Memos vs Flatnotes: Quick Notes Apps Compared

Quick Verdict

Memos and Flatnotes solve the same itch — quick note capture — but they disagree about what a note is. Memos treats notes like tweets: short, tagged, timestamped, searchable through an API. Flatnotes treats notes like files: each one is a plain .md file on disk, no database, no lock-in. Pick Memos if you want fast microblog-style capture with tagging and an API. Pick Flatnotes if you want your notes as portable markdown files you can open in any editor.

Overview

Memos is a lightweight, self-hosted memo hub built with Go and React. It looks and feels like a personal Twitter timeline — you type a thought, tag it, and it lands in a reverse-chronological feed. Behind the scenes, it stores everything in SQLite (or optionally PostgreSQL/MySQL) and exposes a full REST API. It has grown a sizable community since launching in 2022 and ships frequent updates.

Flatnotes is a no-frills markdown note-taking app built with Python (Flask). Its defining feature is the storage model: every note is a plain .md file in a folder. No database. No proprietary format. You can browse your notes with Flatnotes, edit them in VS Code, or sync them with Syncthing — they are just files. It includes both a WYSIWYG editor and a raw markdown editor, plus full-text search.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Memos	Flatnotes
Architecture	Go + React SPA	Python (Flask) + JS frontend
Storage backend	SQLite / PostgreSQL / MySQL	Flat .md files on disk
Note format	Short-form memos (tweet-style)	Full markdown documents
Editor	Inline composer with markdown shortcuts	WYSIWYG + raw markdown toggle
Tagging	Built-in tag system with #tag syntax	Tag support via YAML frontmatter
Search	Full-text search + filter by tag/date	Full-text search across all notes
API	Full REST + gRPC API	Basic REST API
Authentication	Built-in user accounts, SSO support	Username/password, TOTP 2FA
Multi-user	Yes — multiple accounts with visibility controls	Single-user by design
Mobile experience	Responsive PWA, third-party mobile apps	Responsive web UI
Attachments	Image and file uploads	No native attachment support
Data portability	Export required (JSON/API)	Notes are already plain files — just copy the folder
License	MIT	MIT
Docker image size	~80 MB	~120 MB
RAM usage (idle)	~50 MB	~30 MB

Docker Compose Setup

Memos

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  memos:
    image: neosmemo/memos:0.24.4
    container_name: memos
    ports:
      - "5230:5230"
    volumes:
      # Stores SQLite database, uploaded assets, and config
      - memos_data:/var/opt/memos
    environment:
      # Metric collection — disable if you prefer
      - MEMOS_METRIC=false
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  memos_data:

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Open http://your-server:5230. The first user to register becomes the admin. That is the entire setup — Memos ships with an embedded SQLite database so there are no dependencies to configure.

Flatnotes

Create a docker-compose.yml:

services:
  flatnotes:
    image: dullage/flatnotes:5.4.2
    container_name: flatnotes
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      # Your notes live here as plain .md files
      - flatnotes_data:/data
    environment:
      # REQUIRED: set a username and password for login
      - FLATNOTES_AUTH_TYPE=password
      - FLATNOTES_USERNAME=admin
      - FLATNOTES_PASSWORD=changeme          # Change this immediately
      - FLATNOTES_SECRET_KEY=supersecretkey   # Used for session signing — generate a random string
    restart: unless-stopped

volumes:
  flatnotes_data:

Start it:

docker compose up -d

Open http://your-server:8080 and log in with the credentials you set. Notes are stored as .md files inside the /data volume. You can mount a host directory instead of a named volume if you want direct file access:

    volumes:
      - /path/to/your/notes:/data

This lets you edit notes from the command line, sync them with Syncthing, or back them up by copying a folder.

Installation Complexity

Both are single-container deployments with no external dependencies. Memos requires zero configuration — launch it and register. Flatnotes requires setting a username, password, and secret key via environment variables, but nothing else.

Edge to Memos on initial setup simplicity. Edge to Flatnotes on long-term simplicity — there is no database to maintain, back up, or migrate.

Data Portability

This is the most important difference between these two apps, and likely the deciding factor.

Flatnotes stores every note as a standalone .md file. There is no database, no proprietary schema, no export step. Your notes directory is your backup. You can:

• Open notes in any text editor
• Sync them across machines with Syncthing or rsync
• Search them with grep
• Version-control them with Git
• Switch to a different app without any migration

Memos stores everything in a SQLite database (or PostgreSQL/MySQL if configured). To get your notes out, you use the API or the built-in export feature. The data is accessible, but it requires a deliberate export step — your notes are not individual files on disk.

If data portability and vendor independence matter to you, Flatnotes wins decisively. If you prefer the convenience of a database-backed app with richer querying, Memos is the stronger choice.

Performance and Resource Usage

Both apps are lightweight enough to run on a Raspberry Pi.

Metric	Memos	Flatnotes
Idle RAM	~50 MB	~30 MB
CPU at idle	Negligible	Negligible
Disk footprint	~80 MB (image) + DB size	~120 MB (image) + note files
Startup time	~2 seconds	~3 seconds

Neither app will stress any hardware made in the last decade. Flatnotes uses slightly less memory. Memos has a smaller image. In practice, both are invisible on a server running anything else.

Community and Support

Aspect	Memos	Flatnotes
GitHub stars	36,000+	1,300+
Release cadence	Frequent (multiple releases per month)	Moderate (every few months)
Contributors	100+	Small team (primarily one developer)
Documentation	Official docs site, community guides	README + basic docs
Third-party ecosystem	Mobile apps, browser extensions, integrations	Minimal

Memos has a significantly larger community, faster development velocity, and a broader ecosystem of integrations. Flatnotes is a focused, stable tool maintained by a smaller team. If you want active development and community support, Memos leads. If you want simplicity and stability, Flatnotes delivers.

Use Cases

Choose Memos If…

• You want a personal Twitter-style feed for capturing thoughts, links, and snippets
• You need multi-user support with visibility controls (public/private memos)
• You want an API to integrate with other tools or automation workflows
• You prefer tagging and filtering over organizing notes into folders
• You want image and file attachment support
• You want a mobile-friendly PWA or third-party app

Choose Flatnotes If…

• You want your notes stored as plain markdown files with zero lock-in
• You already have a workflow around .md files (VS Code, Obsidian vault, Git)
• You want to sync notes with Syncthing, rsync, or any file-based tool
• You prefer a single-user, no-frills experience
• You want the simplest possible backup strategy (copy a folder)
• You care more about long-term portability than features

Final Verdict

These apps target different philosophies more than different use cases. Memos is a capture tool — optimized for speed, short-form input, and retrieval through tags and search. It feels like a private microblog. Flatnotes is a file-first note tool — optimized for portability, transparency, and integration with file-based workflows.

For most people who just want a quick self-hosted scratchpad, Memos is the better experience. The timeline interface is fast, tagging is intuitive, and the API opens up automation possibilities. The database backend is a reasonable trade-off for the richer feature set.

If you have strong opinions about owning your data as plain files, Flatnotes is the obvious pick. No export needed, no migration headaches, no database to corrupt. Your notes are files. That simplicity is worth more than any feature comparison table.

Pick the one that matches how you think about notes — as entries in a feed, or as files in a folder.

Related

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• How to Self-Host Flatnotes
• Best Self-Hosted Note-Taking Apps
• How to Self-Host SilverBullet
• Docker Compose Basics
• How to Self-Host Trilium
• Replace Google Keep