How to Replace Notion with Self-Hosted Alternatives
Why Replace Notion?
- Cost: Notion Plus is $10/user/month. Self-hosted alternatives: free.
- Privacy: Notion stores all your notes on their servers. Workspace data is accessible to Notion employees.
- Offline access: Notion’s offline support is unreliable. Self-hosted apps work locally.
- Vendor lock-in: Exporting from Notion loses formatting, databases, and relations. The longer you use it, the harder it is to leave.
Your Options
| App | Difficulty | Feature Match | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outline | Medium | 80% | Teams, clean docs |
| BookStack | Easy | 60% | Structured knowledge bases |
| Trilium | Easy | 70% | Personal knowledge management |
| SiYuan | Easy | 75% | Block-based notes (closest to Notion) |
| Wiki.js | Medium | 50% | Technical wikis |
Our Recommendation
For Notion’s document/wiki features: Use Outline. It’s the closest to Notion’s clean editing experience with real-time collaboration, nested documents, and Markdown support.
For personal knowledge management: Use Trilium. It excels at interconnected notes, tagging, and personal wikis.
For block-based editing (closest to Notion’s UX): Use SiYuan. It supports blocks, databases, and bidirectional linking.
What You’ll Miss
- Notion databases (no self-hosted tool replicates this fully)
- Notion AI features
- The polished mobile app experience
- Template gallery
- Third-party integrations (Notion API)
What You’ll Gain
- Full data ownership and privacy
- Offline-first operation
- No per-user pricing
- No feature restrictions based on tier
- Local markdown files you can read anywhere
See also: Best Self-Hosted Note Taking Apps | Replace Evernote