Best Self-Hosted Craft Alternatives in 2026
Craft is a document editor for Mac and iOS with beautiful formatting, linking, and sharing for notes and documentation.
12 Self-Hosted Alternatives to Craft
AppFlowy
69KAn open-source Notion alternative with AI, wikis, projects, and databases — cross-platform (desktop, mobile, web) with offline-first architecture and full data ownership.
Joplin
54KOpen-source note-taking app with end-to-end encryption, Markdown support, and sync across all devices via Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or your own server.
Logseq
42KLogseq is a privacy-first, local-first knowledge management tool built around outliner-style editing, bidirectional linking, and a powerful knowledge graph.
Outline
38KThe self-hosted team wiki with a Notion-quality editor — real-time collaboration, beautiful UI, and no per-seat pricing.
docmost
19KReplace Confluence and Notion with secure on-premise documentation for enterprise teams
Docs
16KCollaborative document editor with real-time editing, version control, and secure sharing
Notesnook
14KNotesnook handles end-to-end encrypted note-taking app as a self-hosted solution.
Reor
8.5KReor is a self-hosted note-taking tool that provides private, local AI app for managing personal knowledge, featuring semantic search, auto-connected.
AnyType
7.3KSelf-hosted privacy & encryption tool that provides versatile, tool for organizing thoughts, notes, and data.
Standard Notes
6.4KStandard Notes handles cross-platform note-taking app as a self-hosted solution.
OpenNotas
167OpenNotas gives you multi-platform, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app on your own infrastructure.
Justnote
66Self-hosted privacy & encryption tool that provides secure note-taking app.
Why Look for Craft Alternatives?
Craft is a document editor for Mac and iOS with beautiful formatting, linking, and sharing for notes and documentation.
Self-hosted alternatives give you full data ownership, predictable costs, and zero vendor lock-in. You run the software on your own infrastructure and control everything.
12 Best Open-Source Alternatives to Craft
AppFlowy
AppFlowy: Open-source AI-powered workspace. — 68,609 GitHub stars. Licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Joplin
Secure note-taking and to-do app — 53,917 GitHub stars. Licensed under MIT.
Logseq
Open-source platform for collaborative knowledge management. — 41,561 GitHub stars. Licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Outline
Organize your team’s knowledge effortlessly with Outline. — 37,619 GitHub stars. Licensed under Custom.
docmost
Open-source team knowledge base with real-time editing, diagrams, permissions, and integrations. Alternative to Confluence and Notion. — 19,451 GitHub stars. Licensed under AGPL-3.0.
Docs
Collaborative note-taking, wiki, and documentation platform — 16,253 GitHub stars. Licensed under MIT.
Notesnook
Open-source, encrypted alternative to Evernote. — 13,828 GitHub stars. Licensed under GPL-3.0.
Reor
Reor is a private, local AI app for managing personal knowledge, featuring semantic search, auto-connected ideas, and WYSIWYG Markdown editing. — 8,540 GitHub stars. Licensed under AGPL-3.0.
AnyType
A versatile, open-source tool for organizing thoughts, notes, and data with customizable objects and relational structures. — 7,223 GitHub stars. Licensed under Open Source.
Standard Notes
Encrypted note-taking app for digitalists — 6,350 GitHub stars. Licensed under GPL-3.0.
Read full Standard Notes review
OpenNotas
OpenNotas is a multi-platform, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app that offers simplicity, synchronization, and offline functionality. — 167 GitHub stars. Licensed under Open Source.
Justnote
Justnote is a secure note-taking app that lets you easily create and sync notes across devices while maintaining full control of your data. — 66 GitHub stars. Licensed under GPL-2.0.
Why Self-Host Instead of Craft?
- Data ownership. Your data stays on your server, not on Craft’s infrastructure.
- Predictable costs. Pay a fixed VPS cost instead of growing per-user or per-usage fees.
- No vendor lock-in. Export and migrate your data anytime. You control the database.
- GDPR and compliance. Hosting your own tools simplifies data residency and compliance requirements.
Why teams switch from Craft
- → Data ownership. Your data stays on your server -- not on Craft's infrastructure.
- → Predictable costs. Pay a fixed VPS cost instead of growing per-user or per-usage fees.
- → No vendor lock-in. Export and migrate your data anytime. You control the database.
- → GDPR and compliance. Hosting your own tools simplifies data residency and compliance requirements.
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Both are document management tools. AFFiNE Community Edition has 4 unique features, Logseq has 3.
Both are document management tools. Anchr has 6 unique features, Logseq has 1.
BookStack for structured documentation (books/chapters/pages hierarchy). Outline for team knowledge bases with a Notion-like editing experience. Both are excellent -- your choice depends on content structure preference.
Both are document management tools. Briefkasten has 4 unique features, Logseq has 1.
Both are document management tools. Calibre Web Automated has 2 unique features, Logseq has 1.
Both are document management tools. Glass Keep has 3 unique features, Logseq has 1.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 2 unique features, Silicon Notes has 2.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 2 unique features, Poznote has 3.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 2 unique features, SiYuan has 2.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 1 unique feature, Trilium Notes has 3.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 2 unique features, Xournalpp has 6.
Both are document management tools. Logseq has 1 unique feature, TriliumNext Notes has 3.
Both Outline and Wiki.js are strong open-source options in the documents space. Outline has 38k GitHub stars and Wiki.js has 28k. Compare their features, deployment, and community to choose the right fit for your needs.
Browse more Documents & Knowledge Base tools
Explore 226 open-source documents & knowledge base tools you can self-host.
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