Self-host Notion

Notes / wiki / docs · Category: wiki, docs & notes

Notion is a hosted workspace for notes, wikis, and lightweight databases. The self-hostable replacements all cover the wiki + docs core; the database / formulas surface is the part that lags behind.

Notion pricing anchor: $10/user/mo on Plus tier.

Outline outline/outline alive

GitHub: ★ 38.4k · last commit today · 62 open issues
License: BSL-1.1
BSL converts to Apache 2.0 after 4 years; self-host of unmodified source is permitted today.
Setup time: 15min docker-compose
Monthly cost: $5 VPS handles a 25-person team comfortably (Postgres + Redis + S3-compatible blob store on the same box).

Migration sketch. Notion → Settings → Workspace → Export all workspace content as Markdown & CSV. Unzip; in Outline, Settings → Import → Notion. Outline ingests the .zip directly and preserves nested page hierarchy + most rich blocks. Databases collapse to tables; re-link manually.

Full migration guide →

Good fit forTeams that mainly use Notion as a wiki / handbook / docs site.

Weak atNotion-style relational databases and rollups.

AppFlowy AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy alive

GitHub: ★ 70.3k · last commit 7w ago · 947 open issues
License: AGPL-3.0
Setup time: 30min docker-compose (AppFlowy Cloud)
Monthly cost: $10 VPS for a small team; AppFlowy Cloud stack is heavier (Postgres + Redis + MinIO + AI worker).

Migration sketch. Notion → Markdown export, then in AppFlowy desktop client use File → Import → Notion. Importer is improving but lossy on databases; expect to redo views.

Good fit forUsers who specifically want the Notion block model (toggles, callouts, kanban).

Weak atMulti-user permissions are still maturing vs Outline.

AFFiNE toeverything/AFFiNE alive

GitHub: ★ 68.2k · last commit today · 606 open issues
License: MIT
Setup time: 20min docker-compose
Monthly cost: $5-10 VPS for a small team; single Postgres + the AFFiNE server image.

Migration sketch. No first-class Notion importer. Path: Notion → Markdown export → drag the unzipped folder into AFFiNE's File Import. Whiteboard / edgeless content has to be rebuilt.

Good fit forUsers who want pages + a whiteboard surface in one tool.

Weak atBulk team admin (SSO, audit logs) is thinner than Outline.

In a terminal? npx os-alt notion prints this table — how the CLI works →