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Comparison · Collab

Hive vs Joplin

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Hive and Joplin — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Hive vs Joplin: at a glance

FeatureHiveJoplin
SectorCollab, PMCollab
Velocity score6.35.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesproject management, reporting, bulk actions, capacity planningnote-taking, security, privacy, self-hosted
Last editorial update16h ago8d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Hive?

Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.

Hive's November releases have two tracks. Bulk work got easier with undo and redo, a rebuilt Workflows library and now setting or shifting dates across many actions at once. Reporting got deeper: on November 13 dashboards gained per-person burndown drill-downs, grouped custom-field values in charts, and formulas that read monthly capacity and factors stored in Tables.

Read the full Hive trajectory →

What is Joplin?

Joplin fixes 50+ server security issues found in a Claude-assisted review of Joplin Cloud.

Joplin added AI in 3.7 (chat, semantic search, MCP), all opt-in, and has since named Mistral's EU endpoint as the provider behind Joplin Cloud AI. Its November 2 post reports a full review of Joplin Server, which also runs Joplin Cloud, done with Claude through Anthropic's Cyber Verification Program: no critical findings, but more than 50 high, medium and lower issues fixed. Self-hosters need 3.7.4 or later, which changes LDAP and SAML sign-in behavior.

Read the full Joplin trajectory →

Hive vs Joplin: editorial side-by-side

Hive logo
Hive
COLLABPM
6.3

Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.

◆ Current state

Hive's November releases have two tracks. Bulk work got easier with undo and redo, a rebuilt Workflows library and now setting or shifting dates across many actions at once. Reporting got deeper: on November 13 dashboards gained per-person burndown drill-downs, grouped custom-field values in charts, and formulas that read monthly capacity and factors stored in Tables.

◆ Where it's heading

Dashboards are moving from showing tracked time toward capacity planning, with shared inputs that update every report when edited. Bulk editing keeps reaching more views, and each new bulk action ships with undo.

◆ Prediction

Expect more report widgets to accept Tables inputs and drill-downs, and bulk actions extending to fields beyond dates and status.

J
Joplin
COLLAB
5.0

Joplin fixes 50+ server security issues found in a Claude-assisted review of Joplin Cloud.

◆ Current state

Joplin added AI in 3.7 (chat, semantic search, MCP), all opt-in, and has since named Mistral's EU endpoint as the provider behind Joplin Cloud AI. Its November 2 post reports a full review of Joplin Server, which also runs Joplin Cloud, done with Claude through Anthropic's Cyber Verification Program: no critical findings, but more than 50 high, medium and lower issues fixed. Self-hosters need 3.7.4 or later, which changes LDAP and SAML sign-in behavior.

◆ Where it's heading

Joplin's recent posts are about trust: privacy terms for AI, a named data processor, and now an audited server. The product is positioning its cloud as safe to put notes in while feature releases stay on a roughly four-month cycle.

◆ Prediction

The next feature release, around 3.8, would fit the four-month cadence in early 2027; the security post suggests more server-side hardening will land in point releases before then.

Alternatives to Hive and Joplin

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Hive or Joplin.

See all Hive alternatives → · See all Joplin alternatives →

Recent activity from Hive and Joplin

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoHiveCharts can group custom field values into categories
  2. 1d agoHiveReporting formulas can use values stored in Tables
  3. 1d agoHiveBurndown chart points open a per-person breakdown
  4. 1d agoHiveSet, shift or clear dates across many actions at once
  5. 2d agoHiveWorkflows library beta adds filters, grouping and bulk actions
  6. 3d agoHiveUndo and redo for bulk action changes
  7. 12d agoJoplinA full security review of Joplin Server and Joplin Cloud
  8. 24d agoJoplinHow we protect your privacy with Joplin Cloud AI
  9. 2mo agoJoplinYour notes and AI: privacy first
  10. 2mo agoJoplinWhat's new in Joplin 3.7 ⚡
  11. 6mo agoJoplinWhat's new in Joplin 3.6
  12. 8mo agoJoplinIntroducing our Warrant Canary

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Hive and Joplin?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Hive better than Joplin?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Hive?

Top Hive alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hive alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hive for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Joplin?

Top Joplin alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Joplin alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/joplin for the full list with editorial commentary on each.