BlockNote vs Quill
BlockNote
blocknotejs.orgQuill
quilljs.comSide by side
| Figure | BlockNote | Quill |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $195/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 3 | 1 |
| Spec score · Rich Text Editor Software | 8.3 (#8) | 7.7 (#17) |
| Customization | Developers can create custom block types, customize menus, or build their own UI from scratch. | Quill exposes a document model designed for extension and customization, including custom formats and content. |
| Maker | The about page says BlockNote is developed by engineers led by Matthew Lipski, Nick Perez, and Yousef El-Dardiry. | Quill is developed and maintained by Slab. |
| Product | BlockNote is an open-source, modular rich-text editor for developers building modern web applications. | Quill is a free, open-source WYSIWYG rich text editor built for the modern web. |
Plans
In their own words
BlockNote
BlockNote is an open-source rich-text editor for developers adding document editing to web applications. It is suited to knowledge bases, note-taking apps, document editors, and internal tools, with a ready-made animated interface and block-based documents to start from. Developers can add custom block types, change menus, or build a UI from scratch. The editor is built on ProseMirror and TipTap; real-time collaboration uses Yjs, with providers including Liveblocks, PartyKit, Y-Sweet, Hocuspocus, y-websocket, and y-webrtc. Documentation lists y-indexeddb for offline storage. BlockNote imports and exports its JSON format and HTML, while conversions to standard HTML and Markdown are marked lossy. XL packages add AI integration, multi-column layouts, and exports to PDF, DOCX, ODT, and email. They are free for open-source projects under GPL-3.0; closed-source use requires a commercial license. The Community plan is free, and Business is $195 a month, billed yearly. It runs self-hosted or on the web.
Quill
Quill is a free, API-driven rich text editor for developers. Its API exposes content, changes and events using JSON, with operations that access or modify content by indexes and lengths. The document model supports extensions for custom formats and embeds, including slide decks, interactive checklists and 3D models. Built-in formatting covers text styles, links, headings, lists, alignment, code blocks, images and video; formulas require KaTeX. Official modules provide configurable toolbar, clipboard, keyboard, history and syntax features. History supports undo and redo with adjustable delay, stack size and handling of programmatic changes. Clipboard matchers control copy, cut and paste, and the documentation warns that unsafe HTML handling can create cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. Developers can configure toolbar handlers or provide custom HTML. Quill includes Snow and Bubble themes, runs in modern desktop, tablet and phone browsers, and can be loaded from jsDelivr or npm with full and core builds. Slab maintains it under a BSD license for personal and commercial projects.