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Comparison · Collab
Zettlr vs SiYuan
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Zettlr and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Zettlr vs SiYuan: at a glance
What is Zettlr?
A markdown editor grinding through polish, with custom shortcuts finally landing after years
Zettlr is a desktop markdown editor for academic and long-form writing, releasing roughly monthly. The recent line is dominated by file-manager work — workspace sorting, folder colors, closing all standalone files, more reliable folder opening — alongside citation quality improvements and a visual indicator for long-running tasks such as PDF export. Version 4.7.0 finally added user-definable custom shortcuts, described as a years-old request. Two releases in the window are explicitly framed as fixing rather than adding, including regressions from an editor codebase transition.
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan's databases are quietly becoming the reason to use it.
SiYuan is a local-first, self-hostable notes application on a fast alpha/beta/stable cadence — 3.7.2 and 3.7.3 both landed in July and 3.7.4 is already three alphas deep. Much of the volume is editor polish and platform work across Android, iOS and HarmonyOS, but the largest single block of change is the database feature: kanban and gallery layouts, relation and rollup filters, multi-select editing toolbars, frozen column ranges, per-block view configuration. Version 3.7.3 also added Obsidian Vault import and a unified data migration interface.
Zettlr vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side
Zettlr
2.5COLLAB
A markdown editor grinding through polish, with custom shortcuts finally landing after years
◆ Current state
Zettlr is a desktop markdown editor for academic and long-form writing, releasing roughly monthly. The recent line is dominated by file-manager work — workspace sorting, folder colors, closing all standalone files, more reliable folder opening — alongside citation quality improvements and a visual indicator for long-running tasks such as PDF export. Version 4.7.0 finally added user-definable custom shortcuts, described as a years-old request. Two releases in the window are explicitly framed as fixing rather than adding, including regressions from an editor codebase transition.
◆ Where it's heading
This is a mature application paying down the cost of a rewrite while filling in the ergonomics its users have accumulated requests for. The file manager has been the focus across four consecutive releases, which suggests navigation was the friction point users complained about most. Security fixes appear repeatedly and are notable in kind rather than volume: escaping path names passed to shell commands during export closed a path to unintended command execution. Nothing here changes what the product is — it makes the existing product less irritating.
◆ Prediction
Expect the file manager and editor-transition regressions to keep absorbing releases, with custom shortcuts likely to grow configuration surface now that the mechanism exists.
SiYuan
5.0COLLAB
SiYuan's databases are quietly becoming the reason to use it.
◆ Current state
SiYuan is a local-first, self-hostable notes application on a fast alpha/beta/stable cadence — 3.7.2 and 3.7.3 both landed in July and 3.7.4 is already three alphas deep. Much of the volume is editor polish and platform work across Android, iOS and HarmonyOS, but the largest single block of change is the database feature: kanban and gallery layouts, relation and rollup filters, multi-select editing toolbars, frozen column ranges, per-block view configuration. Version 3.7.3 also added Obsidian Vault import and a unified data migration interface.
◆ Where it's heading
Database work has moved from a side feature to the bulk of the release notes, which points at SiYuan competing with structured-notes tools rather than plain Markdown editors. