QOwnNotes vs SiYuan
QOwnNotes
qownnotes.org
SiYuan
b3log.orgSide by side
| Figure | QOwnNotes | SiYuan |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $148/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 4 |
| Spec score · Note-taking apps | 8.5 (#53) | 9.1 (#12) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | Nextcloud,ownCloud,Nextcloud Notes,QOwnNotesAPI,Nextcloud Deck,CalDAV,Dropbox,Syncthing,Seafile,BitTorrent Sync,Git | Paid options include third-party S3 and WebDAV data sync and backup; users must provide their own storage, and Nutstore is not supported for WebDAV. |
| Note sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Offline access | Yes | Yes |
| Supported platforms | web,windows,macos,linux,android,chrome_extension | Windows,macOS,Linux,iOS,Android,web interface,Chrome/Edge extension,API,Docker self-hosting |
| Purpose | QOwnNotes is a GPL-licensed plain-text Markdown note-taking application for GNU/Linux, macOS, and Windows. | SiYuan describes itself as a privacy-first personal knowledge management system supporting Markdown, block-level references, and bidirectional links. |
Plans
SiYuan
- FreeFree
- Subscription$148 a month
- PRO Features$64, paid once
- Subscription$148, paid once
In their own words
QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a free, GPL-licensed note-taking application built around plain-text Markdown files. Notes stay in a folder on your computer, and the app does not sync notes or media itself; you can choose a separate sync client such as Nextcloud or ownCloud. Those services can also provide note sharing, task lists, note history, and access to trashed notes. The editor offers Markdown highlighting and preview, hierarchical tags and subfolders, wiki-style links, Vim mode, and portable mode. Optional encryption includes built-in AES-256 and custom methods such as PGP. You can import from Evernote or Joplin, or work with existing text and Markdown files directly. QOwnNotes is available for GNU/Linux, macOS, Windows, Android, and the web, with a browser extension for clipping selected text, screenshots, and bookmarks. A web companion sends phone photos to the current desktop note. Integrations include Nextcloud, ownCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, Seafile, CalDAV, and Git. The software is open source, with no paid plans stated.
SiYuan
SiYuan is a personal knowledge management system for building a linked collection of notes. It supports Markdown, block-level references and bidirectional links, and organizes content into blocks with more than 20 block-level and more than 10 span-level element types. Backlinks can be filtered and searched; relationship graphs are available across a notebook and at block level. Databases support relations, rollups and templates, while flashcards use the FSRS spaced-repetition algorithm. Its AI feature connects to OpenAI for writing continuation, translation, summaries, brainstorming and grammar or spelling corrections. SiYuan supports offline access, and the maker describes multi-device synchronization as incremental and end-to-end encrypted. It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and the web, with a Chrome/Edge extension, API and Docker self-hosting. The maker says data stays under the user's control on their device. Free access is free; PRO Features is listed at $64 a month with lifetime-use wording, and Subscription at $148 a month with 8GB cloud storage.