The 3 Best Open-Source Notion Alternatives to Self-Host (2025)
Serdarcan Büyükdereli
2025-09-15
5 min read
939 words
Introduction - Is There Life After Notion?
We all know Notion. With its flexible structure, clean interface, and "all-in-one" philosophy, it has captured the hearts of millions. But what if you want complete control over your data? Or what if you're looking for an open-source solution that runs on your own server, free from monthly subscription fees? If you answered "Yes!", then you're ready to see that there is indeed life after Notion—and it can be much more exciting.
In this article, we'll examine three powerful, open-source, and self-hostable alternatives that are vying for Notion's throne. We will explore the visual richness of AFFiNE, the data privacy and developer power of Siyuan, and the speed and simplicity of Docmost for team documentation. Our goal is to clearly determine which tool is the best candidate to become your "personal Notion."
If you love Notion's flexibility and visual interface but want an open-source alternative, AFFiNE should be your first stop. It captures Notion's "all-in-one" spirit by combining traditional documents with Kanban boards, which function like Notion's databases, and whiteboards that offer an infinite canvas.
It's a Notion-like, all-in-one platform that combines note-taking, drawing, and planning into a single, intuitive interface.
Its biggest differentiator is the ability to transform a standard document into a visual whiteboard with a single click, providing a seamless transition between text and visuals.
With over 30,000 stars on GitHub and an active Discord community, it has strong and continuously growing support behind it.
You can get started instantly with AFFiNE Cloud or effortlessly install it on your own server with a single docker run command.
While it values data ownership with its "local-first" architecture, its developer API is still maturing, with the current focus being more on the end-user experience.
Its core features are completely open-source and free under a generous MIT license, while offering subscription plans for cloud-based synchronization and collaboration features.
It's the perfect alternative for users who love visual thinking, creative teams, and anyone looking for the visual and flexible structure of Notion.
Siyuan: The Notion for Privacy-Obsessed Power Users
Siyuan takes Notion's block-based structure as its foundation but builds its philosophy entirely on data ownership and privacy. All your data is stored directly on your computer or server in standard file formats, without ever passing through third-party servers. Its powerful API turns it into a dream tool for automation and integration.
It's a personal knowledge management system that keeps your data entirely local, combining Notion's block structure with privacy and developer flexibility.
It treats every paragraph, list, or heading as a separate "block" and its ability to link these blocks together turns it into an incredibly flexible database.
Siyuan has a very strong user base, especially in Asia, and its international community is steadily growing through GitHub and official forums, with constant contributions to the tool.
It runs directly as a desktop application for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and can also be hosted on a server via its Docker image for web access.
Thanks to its comprehensive REST API, it offers immense flexibility to developers who want to programmatically access their notes, build automations, and integrate with other applications in ways you couldn't imagine with Notion.
It is open-source under the AGPLv3 license and is completely free for basic use, with a modest annual subscription model for more advanced features.
It's ideal for advanced users and developers who prioritize data privacy above all else and love Notion's block system but want full control via an API.
Do you primarily use Notion for your team's technical documentation and internal wiki? If so, Docmost's minimalist and purpose-driven approach is perfect for you. Designed as a direct competitor to Confluence, this tool avoids the sometimes-overwhelming complexity of Notion and focuses on being one thing: a fast and effective team wiki.
It's a high-performance, minimalist documentation platform designed for software teams that you can host on your own server, focusing on Notion's wiki functionality.
Built with a modern architecture using Go and Svelte, it runs incredibly fast, consumes very few system resources, and has an interface that focuses only on essential features.
It has a smaller, more niche community where interaction and support are handled directly through the project's GitHub Discussions page in a developer-focused manner.
It is available only as a self-hosted solution and can be up and running in minutes for a technical user, thanks to its Docker-based setup.
It is completely open-source and free under the AGPLv3 license; there are no hidden costs or paid tiers.
It is perfect for technical teams that use Notion as a team wiki but are looking for a faster, simpler, and completely free alternative.
Conclusion - Choosing the Right Alternative
Notion is a great tool, but when you want to step out of its ecosystem and become the master of your own data, a variety of powerful alternatives are waiting for you. Your decision depends on which features of Notion you love the most and which of its drawbacks you want to leave behind.
If you want Notion's visual and versatile structure, your choice should be AFFiNE.
If you want to combine Notion's block structure with absolute data control and API power, then Siyuan is your tool.
If you are simply looking for a fast, simple, and free team wiki, Docmost will meet all your expectations.
Remember, the best tool is the one that serves the needs of your project. Don't hesitate to try all three and choose the one that best fits your workflow.
