Notion and AppFlowy, one of its free alternatives, side by side.
Best for a self-hostable Notion-style workspace
All-in-one workspace for notes, wikis, databases and projects, sold per member with a free plan for individuals.
| Fact | AppFlowy | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| License | License: Open sourceAGPL-3.0-only | License: Free tier |
| Maintenance | Status: Active | Status: Verified |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | No |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| No account needed | Yes | No |
| Parity with Notion | 58% | The reference |
License classes: Open source and Free tier. Status rules: Active means a commit in the last 90 days. See the methodology.
How AppFlowy covers what people use Notion for.
| Feature | AppFlowy |
|---|---|
| Databases | |
| Databases with table, board and calendar views | PartialNote 1Grid, board and calendar views, with fewer database features than Notion |
| Writing | |
| Nested pages and a block editor | Yes |
| Collaboration | |
| Real-time collaboration and sharing | PartialNote 2The free cloud plan has one member; teams need a paid plan or a self-hosted server |
| Sharing | |
| Publish pages to the web | PartialNote 3Publishing needs AppFlowy Cloud or a self-hosted server |
| Apps | |
| Mobile apps and offline access | PartialNote 4iOS and Android apps exist; syncing devices needs an account |
| AI | |
| Built-in AI assistant | PartialNote 5AI features are a limited trial on the free plan; local models run through Ollama |
| Parity score | 58% |
| Format | AppFlowy | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| .md | Opens and savesNote 1Documents import and export one page at a time; Notion exports import as MarkdownPartial fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| .html | Saves onlyNote 2Export onlyPartial fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |
| .csv | Opens and savesNote 3Databases import and export as CSVFull fidelity | Opens and savesFull fidelity |