Jotty vs SilverBullet
We give Jotty a 3.2 GPA and SilverBullet a 3.4, out of 4.0. SilverBullet grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
SilverBullet
Scriptable Markdown knowledge base, self-hosted or on desktop
Free plan · from $50/yr
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAJottyVery good | 3.4GPASilverBulletVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source under AGPL-3.0, with no paid plans at all. The site says the project is fully and forever open source. You provide the server, and donations are optional. | AThe Server is free and MIT-licensed for any number of users, and Desktop Personal is free too. Using the desktop app for work needs Pro at $50 per user a year, which is still under what note apps typically charge. Hosted on PikaPods, it starts at $2 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full app is free: notes, checklists, Kanban, encryption, sharing, sign-in options and the API. Nothing is kept back, because there's no paid plan to keep it for. | AYou could stay free for good. The Server has no user limit, at home or at work, and Desktop Personal gives you unlimited spaces and sync with any Server. Only work use of the desktop app costs money. |
| Features | AA rich-text editor that saves Markdown, checklists that grow into Kanban projects with a time tracker and calendar, wikilinks and @mentions that work both ways, a 2D or 3D map of your links, encryption per note and sharing by public link. That's a lot for free. | AA Markdown editor that renders as you type, wiki links with Linked Mentions, queries that update as your notes change, and Space Lua for adding your own commands and widgets. The Server adds accounts, roles, comments and single sign-on. Live sync and the object graph are still marked experimental. |
| Ease of use | DIt has to be self-hosted. Docker Compose is the recommended route, with a Proxmox script and an Unraid template as other ways in. And the developer advises backing up the data folder before every feature update, so there's upkeep too. | CNo rating on record. The desktop app opens any local folder, which is simple enough. But using it in a browser or on a phone means running the Server as a container or a binary, or renting one from PikaPods. And the clever parts are things you script. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app with a REST API, an optional MCP server for AI clients, and sign-in through OIDC or LDAP. There's no native app. The PWA caches pages you've already visited, but creating or editing offline isn't supported. | BAny browser through the Server, plus desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux, and your notes can sit in a git repository. There's no app-store mobile app. Phones open the Server in a browser and can install it as a PWA. |
| Best for | notes and checklists on a server you run | Markdown notes you can query and script |
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: Jotty and SilverBullet. How we grade
Where they differ
- Jotty is free. SilverBullet starts at $50 per user / year (Desktop Pro, required for work use).
- Only SilverBullet lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Jotty also covers tasks and kanban boards.
- SilverBullet also covers wiki.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostableNotesMarkdownLinked notes
At a glance
| Jotty | SilverBullet | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $50 per user / year (Desktop Pro, required for work use) |
| Free plan | Free and open source under AGPL-3.0, with no paid plans. The site says the project is fully and forever open source; you provide the server, and donations are optional. | SilverBullet Server is free and open source for any number of users. Desktop Personal is free for personal use and education, with unlimited spaces and sync with any Server. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | fccview | Zef Hemel |
| Price read from | jotty.page | silverbullet.md |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Jotty
- Self-hosters who want notes and checklists in one app
- Households or small groups sharing lists on their own server
- People who want their data as Markdown files, not in a database
SilverBullet
- People who want Markdown notes they can query and script
- Self-hosters running a personal or team wiki from one container
- Developers keeping documentation in the same git repository as their code
Worth knowing
Jotty
- It has to be self-hosted: Docker Compose is the recommended route, with a Proxmox script and an Unraid template as alternatives.
- There is no native app. The PWA caches pages already visited, but creating or editing items offline is not supported.
- The developer advises backing up the data folder before every feature update, since those can change data structures.
- The MCP server for AI clients is a separate container that has to be run alongside Jotty.
SilverBullet
- Using the Desktop app at work requires Pro at $50 per user per year; only personal and education use is free.
- Desktop is not open source. The FAQ says only SilverBullet Server is, with the same editor and Space Lua in both.
- There is no app-store mobile app: phones open the Server in a browser and can install it as a PWA.
- The features page marks live sync, the Mention Inbox and the object graph as experimental.
Key features
Jotty
- Checklists and task projects
- Simple checklists have progress bars, nested categories, drag and drop and bulk add. Task projects add Kanban boards with custom statuses, a time tracker and a calendar view for due dates.
- Rich-text notes in Markdown
- A WYSIWYG editor built on TipTap saves GitHub Flavored Markdown, with code highlighting, callouts, diagrams, tags and a switch to the Markdown source.
- File-based storage
- Checklists and notes are Markdown files and users and settings are JSON, all in one data folder with no database. Backing up an instance means copying that folder.
- Links and the brain view
- Wikilinks and @mentions connect notes and checklists in both directions. A 2D or 3D map shows how items connect and suggests links that have not been made.
- Note encryption
- Any note can be encrypted with a passphrase using XChaCha20-Poly1305 or with PGP keys, and the file stays encrypted on disk until you choose to decrypt it.
- Sharing, sign-in and API
- Items can be shared with other users on the instance or by public link, with OIDC, LDAP and MFA sign-in. A REST API and an optional MCP server allow automation.
SilverBullet
- Live Preview Markdown editor
- Plain Markdown is rendered as you type, including links, tasks, tables, code and widgets. Outlining, templates, slash commands, a daily journal and an optional Vim mode are included.
- Wiki links and Linked Mentions
- Double-bracket links connect pages, headings or positions, every page lists where it is mentioned, and a page or section can be embedded inside another.
- Live queries
- Notes can be queried like a database from inside a page, for example open tasks across projects or every page with a tag, and the results update as notes change.
- Space Lua scripting
- A Lua dialect built into the notes adds commands, widgets and automations with no build step, and CSS written in a page restyles the interface.
- Server for browsers and teams
- The Server runs as one container or a single binary and is used from any browser, with accounts and roles, comments, @-mentions, single sign-on and read-only publishing.
- Desktop app with sync
- Desktop opens any local folder as a space, binds system-wide shortcuts to commands, and syncs both ways with your own or a hosted SilverBullet Server.
Plans
Jotty
Jotty$0
The full app as a single Docker image, with a Proxmox community script and an Unraid template as other ways to install it.
SilverBullet
Server$0
The MIT-licensed server for any number of users, at home or at work, run on your own hardware and used from a browser.
Desktop Personal$0
The desktop app for personal use and education, with unlimited spaces and sync with any SilverBullet Server.
Desktop Pro$50
per user / year
Needed for work use. Adds Meta Space, the Edge release channel of nightly builds, and bulk seats that can be assigned to a team.
Cloud$2
per month and up, billed by PikaPods
SilverBullet Server hosted by PikaPods, an independent host, with one-click deployment and starting credit at sign-up.
Ways to pay less
Jotty
No public discounts listed.
SilverBullet
- Education
Desktop is free for use in education
SilverBullet Desktop is free for personal use and for use in education. Only work use needs the Pro license at $50 per user per year.
