Joplin and Trilium Notes are both open-source, self-hostable note apps, but Joplin is built around a hosted subscription model (Joplin Cloud) with native…
Best for Joplin: Joplin fits users who want native iOS/Android apps, a choice between Rich Text and Markdown editors, and either free sync backends (Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV) or a paid hosted Joplin Cloud plan.
Best for Trilium Notes: Trilium Notes fits users comfortable self-hosting who want a hierarchical, cloneable note tree, per-note AES-128-CBC encryption, and a REST API with scripting for automation, all without ever paying for a tier.
At a Glance
Joplin
Trilium Notes
Primary category
Productivity
Productivity
Rating
Not documented
Not documented
Pricing model
Freemium
open-source
Starting price
Free (app); Joplin Cloud from EUR2.99/month
Free
Free plan
Yes
Not documented
Free trial
Not documented
Not documented
Platforms
Web, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Web
Team collaboration
Not documented
Not documented
AI features
Not documented
Not documented
Public API
Yes
Yes
Key Differences
Pricing Structure
Joplin: Joplin is freemium: the app is free, but Joplin Cloud plans run from Basic (€2.99/month, 2GB storage) to Pro (€5.99/month, 30GB), Pro 100GB (€9.99/month), and Teams (€7.99/user/month).
Trilium Notes: Trilium Notes is entirely free with no paid tier at all, for any feature.
A published, tiered pricing model gives buyers predictable upgrade costs, while a fully free tool removes budgeting concerns entirely.
Mobile App Support
Joplin: Joplin has native apps for Android and iOS, alongside Windows, macOS, Linux, and a terminal client.
Trilium Notes: Trilium has no official mobile app - only an unofficial Android client (TriliumDroid) and PWA browser support.
Official native mobile apps generally offer more reliable sync and support than community-built alternatives.
Sync Options
Joplin: Joplin supports Joplin Cloud plus free alternatives: Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or WebDAV.
Trilium Notes: Trilium requires self-hosting a Trilium server for cross-device sync; no hosted cloud sync option is documented.
The range of sync backends determines how much infrastructure a user must manage themselves.
Note Organization Model
Joplin: Joplin organizes notes into notebooks with a choice of Rich Text or Markdown editing modes; a tree/cloning structure isn't documented.
Trilium Notes: Trilium uses a hierarchical tree structure with the ability to clone a single note into multiple locations.
A cloneable tree structure supports more complex cross-referenced organization than flat notebooks.
Extensibility Model
Joplin: Joplin offers a community plugin and theme ecosystem (55.6k GitHub stars) rather than a documented public REST API.
Trilium Notes: Trilium offers a REST API and custom scripting for automation directly within the app.
A REST API enables programmatic automation, while a plugin ecosystem favors ready-made community extensions.
Feature-by-Feature
Storage & Sync
Feature
Joplin
Trilium Notes
Free sync backends (non-cloud)
Available
Not documented
Paid hosted cloud sync
Available
Unavailable
Note/data encryption
Available
Available
Self-hosted server option
Limited
Available
Editing & Organization
Feature
Joplin
Trilium Notes
Hierarchical tree notes with cloning
Not documented
Available
Rich Text + Markdown editor toggle
Available
Not documented
Multiple note types (canvas, Mermaid, mindmap)
Not documented
Available
Web clipper
Available
Available
Note revisions/versioning
Not documented
Available
Platforms & Extensibility
Feature
Joplin
Trilium Notes
Native mobile apps
Available
Unavailable
Terminal/CLI client
Available
Not documented
REST API & scripting
Not documented
Available
Plugin/theme ecosystem
Available
Not documented
Notebook/note sharing collaboration
Available
Not documented
Pricing Compared
Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.
Joplin Cloud Pro — EUR5.99/month monthly (EUR4.79/month yearly)
Joplin Cloud Teams — EUR7.99/month per user monthly (EUR6.69/month yearly), minimum 2 users
Trilium Notes
Self-Hosted (Open Source) — Free N/A
Pros & Cons
Joplin
Pros
Fully free and open source with no feature paywall on the core apps
True end-to-end encryption available regardless of sync backend
No vendor lock-in: notes are plain markdown, exportable at any time
Choice of sync backend, including self-hosted options at no cost
Active plugin ecosystem for extending functionality
Cons
Interface and collaboration features feel less polished than commercial tools like Notion
Small core team means slower feature development than VC-funded competitors
Real-time collaborative editing is limited compared to Notion or Google Docs
Self-hosted sync setup requires technical comfort for non-Joplin-Cloud users
Mobile app UX lags behind some native mobile-first note apps
Trilium Notes
Pros
Completely free and open source with no subscription cost
Strong privacy through local-first storage with no telemetry or vendor lock-in
Highly flexible unlimited-depth hierarchy with powerful note cloning
Actively developed again after the TriliumNext community revival
Well suited to large, deeply cross-referenced personal knowledge bases
Cons
Steeper learning curve than simple flat note apps due to the hierarchy and relations model
No official hosted cloud service, requiring self-hosting or local setup for cross-device sync
Interface feels more technical and less polished than consumer apps like Notion
Mobile experience has historically lagged behind the desktop and server experience
The project underwent a maintenance-mode scare in 2024 before the community fork took over
Use Cases
Choose Joplin: Joplin fits users who want native iOS/Android apps, a choice between Rich Text and Markdown editors, and either free sync backends (Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV) or a paid hosted Joplin Cloud plan.
Choose Trilium Notes: Trilium Notes fits users comfortable self-hosting who want a hierarchical, cloneable note tree, per-note AES-128-CBC encryption, and a REST API with scripting for automation, all without ever paying for a tier.
Need both: There's no clear complementary use case documented - both target the same core job of personal note-taking, so the practical choice is Joplin for mobile-first, hosted convenience versus Trilium for self-hosted, tree-structured control.
Joplin
Privacy-focused personal note-taking — Individuals who want encrypted, exportable notes use Joplin instead of closed commercial note apps to avoid vendor lock-in.
Developer and technical documentation — Developers use Joplin's markdown-native notes, plugin system and API to maintain technical notes and documentation.
Self-hosted team knowledge base — Small teams deploy a self-hosted Joplin Server or Joplin Cloud Teams plan to share and collaborate on notes while keeping control of their data.
Trilium Notes
Personal knowledge base — Build a large, deeply organized second brain using unlimited-depth note hierarchies and cloning.
Self-hosted alternative to Evernote or OneNote — Move notes off third-party cloud services onto a self-hosted, privacy-respecting platform.
Developer documentation and snippets — Organize technical documentation and code snippets with syntax highlighting and structured tags.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Joplin Cloud cost?
Basic is €2.99/month (2GB storage), Pro is €5.99/month (30GB), Pro 100GB is €9.99/month, and Teams is €7.99/user/month.
Is Trilium Notes completely free?
Yes, Trilium is always free and open source with no paid tier, unlike Joplin's optional paid Cloud plans.
Does Trilium have a mobile app?
Not an official one - only an unofficial community Android client (TriliumDroid) and PWA browser support, versus Joplin's native Android and iOS apps.
Can I sync Joplin without paying?
Yes - Joplin supports free sync via Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or WebDAV, in addition to the paid Joplin Cloud option.
Which app has a REST API for automation?
Trilium documents a REST API and custom scripting for automation. A public REST API is not documented for Joplin.
Which tool is documented to handle very large note collections better?
Trilium Notes documents handling 100,000+ notes. Joplin doesn't document a similar scale claim in the available facts.