AppFlowy vs Outline: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Notion. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| AppFlowy | Outline | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Productivity | Productivity |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BUSL-1.1 |
| GitHub stars | 59k | 30k |
| Tech stack | Rust, Flutter, PostgreSQL | Node.js, React, PostgreSQL, Redis |
| Replaces | Notion | Confluence, Notion |
AppFlowy has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
AppFlowy
Notes and database workspace, the open source alternative to Notion.
Pros
- Noticeably better performance with large documents
- No artificial limits on blocks or members
- Self-hostable with full control of your data
Things to consider
- Plugin ecosystem still smaller than Notion's
- AGPL-3.0 requires releasing your code if you modify and offer it as a service
Outline
Fast, elegant team wiki, an alternative to Confluence.
Pros
- Very polished interface, fast team adoption
Things to consider
- BUSL-1.1 license restricts offering it as a competing SaaS
Key features
AppFlowy
- Notion-style block editor with databases
- Local-first mode, works offline
- Native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android
- Plugins and open API
Outline
- Real-time collaborative editing
- Instant search
- Collections and team permissions