Memos vs NoteDiscovery
We give Memos and NoteDiscovery the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. They get the same grade on all five counts.
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
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAMemosVery good | 3.0GPANoteDiscoveryVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe pricing page says the whole product costs $0, under the MIT licence, with no seat fees and no premium features. The only bill is for whatever server you put it on, and that goes to your host, not to Memos. | AFree and open source under the MIT licence. The site says there are no paid tiers, no accounts and no telemetry. You'd only pay if you rent a server or deploy through PikaPods, which is a separate hosting service. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: sharing, Spaces, the API and all three database options. There's one codebase and no Pro edition sitting above it. | AThe full app is free and there's nothing above it to upgrade to. Install it with Docker, or run it directly with Python 3.8 or higher. |
| Features | BMarkdown memos with code, tables, task lists, math and diagrams, found by text, nested tags, date or place. Each one can be private or public. But there are no folders or notebooks, a Space doesn't let two people edit the same memo, and import only takes Memos' own export. | BAn editor with split and preview modes, [[wikilinks]], a backlinks panel, a graph view, tags, templates, LaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams and a sketch editor. That's a good spread. But text search covers what's inside notes only, not file or folder names, and it's set up for a single user. |
| Ease of use | DYou must host it yourself. It ships as a Docker container or a binary, and running and backing up the server is on you. Writing a memo looks simple once it's up. Getting it up is the hard part. | DYou must host it yourself. There's no hosted version from the maker, so step one is a server and a Docker container. Want more than one user? The README points you to a reverse proxy with OAuth or SSO. |
| Platforms and integrations | BA web app that installs as a PWA, a clipper extension for Chromium browsers and Firefox, and a Telegram bot. REST and gRPC APIs, webhooks and an MCP endpoint are all there too. No native phone or desktop apps are listed. | BA web app you can install as a PWA on a phone or computer, with a built-in MCP server that hooks it up to Claude Desktop, Cursor, Ollama and Open WebUI. There are no native desktop or mobile apps. |
| Best for | a private timeline of quick notes on your own server | reaching a folder of Markdown notes from any browser |
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: Memos and NoteDiscovery. How we grade
Where they differ
- Memos is free. NoteDiscovery is free.
- Only Memos lists a browser extension.
- Memos also covers web clipper.
- NoteDiscovery also covers templates.
In commonFree planWebOpen sourceSelf-hostablePublic APINotesMarkdownLinked notes
At a glance
| Memos | NoteDiscovery | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | 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 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 | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | The Memos project | Gamosoft |
| Price read from | usememos.com | notediscovery.com |
| Checked | Oct 6, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
Memos
Memos software$0
Every feature, including sharing, Spaces, the API and all three database backends. Hosting is arranged and paid for separately.
NoteDiscovery
NoteDiscovery$0
The full self-hosted app, installed with Docker or run directly with Python 3.8 or higher.
