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Comparison · Collab
Trilium Notes vs Zettlr
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Trilium Notes and Zettlr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Trilium Notes vs Zettlr: at a glance
What is Trilium Notes?
Trilium rebuilt its kanban board, then shipped an urgent server security fix.
Trilium 0.106.0 rebuilt the kanban board with column icons, limits, collapsing, archiving, an inbox column, card templates, regrouping, sorting and filtering, and arrived on Flathub. 0.106.1 is a security release for server and Docker images, updating Node.js for a Brotli decoder flaw reachable before authentication and the revoked eMudhra certificate authorities. A web clipper 1.2.0 candidate adds a preview card and per-mode clipping, partly dependent on the unreleased 0.107.
What is Zettlr?
Zettlr added admonitions after six years, then spent a release fixing its updater.
Zettlr 4.8.0 brought admonitions, a feature six years in the making, plus translation updates and a fix for a long-standing logic bug in search. 4.9.0 followed in late October to stop a false 'Update failed' error introduced by 4.8, drop macOS 12 and old Ubuntu support, distrust the eMudhra TLS certificates and render reference-style images.
Trilium Notes vs Zettlr: editorial side-by-side
Trilium Notes
5.0COLLAB
Trilium rebuilt its kanban board, then shipped an urgent server security fix.
◆ Current state
Trilium 0.106.0 rebuilt the kanban board with column icons, limits, collapsing, archiving, an inbox column, card templates, regrouping, sorting and filtering, and arrived on Flathub. 0.106.1 is a security release for server and Docker images, updating Node.js for a Brotli decoder flaw reachable before authentication and the revoked eMudhra certificate authorities. A web clipper 1.2.0 candidate adds a preview card and per-mode clipping, partly dependent on the unreleased 0.107.
◆ Where it's heading
After 0.105 made the database restorable and manageable, Trilium is back to deepening note types, with the board turning into a light project tracker. The clipper work shows capture from the browser becoming a first-class input.
◆ Prediction
0.107.0 is the next release, since the clipper already depends on it; PDF saving from the clipper is one confirmed feature.
Zettlr
2.5COLLAB
Zettlr added admonitions after six years, then spent a release fixing its updater.
◆ Current state
Zettlr 4.8.0 brought admonitions, a feature six years in the making, plus translation updates and a fix for a long-standing logic bug in search. 4.9.0 followed in late October to stop a false 'Update failed' error introduced by 4.8, drop macOS 12 and old Ubuntu support, distrust the eMudhra TLS certificates and render reference-style images.
◆ Where it's heading
Releases arrive roughly monthly and alternate between a headline writing feature and cleanup of the previous one. The app is tracking Electron's platform support, so older operating systems will keep falling away.
◆ Prediction
A small 4.9.x fix release or a feature-led 4.10 in about a month fits the pattern; the entries don't hint at its contents.
Alternatives to Trilium Notes and Zettlr
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 Trilium Notes or Zettlr.
Komga
Komga's NextUI beta keeps gaining features while the old UI gets only translations.
Capacities
Capacities adds whiteboards and a global graph to its object-based notes.
Guru
Guru's Knowledge Agents get the plumbing that makes their answers checkable and safe.
EGroupware
EGroupware retires 23.1 and keeps shipping security fixes every week or two.
Immich
Immich's 3.4 candidate adds passkeys and built-in backups.
See all Trilium Notes alternatives → · See all Zettlr alternatives →
Recent activity from Trilium Notes and Zettlr
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 8d agoZettlrZettlr 4.9 fixes update errors and drops macOS 12
- 9d agoTrilium Notes0.106.1 patches a pre-auth Node.js flaw in server images
- 20d agoTrilium NotesWeb clipper 1.2 RC adds a preview card and PDF clipping
- 1mo agoTrilium Notes0.106.0 rebuilds the kanban board for project tracking
- 1mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.8 adds admonition blocks
- 2mo agoTrilium NotesBackups become restorable and the database becomes manageable ⚡
- 3mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.7 adds long-requested custom shortcuts
- 3mo agoTrilium NotesLLM providers become dynamic; OneNote import hardened
- 3mo agoTrilium NotesRelease-preparation tag for v0.104.0
- 4mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.6 fixes regressions from the editor transition
- 5mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.5 adds a long-running task indicator
- 6mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.4 improves the file manager and security model
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Trilium Notes and Zettlr?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Trilium Notes is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), 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 Trilium Notes better than Zettlr?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Trilium Notes is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to Zettlr?
Top Zettlr alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Zettlr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/zettlr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.