flatnotes vs Trilium Notes
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Trilium Notes
Free, open-source hierarchical notes for a personal knowledge base
Free
Where they differ
- flatnotes is free. Trilium Notes is free.
- Only Trilium Notes lists Windows, macOS and Linux apps.
- Only Trilium Notes lists a browser extension.
- flatnotes also covers linked notes.
- Trilium Notes also covers web clipper.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APINotesMarkdown
At a glance
| flatnotes | Trilium Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Entirely free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, with no paid tiers, accounts or feature paywalls. The project accepts donations. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Adam Dullage | Elian Doran and the community |
| Price read from | github.com | triliumnotes.org |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 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
Trilium Notes
- People building a large personal knowledge base on a desktop computer
- Self-hosters who want sync on a server they control
- Tinkerers who want to script and extend their notes app
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.
Trilium Notes
- There is no official mobile app; phones reach a self-hosted server through the browser or an installed PWA.
- There is no official hosted version, so syncing devices means running your own server or paying a third-party host such as PikaPods.
- It is designed for a single user: real-time editing of the same notes by several people is not supported.
- Notes are kept in an SQLite database rather than plain-text files, and are not encrypted unless marked as protected.
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.
Trilium Notes
- Hierarchical notes
- Notes nest inside other notes instead of folders, and a single note can appear in several places in the tree. Labels and relations add structure.
- Many note types
- Rich text, Markdown, code, spreadsheet, canvas, Mermaid diagram, mind map and file notes can be mixed freely in the same tree.
- Collections
- Display a group of notes as a calendar, table, kanban board, map, presentation or dashboard, and switch between layouts at any time.
- Sync through your own server
- A self-hosted server syncs notes across devices, gives access from a browser and can publish a subtree of notes as a read-only website.
- Scripting and REST API
- JavaScript runs in the app or on the server to add widgets and automate work, and a built-in REST API reads, creates and updates notes over HTTP.
- Protected notes and revisions
- Selected notes can be encrypted behind a password-protected session, and periodic background revisions let you review or undo changes.
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.
Trilium Notes
Free$0
Every feature of the desktop apps and the self-hosted server, including sync, scripting and the REST API.
