Logo
Deploy Now

SaaS Alternative

Notion Monday.com Confluence

Categories

Self-Hosted Productivity Collaboration Database Knowledge Management Project Management AI Tools Documents

Stars

75,800

Forks

5,895

Watchers

395

Developer links

Last Updated: 08-21-2026 09:58 AM (UTC)

AppFlowy

With over 75,000 GitHub stars and native apps across macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, AppFlowy is the most widely adopted open-source alternative to Notion — delivering the same block-based workspace model with full data sovereignty. The Flutter frontend renders natively on every platform while a Rust backend powered by Actix-web and Tokio handles CRDT-based real-time collaboration, ensuring sub-second sync across devices with conflict-free concurrent editing. Relational databases support grid, board, kanban, calendar, and gallery views over the same dataset, with two-way relations, rollups, advanced filters, sorts, and formula calculations that cover the majority of Notion's database workflows. The block editor supports 40+ content types including nested pages, toggles, callouts, code blocks with syntax highlighting, embeds, and slash-command insertion. AI integration connects to OpenAI, Anthropic, or local models via Ollama for writing assistance, summarization, and translation — all without sending data off-premises when using on-prem LLMs. Team spaces with workspace-level and per-page permissions, OAuth and SSO authentication through GoTrue, and S3-compatible object storage via MinIO provide enterprise-grade access control and file management. The self-hosted stack deploys through Docker Compose with PostgreSQL for metadata, Redis for caching and pub/sub, and a dedicated background worker for imports and email notifications. Offline-first architecture ensures the desktop app functions without connectivity, syncing changes when the connection resumes. Running on a dedicated VPS on RepoCloud with guaranteed CPU, RAM, and SSD, full root SSH access, and a browser serial console. AGPL-3.0 licensed.

AppFlowy
AppFlowy
AppFlowy
AppFlowy
AppFlowy

Benefits

  • Complete Data Sovereignty and Privacy
  • Self-host the entire stack on your own infrastructure with PostgreSQL, Redis, and MinIO. No data leaves your network — supports air-gapped deployments and meets GDPR, SOC 2, and data residency requirements.
  • Native Cross-Platform Performance
  • Flutter renders native UI on macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android from a single codebase. Rust backend delivers sub-millisecond operations with minimal memory footprint compared to Electron-based alternatives.
  • Offline First Local Storage
  • Desktop and mobile clients store data locally using SQLite and RocksDB-backed CRDT persistence. Work without internet connectivity and sync conflict-free when the connection resumes — no data loss guaranteed.
  • On-Premises AI Without Cloud Dependency
  • Connect local LLMs through Ollama for writing assistance, summarization, and translation entirely on-prem. Alternatively use OpenAI or Anthropic APIs — AI provider choice stays under your control.

Features

  • Block-Based Document Editor
  • Rich text editor with 40+ content types including nested pages, toggles, callouts, code blocks with syntax highlighting, tables, embeds, and slash-command insertion.
  • Relational Database Views
  • Grid, board, kanban, calendar, and gallery views over shared datasets with two-way relations, rollups, advanced filters, sorts, and formula calculations.
  • Real-Time CRDT Collaboration
  • WebSocket-based collaboration using Yrs CRDT engine ensures conflict-free concurrent editing with sub-second synchronization across all connected clients and devices.
  • Modular Authentication
  • GoTrue-powered auth supports email, Google OAuth, GitHub SSO, and OIDC providers. Workspace-level and per-page permissions control access for teams and external collaborators.
  • Docker Compose Deployment
  • Full self-hosted stack deploys via Docker Compose with PostgreSQL, Redis, MinIO, GoTrue, Nginx reverse proxy, and optional AI and search services — operational in under 30 minutes.
  • Extensible Plugin Architecture
  • Open-source editor and board libraries enable developers to embed AppFlowy components in custom Flutter applications. Public REST API supports programmatic workspace and document management.