If you’re looking to move off Notion, you have options. Real ones. Here are the 5 open-source, self-hostable alternatives I’ve tested, with honest notes on what each does well and where each falls short.
Why leave Notion?
- Notion pricing scales badly once you add teammates ($10/user/mo).
- Your notes and databases live on their servers with proprietary export.
- Notion AI adds another $8/mo per user for features you can run locally.
The 5 best self-hosted alternatives to Notion
AppFlowy
The closest look-alike to Notion. Databases, kanban, docs — all self-hosted or local desktop.
Visit AppFlowy website →AFFiNE
Whiteboard-first alternative. Feels closer to Miro + Notion combined. Rapid dev pace.
Visit AFFiNE website →Trilium Notes
Hierarchical notes with a serious engineering vibe. Best for personal knowledge bases.
Visit Trilium Notes website →Outline
Team-focused wiki. Cleaner than Confluence, closer to a hosted product feel.
Visit Outline website →SilverBullet
Markdown-native personal wiki with a scriptable plugin system.
Visit SilverBullet website →Quick comparison
| Alternative | Difficulty | License |
|---|---|---|
| AppFlowy | Easy | AGPL-3.0 |
| AFFiNE | Medium | MIT |
| Trilium Notes | Medium | AGPL-3.0 |
| Outline | Medium | BSL-1.1 |
| SilverBullet | Medium | MIT |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Notion?
Yes. Every tool listed above is free and open source. Some, like AppFlowy, also have optional paid hosted tiers if you don’t want to run the server yourself. Everything else is genuinely free to self-host — you pay only for your own hardware and time.
Which one should I pick if I’ve never self-hosted anything before?
Start with AppFlowy. It’s the lowest-friction option here — realistic to have running in an afternoon on a small server or Raspberry Pi. If it doesn’t fit your workflow, AFFiNE is a good second try.
Can I run these on a Raspberry Pi?
Most of them, yes — the tools marked Easy here will comfortably run on a Pi 4 or Pi 5 with 4GB+ of RAM. The Medium tools may work but appreciate a mini PC or a spare desktop. Hard-tagged tools generally want real server hardware.
What about mobile apps?
It varies. Tools like Vaultwarden and Immich have native iOS/Android apps that connect to your server. Others rely on the web UI through your phone browser — fine for occasional use, not a full app experience.