINotesMarkdownLinked notes
At a glance
| flatnotes | Memos | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid edition. You supply the server, and the developer accepts sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors. | Free and open source under the MIT license, with no paid plans, seat fees or premium features. The only cost is whatever server, domain or backup storage you choose to run it on. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Adam Dullage | The Memos project |
| Price read from | github.com | usememos.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
flatnotes
- Self-hosters who want a simple notes app backed by plain Markdown files
- People who would sooner search and tag than file notes in folders
- Serving a folder of notes read-only as a small blog or docs site
Memos
- Self-hosters who want quick notes on a server they control
- Short, frequent notes and logs rather than long structured documents
- Developers who want to script note capture through an API
Worth knowing
flatnotes
- It has to be self-hosted, with Docker as the recommended route, or run on a third-party host such as PikaPods.
- There are no folders or notebooks by design, and the developer says new features are deliberately limited.
- It is a mobile-responsive web interface only; the project lists no native desktop or mobile apps.
- Uploaded attachments cannot be viewed or deleted from inside the app and are not removed when their note is deleted.
Memos
- The project runs no hosted service, so you need to operate and back up a server yourself or use an instance someone else runs.
- No native mobile or desktop apps are listed; phones and computers use the web app, which can be installed as a PWA.
- Import is marked as work in progress and accepts only a Memos export ZIP; imports from other note apps are not supported.
- Memos are not arranged in folders or notebooks, and a Space does not let several people edit the same memo.
Key features
flatnotes
- Flat folder of Markdown files
- Notes are .md files in one folder with no database. Files can be added, edited or deleted outside the app while it runs, since only the search index is cached.
- Raw and WYSIWYG editing
- The editor switches between raw Markdown and a WYSIWYG mode. Images can be inserted from the toolbar, dragged in or pasted, and are saved to an attachments folder.
- Full-text search
- Search opens from anywhere with the / key and supports AND and OR, quoted phrases, wildcards and field prefixes for title, content, tags and last-modified date.
- Tags and wikilinks
- A hashtag anywhere in a note tags it, and tags are indexed separately for searching. Double-bracket wikilinks link to other notes by name.
- Authentication modes
- Four modes are offered: none, read-only, username and password, and password plus a time-based one-time code. Read-only suits a blog or documentation site.
- REST API
- A RESTful API is included, with its documentation served at the /docs endpoint of each instance.
Memos
- Timeline of Markdown memos
- Memos are written in Markdown with code highlighting, tables, task lists, math and diagrams, and need no title or folder before saving.
- Search, tags, calendar and map
- Find a memo by its text, nested #tags, the day it was written or the place attached to it. Views save a filter expression for reuse.
- Per-memo visibility and Spaces
- Each memo is private, open to signed-in users, public or limited to a Space. Spaces gather members and memos in one feed but do not grant shared editing.
- Self-hosted in one container
- Runs with Docker, Kubernetes or a binary for Linux, macOS or Windows, and keeps data in SQLite, MySQL or PostgreSQL on infrastructure you control.
- API, webhooks and MCP server
- REST and gRPC APIs cover the product's features, signed webhooks fire when memos change, and a built-in MCP endpoint lets AI assistants search and write memos.
- Web Clipper and Telegram capture
- A browser extension for Chromium-based browsers and Firefox saves pages, selections and images as Markdown, and a Telegram bot forwards messages into Memos.
Plans
flatnotes
flatnotes$0
The full app, self-hosted with Docker. The README also points to PikaPods, a third-party host, for a hosted instance.
Memos
Memos software$0
Every feature, including sharing, Spaces, the API and all three database backends. Hosting is arranged and paid for separately.
