Trilium Notes
A personal knowledge tree with relations, attributes and a sync server you control.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-10
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- AGPL-3.0+
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- desktopwebself-hostedextensionone-click install
- Installation
- Desktop release package, or Docker Compose/image for a server and browser client
- Operational Setup
- The desktop app is straightforward, but cross-device sync and browser access require operating a Trilium server, persisting document.db, and handling backups and upgrades
- Where Your Data Lives
- Notes, hierarchy, attributes, revisions, and most attachments live in a local or server-side SQLite database named document.db; notes can be exported to HTML, Markdown, or OPML
- The Catch / Trade-off
- Trilium uses a hierarchical note tree and client-server sync rather than Anytype's typed object graph and encrypted peer-to-peer space model.
Replaces 4 paid apps
up to $52.99/mo ($636/yr) in subscriptions
Trilium Notes FAQ
Common questions
Is Trilium Notes free and open source?+
Trilium Notes is an open-source tool licensed under AGPL-3.0+ that runs on local or hosted. A personal knowledge tree with relations, attributes and a sync server you control.
What paid software does Trilium Notes replace?+
Trilium Notes serves as a free replacement for 4 paid SaaS applications: Anytype, Capacities, Microsoft OneNote, Tana, saving up to $52.99/month ($636/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up Trilium Notes?+
Installation: Desktop release package, or Docker Compose/image for a server and browser client. Setup notes: The desktop app is straightforward, but cross-device sync and browser access require operating a Trilium server, persisting document.db, and handling backups and upgrades
What is the catch or trade-off with Trilium Notes?+
Trilium uses a hierarchical note tree and client-server sync rather than Anytype's typed object graph and encrypted peer-to-peer space model.