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CryptPad vs Trilium Notes

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

CryptPad vs Trilium Notes: at a glance

FeatureCryptPadTrilium Notes
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score6.36.3
Sparks · 30d11
Top themesself-hosting, encryption, office-suite, server-rewriteself-hosted, note-taking, block-editor, ai-agents
Last editorial update2d ago4d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is CryptPad?

CryptPad rebuilt its server and swapped its office engine; now it is patching the fallout.

CryptPad just shipped its largest architectural change in years: a rewritten server published as a standalone npm package, and office apps moved from OnlyOffice to Euro-Office 9.3. Three weeks later a fix release followed with team-deletion, sharing and eviction-script repairs plus security fixes rated up to CVSS 7.3. The product is an end-to-end encrypted suite whose release rhythm is seasonal: one feature drop, then one or two fix releases.

Read the full CryptPad trajectory →

What is Trilium Notes?

Trilium 0.107 turns a text note into blocks you can embed, quote and link

Trilium 0.107 rebuilds the text editor around blocks: notes can embed other notes and edit them in place, quote live excerpts that sync back to the source, and link to a single paragraph. Tables gain merged cells and sorting, the AI chat now asks before any tool reads or changes a note, and a ChatGPT Codex subscription can replace an API key. The sync protocol moves from 39 to 41, so server and every client must update together.

Read the full Trilium Notes trajectory →

CryptPad vs Trilium Notes: editorial side-by-side

C
CryptPad
COLLAB
6.3

CryptPad rebuilt its server and swapped its office engine; now it is patching the fallout.

◆ Current state

CryptPad just shipped its largest architectural change in years: a rewritten server published as a standalone npm package, and office apps moved from OnlyOffice to Euro-Office 9.3. Three weeks later a fix release followed with team-deletion, sharing and eviction-script repairs plus security fixes rated up to CVSS 7.3. The product is an end-to-end encrypted suite whose release rhythm is seasonal: one feature drop, then one or two fix releases.

◆ Where it's heading

The office suite is the recurring pressure point: nearly every release since 2025 carries OnlyOffice corruption, history or pinning fixes, and the Euro-Office swap is the team taking ownership of that dependency. Splitting the server into its own package points toward easier self-hosting and embedding, which matches the openDesk integration builds and Integration API work seen earlier in the year.

◆ Prediction

Expect another fix release within weeks addressing new-server and Euro-Office edge cases, then a winter feature release built on the new server. Whether the server package gets third-party adoption is not visible from these entries.

T6.3

Trilium 0.107 turns a text note into blocks you can embed, quote and link

◆ Current state

Trilium 0.107 rebuilds the text editor around blocks: notes can embed other notes and edit them in place, quote live excerpts that sync back to the source, and link to a single paragraph. Tables gain merged cells and sorting, the AI chat now asks before any tool reads or changes a note, and a ChatGPT Codex subscription can replace an API key. The sync protocol moves from 39 to 41, so server and every client must update together.

◆ Where it's heading

After 0.105 made backups restorable and 0.106 rebuilt the kanban board, Trilium is now reworking its core unit, the text note, toward a block-based model with cross-note reuse. The AI layer is being made safe for a real database through approval prompts and cheaper through subscriptions rather than per-token keys.

◆ Prediction

Expect 0.107.x patches fixing block-editor and sync regressions, and the web clipper 1.2 release that was waiting on 0.107.

Alternatives to CryptPad 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 CryptPad or Trilium Notes.

See all CryptPad alternatives → · See all Trilium Notes alternatives →

Recent activity from CryptPad and Trilium Notes

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

  1. 3d agoCryptPad🍂🩹 Autumn fix release (2026.10.1)
  2. 5d agoTrilium Notes0.107 turns text notes into editable blocks and gates AI tool calls ⚡
  3. 21d agoTrilium Notes0.106.1 patches a pre-auth Node.js flaw in server images
  4. 23d agoCryptPad🍂 Autumn Release (2026.10.0) ⚡
  5. 1mo agoTrilium NotesWeb clipper 1.2 RC adds a preview card and PDF clipping
  6. 1mo agoTrilium Notes0.106.0 rebuilds the kanban board for project tracking
  7. 2mo agoTrilium NotesBackups become restorable and the database becomes manageable ⚡
  8. 3mo agoCryptPadopenDesk build stops asking for donations when embedded
  9. 3mo agoTrilium NotesLLM providers become dynamic; OneNote import hardened
  10. 5mo agoCryptPad🌷🩹 Spring fix release (2026.5.1)
  11. 6mo agoCryptPad🌷 Spring release (2026.5.0)
  12. 7mo agoCryptPad❄️🩹🩹 Winter fix release 2 (2026.2.2)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CryptPad and Trilium Notes?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. CryptPad and Trilium Notes are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is CryptPad better than Trilium Notes?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. CryptPad and Trilium Notes are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to CryptPad?

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