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flatnotes vs SiYuan: catalog facts
flatnotes	SiYuan
Free Free to self-host from the public GitHub repository.	Freemium Most features are free, including for commercial use. The official cloud sync and assets…
Web, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Self-hosted
No database; notes are plain Markdown files Flat folder storage is easy to back up or sync	Block-level references and two-way links with custom attributes SQL queries embedded inside notes for building your own views
Requires running your own server Flat folder structure offers little hierarchy for large collections	Notes live in the app's own store rather than plain files in a folder The interface has a lot of concepts to learn at once
Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: AGPL-3.0
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.