Anytype sells a rare pitch: one workspace that stores objects locally, syncs peer-to-peer, and treats notes, tasks, and small databases as the same building block. The pitch holds until two devices sit on different networks and the sync backup node quietly does most of the work anyway, at which point you notice how much of the “local-first” story leans on hosted infrastructure. The database views are still catching up to Notion, the plugin surface is a fraction of Obsidian’s, and mobile parity trails desktop by a release or two.
We tested seven Anytype alternatives on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Every pick keeps the local-first premise and swaps in something Anytype has not yet nailed: mature databases, a real plugin ecosystem, a self-hosted server you control, or a smoother cross-device sync that does not depend on a discovery relay.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Plugin-first note takers | Free for personal use | Sync $4/mo, Commercial $50/user/yr | 2,000+ community plugins over a plain Markdown vault |
| Logseq | Outliner and daily-notes workflows | Free, open-source | Free (Sync in beta) | Block-level graph over local Markdown or org-mode files |
| AFFiNE | Notion-style databases on your hardware | Free, self-host or Cloud | Cloud AI around $8/mo | Whiteboard, docs, and Kanban share one object model |
| AppFlowy | Direct Notion replacement, open-source | Free desktop app | AI credits from around $10/mo | Full database views (grid, board, calendar) with local storage |
| SiYuan | Block-reference power users | Free desktop app | Cloud sync around $6/mo | Two-way block links and SQL queries over a local SQLite store |
| Trilium Notes | Personal knowledge base with a self-hosted server | Free, open-source | Free (self-host) | Hierarchical notes, scripting, and a proper sync server you run |
| Notesnook | Encrypted note-taking with real cloud sync | Free tier with limits | Pro around $5/mo | End-to-end encryption on every note, attachment, and monograph |
Why people leave Anytype
None of this is “Anytype is broken.” Each item is a friction that shows up after a few weeks of daily use.
- Peer-to-peer sync is not cloud sync. Anytype’s “any-sync” protocol routes through backup nodes when peers cannot reach each other, which is most of the time on mobile networks. The result feels like sync with extra steps and occasional stale objects.
- Database views are young. Sets and Collections cover the basics, but formulas, rollups, and complex filters lag Notion, AppFlowy, and AFFiNE. Power users hit the ceiling quickly.
- The plugin surface is thin. Anytype does not expose a first-class plugin API, so the workspace is what the team ships. Obsidian’s 2,000+ community plugins are the counter-example.
- Mobile parity trails desktop. New object types, view options, and editor tweaks land on desktop first. The iOS and Android apps catch up over subsequent releases.
- No self-hosted server the way people expect. Running your own any-sync node is possible on paper but underdocumented, and the standard workflow leans on Anytype’s hosted backup infrastructure.
The seven alternatives
Obsidian — Best plugin-first alternative
Obsidian is the note app that turned a local Markdown folder into a platform. The vault is a directory of .md files you can back up, grep, or edit outside the app, and the community has built more than two thousand plugins on top of it: Dataview turns notes into queryable tables, Excalidraw adds a drawing surface, Kanban ships a board view, and Templater fills the gaps where a database would sit. The graph view, backlinks, and canvas whiteboard all read from the same file layer.
Where it falls short: Obsidian is not open-source, and the paid Sync add-on is an extra line item on top of the app if you want end-to-end encrypted device sync without stitching together iCloud or Syncthing.
Pricing:
- Free: Personal use, unlimited local vaults, community plugins
- Paid: Sync $4/mo, Publish $8/mo, Commercial licence $50/user/yr
- vs Anytype: Same local-first premise, far larger ecosystem, weaker databases out of the box
Migrating from Anytype: Export each object as Markdown from Anytype’s built-in exporter, drop the folder into an Obsidian vault, and reconnect internal links with the Link Converter plugin. Databases become Dataview queries over frontmatter fields. Budget an afternoon per hundred objects.
Download: obsidian.md · GitHub (community plugins)
Bottom line: The right pick for anyone whose ceiling with Anytype was the plugin story. Skip it if open-source top to bottom is a hard requirement.
Logseq — Best outliner and daily-notes workflow
Logseq reads and writes the same Markdown or org-mode files as any other tool, but treats each bullet as an addressable block with its own ID. That block-level model turns daily notes into a working outline you can query, embed, and reference across pages without splitting content into new files. The graph is generated from those references, so backlinks are real relationships rather than a mention count.
Where it falls short: The outliner shape is opinionated. If you prefer long-form prose over nested bullets, Logseq will feel like it is fighting you.
