Compare
Memos vs Standard Notes
Choose Memos if you want a free, fully featured timeline on your own server and trust that server. Choose Standard Notes if end-to-end encryption is the requirement and you accept paid plans for richer editors.
Standard Notes and Memos are both open source and both run on your own server. Standard Notes encrypts every note before it leaves the device and sells editors and file storage on paid plans. Memos keeps the whole app free and simple: short Markdown memos in a timeline, readable by the server you control.
| At a glance | Memos | Standard Notes |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (MIT) | Open source (AGPL-3.0) |
| Hosting | Self-hosted web server | Hosted service or self-hosted server |
| Encryption | Server can read memos; secure the server | End-to-end encrypted by default |
| Format | Markdown with tags | Plain text free; Markdown and rich editors paid |
| Best for | Short memos in a timeline | Private long-form notes |
| Cost | No license fee (you host) | Free plan; paid plans for editors and files |
The decision
Choose for the work in front of you.
Choose Memos when
You want every feature free on your own server, with no plan tiers.
You want Markdown, tags, public sharing, and an API without paying for editors.
You trust the server you run and prefer searchable, server-side data.
Choose Standard Notes when
Notes must be unreadable to the server, including your own.
You want native offline apps with encrypted file storage.
You are happy with plain text or a paid plan for richer editors.
Feature by feature
What each one actually does.
Memos answers honestly, including the rows where it says no.
| Feature | Memos | Standard Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | ||
| Open source | Yes.MIT license, developed in public on GitHub | Yes.AGPL-3.0 clients and server source |
| Self-hosting | Yes.Docker image or a single binary on your server | Yes.Official Docker-based server source |
| Official hosted service | No.No official hosted plan; you run the instance | Yes.standardnotes.com source |
| Where notes live | SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL on your server | Encrypted on their server or yours; decrypted on your devices |
| Price | No license fee; you pay for hosting | Free plan; paid plans unlock editors, files, and history |
| Writing | ||
| Markdown | Yes.Write in Markdown with live rendering, code blocks, and math | Partial.Plain text on the free plan; Markdown and rich editors on paid plans |
| Tags | Yes.Inline #tags, nested with a slash | Yes.Tags; nested folders on paid plans |
| Links between notes | Yes.Relations link memos to each other | Partial.Note linking on paid plans |
| Attachments | Yes.Images and files, stored on disk or in S3 | Partial.Encrypted files on paid plans |
| Full-text search | Yes.Full-text search with tag, date, and visibility filters | Yes.Local full-text search |
| Reach | ||
| Works offline | No.Browser app; reading and writing need a reachable server | Yes.Local-first; works offline |
| Desktop app | Partial.Install the web app as a PWA; no official native app | Yes.Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Mobile app | Partial.PWA on iOS and Android, plus community-built apps | Yes.iOS and Android |
| Cross-device sync | Yes.The server is the source of truth, so every device sees the same memos | Yes.Encrypted sync through their server or yours |
| Public sharing | Yes.Per-memo visibility: private, workspace, or public link | Partial.Listed blogging on paid plans |
| Data | ||
| API and webhooks | Yes.REST and gRPC APIs, signed webhooks | No.No public notes API; content is encrypted |
| Import and export | Partial.ZIP export of Markdown and JSON; import from Memos exports only | Yes.Imports Evernote, Simplenote, Google Keep, text; exports decrypted backups |
| End-to-end encryption | No.The server you run can read your memos; protect it with TLS and disk encryption | Yes.XChaCha20-Poly1305 by default source |
Questions
Questions people ask.
Is Memos end-to-end encrypted like Standard Notes?
No. Memos stores memos readably in the database so the server can search and render them. Protect the server with TLS, access control, and disk encryption instead.
Which is cheaper to self-host, Memos or Standard Notes?
Both are free to run. Memos includes every feature on any server. Standard Notes' richer editors and files are paid features, with an offline activation path for self-hosters.
Can I import Standard Notes into Memos?
Export a decrypted backup from Standard Notes, then create memos from the text through the Memos API. There is no direct importer.
Keep exploring
Related comparisons and features.
More comparisons
- Memos vs JoplinTwo open-source note apps with different shapes: a timeline vs. encrypted notebooks.
- Memos vs Trilium NotesA flat timeline of short memos vs. a deep tree of hierarchical notes, both on your server.
- Memos vs Nextcloud NotesA standalone memo timeline vs. Markdown files inside a Nextcloud you already run.
Memos in detail
Start here
Start with one memo.
Install Memos on a server you choose and write your first memo. Open source under MIT, with no license fee.