# Trilium Notes review (2026): is it any good? > Open-source hierarchical note-taking and personal knowledge base Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. Trilium Notes (TriliumNext) is an open-source app for organizing notes in a tree where one note can sit in several places. It runs as a desktop app or on a self-hosted server that syncs across devices. It is AGPL-3.0 licensed and needs no account. - **Category:** Docs & Wikis - **Made by:** Elian Doran and the community (since 2017) - **Website:** https://triliumnotes.org - **Runs on:** Web, Windows, macOS, Linux - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you want native iPhone or Android apps, as phones use a web app on a server. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 13, 2026, Trilium Notes is free to use. - **Pricing model:** Free - **Free plan:** Free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license, with no account needed. - **Free trial:** None listed. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Open source | $0 | Desktop apps and a self-hostable server, free; third-party paid hosting is available on PikaPods. | Read from https://triliumnotes.org on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Trilium Notes before buying. ## Key features - **Note tree:** Notes nest as sub-notes with no folders, and a note can be cloned into several places. - **Many note types:** Text, Markdown, code, spreadsheet, canvas, Mermaid, mind map and file notes. - **Sync and sharing:** A self-hosted or cloud server syncs notes, and a subtree can be published as a public read-only site. - **Search and protection:** Fuzzy title navigation, full-text search including text in images and PDFs via OCR, and password-locked protected notes. - **REST API and scripting:** A built-in REST API and scripting for automation. - **Web clipper:** A browser extension saves pages and screenshots into Trilium. ## Good for - People building a large personal knowledge base - Users who want to self-host and sync their own notes - Tinkerers who like scripting and note relations ## Worth knowing - The download page offers Windows, Linux and macOS desktop apps; phone access is through a web app (PWA) on a server. - Syncing needs a self-hosted server; the paid host listed is third-party, not affiliated with the team. - The roster's TriliumNext docs repo is archived; the project now lives at triliumnotes.org. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.2 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Trilium Notes is a free, open source note app with a tree where one note can live in several places, and desktop apps for Windows, Mac and Linux. But syncing needs a server you host yourself, and phone use is through a web app on that server. - **Value for money: A.** Free under the AGPL-3.0 license, and you can just download the desktop apps and use them, so it is under the category's cheapest quarter. - **Free plan and trial: A.** Free outright with no account and no paid plan from the team. - **Features: C.** Note tree, many note types, search, a REST API, scripting and a web clipper. The listing shows a gap: syncing across devices needs a self-hosted server. - **Ease of use: B.** No store rating on record, but you install a desktop app and start writing with nothing to set up. - **Platforms and integrations: B.** Windows, Mac and Linux apps plus a web app for phones, and a REST API. No native phone apps. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Trilium Notes's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among docs and wiki tools - Trilium Notes's GPA of 3.2 is higher than 81 of the 86 other docs and wiki tools we grade, and level with 1. - It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 61 of 86) and worst on features (C, above 2). - Trilium Notes has no paid plan. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/docs-wikis ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** Trilium Notes is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces. It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.2 is higher than 81 of the 86 other docs and wiki tools we grade. - You could make: Notes, wiki and web clipper: an app builder makes these well. - You could not: Apps for macOS, Windows and Linux that stay in step with each other. - You could not: It plugs into other products, Docker, PikaPods and OpenID Connect among them, and has an API. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with Docker, PikaPods, OpenID Connect **Tags:** Open source, Self-hostable, Works offline, Notes, Wiki, Web clipper, Public API ## Alternatives - [Docmost](https://toolgpa.com/tools/docmost): Open-source collaborative wiki you deploy on your own servers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/docmost-vs-triliumnext) - [BookStack](https://toolgpa.com/tools/bookstack): Free self-hosted wiki organized into books, chapters and pages. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bookstack-vs-triliumnext) - [Wiki.js](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wiki-js): Open-source wiki software built on Node.js with Git sync. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/triliumnext-vs-wiki-js) - [DokuWiki](https://toolgpa.com/tools/dokuwiki): Open-source wiki software that needs no database. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dokuwiki-vs-triliumnext) - [HedgeDoc](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hedgedoc): Open-source, self-hosted collaborative Markdown editor. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hedgedoc-vs-triliumnext) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://triliumnotes.org - https://triliumnotes.org/get-started/ - https://github.com/TriliumNext/Trilium - https://triliumnext.github.io/Docs/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/triliumnext Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).