Pricing:
- Free: Everything, AGPL-3.0 licensed
- Paid: Logseq Sync is in beta and free during testing
- vs Anytype: Both local-first, Logseq wins on block-level references and free open-source status, Anytype wins on visual object types
Migrating from Anytype: Export Anytype objects to Markdown, drop them into a Logseq graph, and let the block parser reindex. Anytype’s page relations become Logseq page links; simple databases become properties on blocks that you query with a {{query}} block.
Download: logseq.com · GitHub
Bottom line: The right pick if you think in bullets, timestamps, and references. Skip it if your notes are mostly essays.
AFFiNE — Best Notion-style workspace you can self-host
AFFiNE is the closest thing on this list to Anytype’s “all your work is objects” pitch, with a heavier lean toward Notion-style databases and a whiteboard that lives beside your docs rather than in a separate app. Pages, tables, boards, and canvases share one object model, so a document can embed a Kanban view of the same data another page renders as a calendar. The AFFiNE Server is open-source and runs in Docker on a small VPS.
Where it falls short: AFFiNE is heavier than Anytype at rest and startup. The desktop app pulls its own Chromium runtime, and the self-hosted server needs Postgres and Redis rather than a single binary.
Pricing:
- Free: Desktop app and self-hosted server, MIT-licensed core
- Paid: AFFiNE Cloud AI around $8/mo for AI features and hosted sync
- vs Anytype: Better databases, real whiteboard, heavier install, cloud sync is a service you run or pay for
Migrating from Anytype: Export Anytype pages to Markdown and drag them into AFFiNE, which parses frontmatter into properties. Rebuild your database views once and share them across pages using AFFiNE’s linked-view feature.
Download: affine.pro · GitHub
Bottom line: The right pick if you liked Anytype’s object model but wanted Notion-grade databases and a whiteboard. Skip it on a low-spec laptop.
AppFlowy — Best direct Notion replacement
AppFlowy is the open-source Notion clone that shipped the parts Notion power users care about first: grid, board, and calendar views with filters, sorts, and formula fields that behave the way you expect. Everything lives in a local SQLite store by default, and AppFlowy Cloud is an optional self-hostable sync backend built in Rust. The AI features route through your own key or AppFlowy’s hosted credits.
Where it falls short: The Flutter desktop app is smoother than it was in 2024 but still ships the occasional layout hiccup on Linux. Third-party plugins are minimal compared with Obsidian.
Pricing:
- Free: Desktop app, AGPL-3.0 licensed
- Paid: AI credits from around $10/mo, Team plans for AppFlowy Cloud
- vs Anytype: Stronger database story out of the box, weaker on object-oriented modelling and peer sync
Migrating from Anytype: Import Markdown or CSV exports. AppFlowy will map columns to database fields on ingest; polish the field types once, and views regenerate automatically.
Download: appflowy.io · GitHub
Bottom line: The right pick if the Anytype feature you wanted most was Notion-quality databases without giving your data to Notion. Skip it if plugins are the main draw.
SiYuan — Best for block references and SQL queries
SiYuan is a Chinese-origin note tool with an English build, a local SQLite index, and a first-class block-reference model that lets you query notes the way you query a database. Every block gets an ID, embeds and backlinks are cheap, and you can write SQL directly against the index to pull in any set of blocks that match a filter. Attachments, images, and PDFs sit in the workspace folder as plain files.
Where it falls short: Some UI copy still ships in Chinese in edge menus. The plugin marketplace is smaller than Obsidian’s and skews toward Chinese-speaking contributors, so filter your reading accordingly.
Pricing:
- Free: Desktop app and self-hosted sync, AGPL-3.0 licensed
- Paid: SiYuan cloud sync and inbox around $6/mo
- vs Anytype: Deeper block-reference model and a real query language, less polished object-picker UI
Migrating from Anytype: Export Anytype objects to Markdown, import into a SiYuan workspace, and let the parser assign block IDs. Set up two or three SQL-backed embed blocks to replace your most-used Anytype Sets.
Download: b3log.org/siyuan/en · GitHub
Bottom line: The right pick for anyone who wants Roam-style block references with a query language and full offline storage. Skip it if a polished English-only experience matters.
Trilium Notes — Best self-hosted personal knowledge base
Trilium Notes is the tool you install when you want a knowledge base you actually own end to end. The desktop app talks to a Trilium server you run in Docker, and the server is a single Node process backed by SQLite: back it up with a file copy, restore it the same way. Notes are hierarchical rather than free-form, with note types for text, code, canvas, mind map, and relation maps, plus a scripting layer that lets custom widgets and buttons run inside the app.
Where it falls short: The UI is functional rather than fashionable, and the mobile experience is a web view over the same server rather than a native app.
