AFFiNE vs Open Notebook
Short answer
AFFiNE: Notion- and Miro-style workspace (docs, whiteboards, databases) with built-in AI, self-hostable with Docker. Open Notebook: Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. Both are in our Knowledge base & RAG category.
Choose AFFiNE if you want: larger community (74.0k vs 40.8k GitHub stars).
Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo) and fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core).
Last updated · computed from each project's official docs and live GitHub data · sources
AFFiNE vs Open Notebook side by side
| AFFiNE | Open Notebook | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge base & RAG | Knowledge base & RAG |
| What it is | Notion- and Miro-style workspace (docs, whiteboards, databases) with built-in AI, self-hostable with Docker. | Private, self-hosted alternative to Google NotebookLM with your choice of AI models. |
| License | MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code | MIT |
| License type | Open core | Permissive |
| License conditions | The README says the Community Edition is free to self-host under the MIT license. The server code under packages/backend carries an AFFiNE Enterprise Edition license that applies to parts not distributed as Community Edition. Self-hosted workspaces get up to 10 seats; more seats need a paid Team Plan or Installable License. | Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| GitHub stars | 74.0k | 40.8k |
| Last commit | Oct 27, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | v0.27.4 | v1.15.0 |
| Minimum hardware | Not published | 4 GB RAM |
| Recommended hardware | 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM | Not published |
| RAM measured by us | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| GPU | Not required / not stated | Not required / not stated |
| Est. server cost | from €35.99/mo | from €19.99/mo |
| Deploy method | Docker Compose (official images) | Docker Compose |
| Known gotchas | 4 listed | 4 listed |
| Telemetry | Not documented | Not documented |
| Calls home by default | Not documented | Not documented |
| SSO (OIDC / SAML / LDAP) | Free with limits (OIDC free) | Not supported (OIDC not supported · SAML not supported · LDAP not supported) |
| Audit log | Not documented | No |
| RBAC | Not documented | No |
| Details | Full AFFiNE guide → | Full Open Notebook guide → |
Key differences
- License: AFFiNE: MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code (Open core). Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive).
- Official hardware: AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
- Est. server cost: AFFiNE: from €35.99/mo. Open Notebook: from €19.99/mo.
- Deploy: AFFiNE: Docker Compose (official images) · multi-container stack. Open Notebook: Docker Compose · multi-container stack.
- GitHub stars: AFFiNE: 74.0k. Open Notebook: 40.8k.
- Last commit: AFFiNE: Oct 27, 2026. Open Notebook: Oct 5, 2026.
- Latest release: AFFiNE: v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026). Open Notebook: v1.15.0 (Oct 4, 2026).
Same for both: Category: Knowledge base & RAG; GPU: not required or not stated; Status: Active.
AFFiNE vs Open Notebook: FAQ
AFFiNE or Open Notebook: which should a small business choose?
Choose AFFiNE if you want: larger community (74.0k vs 40.8k GitHub stars). Choose Open Notebook if you want: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo) and fewer license conditions (Permissive vs Open core).
Which is cheaper to self-host, AFFiNE or Open Notebook?
Open Notebook: cheaper to host (from €19.99/mo vs €35.99/mo).
How much hardware do AFFiNE and Open Notebook need?
AFFiNE: recommended 4 vCPU · 2 GB RAM (no separate minimum published). Open Notebook: minimum 4 GB RAM.
What is the license difference between AFFiNE and Open Notebook?
AFFiNE: MIT (Community Edition) with Enterprise Edition license for server code (Open core). The README says the Community Edition is free to self-host under the MIT license. The server code under packages/backend carries an AFFiNE Enterprise Edition license that applies to parts not distributed as Community Edition. Self-hosted workspaces get up to 10 seats; more seats need a paid Team Plan or Installable License. Open Notebook: MIT (Permissive). Permissive. Internal and commercial use allowed; keep the license notice. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Is AFFiNE or Open Notebook more actively maintained?
AFFiNE: Active, last commit Oct 27, 2026. Open Notebook: Active, last commit Oct 5, 2026. GitHub data refreshed Oct 29, 2026.
Which is easier to deploy, AFFiNE or Open Notebook?
AFFiNE installs via Docker Compose (official images) (multi-container stack); Open Notebook via Docker Compose (multi-container stack). AFFiNE lists 4 known gotchas and Open Notebook lists 4; see each app page.
Related
- AFFiNE self-hosting guide · Open Notebook self-hosting guide
- All AFFiNE alternatives, ranked
- All Open Notebook alternatives, ranked
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- AFFiNE vs PrivateGPT
- AFFiNE vs RAGFlow
- AnythingLLM vs Open Notebook
- DocsGPT vs Open Notebook
- FastGPT vs Open Notebook
- Add a third app in the interactive comparison
Sources
- AFFiNE GitHub repository: github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE
- AFFiNE documentation: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine
- AFFiNE license: github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE/blob/canary/LICENSE
- AFFiNE hardware requirements: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/requirements
- AFFiNE deploy instructions: docs.affine.pro/self-host-affine/install/docker-compose-recommended
- Open Notebook GitHub repository: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook
- Open Notebook documentation, Open Notebook hardware requirements: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/docs/1-INSTALLATION/docker-compose.md
- Open Notebook license: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook/blob/main/LICENSE
- Open Notebook deploy instructions: github.com/lfnovo/open-notebook#step-1-download-docker-composeyml
- Hetzner Cloud pricing used for cost estimates (read 2026-10-25): www.hetzner.com/cloud/regular-performance
- GitHub REST API (stars, commits, releases): docs.github.com/en/rest
Every value is generated from the same verified data as the app pages. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.