Joplin
Note taking application with markdown editor and encryption support for mobile and desktop platforms. Runs client-side and syncs through your own Nextcloud instance or similar (alternative to Evernote).
Joplin vs Memos
Two self-hosted Note-taking & Editors apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Joplin | Memos | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Note taking application with markdown editor and encryption support for mobile and desktop platforms. Runs client-side and syncs through your own Nextcloud instance or similar (alternative to Evernote). | Knowledge base that works with a SQLite db file. |
| GitHub stars | 57,044 | 64,286 |
| Forks | 6.4k | 4.9k |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 661 | 54 |
| Commits (12 months) | 2k | 928 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-05 |
| Latest release | v3.7.22 (2026-10-28) | 26.11.0 (2026-11-01) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language / platform | Nodejs | Docker, Go |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $3.5/mo |
| Categories | Note-taking & Editors | Note-taking & Editors |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Joplin and Memos have a similar number of GitHub stars (57k vs 64.3k).
- Joplin had more commits in the last 12 months (2,005 vs 928).
- Memos published a release more recently (26.11.0 on 2026-11-01; Joplin's latest is v3.7.22 on 2026-10-28).
- Both are licensed under MIT.
- Joplin is written in Nodejs; Memos in Go.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Joplin: none listed; Memos: Docker.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Memos (~512 MB server) than Joplin (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Joplin leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Joplin or Memos more popular?
They are close: Joplin has 57,044 GitHub stars and Memos has 64,286 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, Joplin or Memos?
Joplin had more commits over the last 12 months (2,005 vs 928). Both had repository activity on 2026-11-05. Our health labels: Joplin is “Active”, Memos is “Active”.
What licenses do Joplin and Memos use?
Both use MIT.
Can I run Joplin and Memos with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Memos. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
Memos
Knowledge base that works with a SQLite db file.
Browse all self-hosted Note-taking & Editors apps.