Pricing:
- Free: The full app and server, AGPL-3.0 licensed
- Paid: None. Optional donations to the maintainers
- vs Anytype: Real self-hosted sync you control, weaker on object-typed databases and casual note taking
Migrating from Anytype: Export Anytype objects to Markdown, then use Trilium’s Markdown importer to build a note tree. Recreate a handful of relation-map notes to replace Anytype’s object relations.
Download: GitHub (TriliumNext) · Docker Hub
Bottom line: The right pick for the person running a homelab who wants notes on the same box as everything else. Skip it if you want a designed-first product.
Notesnook — Best encrypted-by-default note app with real cloud sync
Notesnook is the pick for people whose Anytype friction was sync rather than features. Every note, attachment, tag, and monograph is end-to-end encrypted with a key derived from your password before it leaves the device, and the sync layer is a straightforward hosted service that Just Works across desktop and mobile. The editor is a rich-text tree with tabs, nested notebooks, and reminders; the mobile apps are near-parity with desktop, which is not the case for Anytype today.
Where it falls short: Notesnook is closed-source for the sync server; the clients are open-source. Databases and object-relation modelling are not the product here.
Pricing:
- Free: Unlimited notes, one device group, limited attachments
- Paid: Pro around $5/mo for unlimited devices, attachments, and monographs; family and lifetime plans available
- vs Anytype: Weaker as a workspace, stronger as a cross-device encrypted notebook that syncs without fuss
Migrating from Anytype: Export Anytype pages to Markdown and use Notesnook’s importer to bring them in as notes. Attachments upload during import and stay encrypted at rest.
Download: notesnook.com · GitHub
Bottom line: The right pick if the value you wanted from Anytype was encrypted notes on every device, no arguments. Skip it if you need databases.
How to choose
Pick Obsidian if the plugin ecosystem is the point. Nothing else here has 2,000+ community extensions or a vault format you can outlast the app itself.
Pick Logseq if you already think in bullets, block references, and journal entries. It is the tool that makes daily notes feel worth writing.
Pick AFFiNE if you want Anytype’s “everything is an object” pitch with Notion-grade databases and a whiteboard, and you are willing to spend a bit more RAM and disk to get it.
Pick AppFlowy if the Anytype feature you missed most was Notion-quality database views without Notion’s hosted-only story. Grid, board, and calendar behave the way muscle memory expects.
Pick SiYuan if block references and a real query language matter more than polish. The SQL layer is a genuine feature, not a novelty.
Pick Trilium Notes if you already run a home server and want your knowledge base on it. The single-binary Trilium server plus SQLite is a low-maintenance stack.
Pick Notesnook if what you wanted from Anytype was encrypted notes on every device with a sync layer that never surprises you. Databases are not the story.
Stay on Anytype if the object-typed workspace is genuinely the value and the sync compromise is fine for your setup. Any-sync gets better with every release, and the vision is still one of the most interesting bets in note-taking.
FAQ
Is Obsidian better than Anytype?
For plugin-heavy Markdown workflows, yes. Obsidian has a decade of community extensions, a graph view that reads from real files, and a vault format you can back up, grep, and edit outside the app. Anytype is better if you want typed objects, relations, and a workspace that treats notes and databases as the same thing.
Which Anytype alternative is fully open-source?
Logseq, AFFiNE, AppFlowy, SiYuan, and Trilium Notes are all open-source top to bottom. Notesnook’s clients are open-source but the sync server is not. Obsidian is not open-source.
Can I self-host sync the way Anytype claims to?
AFFiNE Server, AppFlowy Cloud, SiYuan’s sync endpoint, and Trilium’s server all run on hardware you control. Obsidian and Notesnook offer paid hosted sync but no first-party self-hosted server. Logseq Sync is still in beta and hosted-only for now.
Which alternative has the best databases?
AppFlowy and AFFiNE, in that order. Both ship grid, board, calendar, and filter behaviour close to Notion. SiYuan has a query language that goes further for power users. Obsidian’s Dataview plugin is powerful but relies on frontmatter conventions rather than a real database engine.
Do these apps work on Windows, macOS, and Linux?
All seven do. Obsidian, Logseq, AFFiNE, AppFlowy, SiYuan, and Notesnook ship native installers or AppImages for each OS. Trilium ships a desktop app plus a Docker image for its server.
Which one is easiest to move to from Anytype?
Obsidian for anyone whose notes are mostly Markdown, and AppFlowy for anyone whose main pain was Anytype’s databases. Both accept the Anytype Markdown export as input and rebuild the structure with minimal cleanup.
