flatnotes vs NoteDiscovery
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
NoteDiscovery
Self-hosted Markdown knowledge base that runs in the browser
Free
Where they differ
- flatnotes is free. NoteDiscovery is free.
- NoteDiscovery also covers templates.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APINotesMarkdownLinked notes
At a glance
| flatnotes | NoteDiscovery | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. The site states there are no paid tiers, no accounts and no telemetry; you run it on your own server. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Adam Dullage | Gamosoft |
| Price read from | github.com | notediscovery.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 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
NoteDiscovery
- Self-hosters who want notes kept as Markdown files on their own server
- People with an Obsidian vault who want to reach it from a browser
- Connecting a personal note collection to AI assistants over MCP
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.
NoteDiscovery
- There is no hosted version from the maker and no cloud sync: you run a server yourself or deploy through PikaPods, a separate hosting service.
- There are no native desktop or mobile apps; it is used in a browser and can be installed as a progressive web app.
- Password protection is off by default and is one password built for single-user use; the README suggests a reverse proxy with OAuth or SSO for multi-user setups.
- Text search covers note contents only, not file or folder names.
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.
NoteDiscovery
- Markdown editor with live preview
- Edit, split and preview modes with auto-save, code highlighting, LaTeX math through MathJax and Mermaid diagrams.
- Wikilinks, backlinks and graph view
- Notes link with [[wikilink]] syntax, a backlinks panel shows which notes point at the current one, and an interactive graph maps the connections.
- Plain-file storage
- Notes are Markdown files in normal folders, so an existing Obsidian vault can be dropped in and the files open in any other Markdown editor.
- Built-in MCP server
- A Model Context Protocol server lets assistants such as Claude Desktop and Cursor search, create, edit and organize notes.
- Tags and templates
- Tags are set in YAML frontmatter and can be combined with text search. New notes can start from templates with dynamic placeholders.
- Drawing editor and public sharing
- Sketches are saved as PNG files beside the notes, and a note can be shared through a token-based link or exported as standalone HTML.
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.
NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery$0
The full self-hosted app, installed with Docker or run directly with Python 3.8 or higher.
