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Comparison · Collab

Memos vs Trilium Notes

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

Shared themes:note-taking

Memos vs Trilium Notes: at a glance

FeatureMemosTrilium Notes
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score7.50.0
Sparks · 30d20
Top themesnote-taking, self-hosted, mcp, breaking-changesnote-taking, fork, code-signing, mfa
Last editorial update3h ago3h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Memos?

Memos is turning a personal note store into an agent-addressable, private-by-default service

The release candidates in this window carry unusually heavy changes for a self-hosted note app: an embedded MCP endpoint exposing memo CRUD, comments, attachments and tags to AI clients; live updates over server-sent events; revocable share links; and a browser Web Clipper for saving pages and selections as Markdown. A parallel candidate makes instances without an explicit instance URL run in private mode and rewrites filters onto CEL timestamps.

Read the full Memos trajectory →

What is Trilium Notes?

The TriliumNext fork spent its early betas making the app trustworthy to install

Three beta releases from early 2025. The work is dominated by distribution and access concerns: signed Windows binaries obtained through a donated EV certificate, signed macOS builds, multi-factor authentication that required a database version bump, basic right-to-left content support, and repaired migration paths from the original Trilium. Nothing has been published to this feed since March 2025.

Read the full Trilium Notes trajectory →

Memos vs Trilium Notes: editorial side-by-side

M
Memos
COLLAB
7.5

Memos is turning a personal note store into an agent-addressable, private-by-default service

◆ Current state

The release candidates in this window carry unusually heavy changes for a self-hosted note app: an embedded MCP endpoint exposing memo CRUD, comments, attachments and tags to AI clients; live updates over server-sent events; revocable share links; and a browser Web Clipper for saving pages and selections as Markdown. A parallel candidate makes instances without an explicit instance URL run in private mode and rewrites filters onto CEL timestamps.

◆ Where it's heading

Two directions are converging. One is machine access — MCP moved from a stateful server with prompts and resources to a stateless, tools-only endpoint generated from the OpenAPI schema, which is a deliberate narrowing toward something agents can call reliably. The other is defaults that assume the instance is private until an admin says otherwise. Together they reposition Memos from a personal web app to a small API-shaped service with a human UI on top.

◆ Prediction

Expect the MCP surface to stabilise against the OpenAPI schema as the source of truth and the private-by-default posture to carry into a general release, with clients that relied on prompts, resources or unprefixed tool names needing to migrate.

T0.0

The TriliumNext fork spent its early betas making the app trustworthy to install

◆ Current state

Three beta releases from early 2025. The work is dominated by distribution and access concerns: signed Windows binaries obtained through a donated EV certificate, signed macOS builds, multi-factor authentication that required a database version bump, basic right-to-left content support, and repaired migration paths from the original Trilium. Nothing has been published to this feed since March 2025.

◆ Where it's heading

These are the problems a fork inherits rather than chooses. Before adding features, the project had to make installs pass platform trust checks, let users migrate off the predecessor without an intermediate upgrade, and add authentication a self-hosted note store is expected to have. It is groundwork, done in the open, with contributors credited by name.

◆ Prediction

There is not enough recent activity to predict the next release. The feed has been silent for over a year, so whether the beta line continued elsewhere is the open question.

Alternatives to Memos and Trilium Notes

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 Memos or Trilium Notes.

See all Memos alternatives → · See all Trilium Notes alternatives →

Recent activity from Memos and Trilium Notes

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

  1. 3d agoMemosEmbedded MCP endpoint, live SSE updates, and revocable share links
  2. 9d agoMemosMemos Web Clipper and a redesigned memo detail rail
  3. 15d agoMemosPrivate by default, CEL time filters, and a stateless MCP endpoint
  4. 3mo agoMemosMentions, voice recording, and Live Photo attachments
  5. 1y agoTrilium NotesMulti-factor authentication and signed Windows binaries
  6. 1y agoTrilium NotesSigned macOS builds and right-to-left content support
  7. 1y agoTrilium NotesFixes missing Windows ZIP artifacts

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Memos and Trilium Notes?

Both compete on the same themes — note-taking — within Collab. Memos is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 0.0), with 2 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 Memos better than Trilium Notes?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Memos is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 vs 0.0), with 2 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 Memos?

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

What are the best alternatives to Trilium Notes?

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