AFFiNE
Privacy-first, local-first workspace combining docs, whiteboards, and databases
Overview
AFFiNE is an open-source knowledge base that merges documents, whiteboards, and databases into a single canvas, positioned as a Notion + Miro alternative. It is local-first and privacy-focused, letting you edit blocks as both pages and edgeless whiteboard elements. Built on the BlockSuite editor framework, it supports real-time collaboration and self-hosting via Docker.
Key features
- Unified canvas combining documents, whiteboards, and databases
- Edgeless whiteboard mode where blocks render as both pages and canvas elements
- Real-time collaboration
- Local-first, privacy-focused data handling
- Self-hosting via Docker, with managed hosting available
Our take
AFFiNE's pitch is genuinely distinctive: instead of bolting a whiteboard onto a doc tool, it lets the same blocks live as pages and as edgeless canvas elements, which is a real differentiator versus Notion or Miro alone. The local-first, privacy-focused stance and MIT license are appealing if you care about owning your data, and Docker self-hosting is straightforward at a 3/5 difficulty. The honest caveat is maturity — it's a fast-moving project built on its own BlockSuite editor framework, so expect rougher edges and more churn than a long-established note app. If you need rock-solid stability for a large team, pilot it before betting your knowledge base on it.
Ideal for: Individuals and small teams who want a single Notion-plus-Miro style workspace and value local-first data ownership.
Where it falls short of Notion
- Self-hosted real-time sync (AFFiNE Cloud) has historically lagged the desktop/local experience and can be fiddly to configure.
- Smaller third-party integration and plugin ecosystem than Notion.
- Mobile apps are less mature than the desktop client.
- Some advanced AI and collaboration features are gated to the paid cloud tier.
We list the gaps honestly so you can decide if the trade-off is worth owning your data.
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