Memos vs Trilium Notes

Detailed comparison to help you choose the right tool for your needs

M

Memos

Lightweight self-hosted note-taking for quick capture

4.5
Editorial Rating
T

Trilium Notes

Powerful self-hosted hierarchical knowledge base

4.5
Editorial Rating

Quick Comparison

Rating

4.5
vs
4.5

Starting Price

Free
vs
Free

Pricing Model

free
vs
free
Feature
Memos
Trilium Notes
Quick note capture
Markdown support
Tags and filters
Timeline view
REST API
Mobile-friendly
Hierarchical notes
Rich text editor
Note relations and maps
Full-text search
Web clipper
Encrypted notes

Memos Pros

  • Incredibly lightweight — runs on a Raspberry Pi
  • Perfect for quick thought capture without heavy UI
  • 59K GitHub stars reflect genuine community enthusiasm
  • Single Docker container with SQLite makes deployment trivial
  • Mobile-friendly web interface for on-the-go capture
  • API enables automation and integration with other tools

Memos Cons

  • Not designed for long-form documents or complex knowledge bases
  • Limited formatting compared to full note-taking apps
  • No real-time collaboration features
  • Search is basic compared to tools like Trilium
  • No native mobile app — browser-based only
  • Plugin ecosystem is minimal

Trilium Notes Pros

  • Powerful hierarchical organization
  • Relation maps for knowledge graphing
  • Desktop and server modes
  • Code block syntax highlighting
  • Excellent search
  • Web clipper for research

Trilium Notes Cons

  • UI looks dated compared to modern note apps
  • Mobile experience via browser is limited
  • Single developer project
  • Learning curve for power features
  • No native mobile app

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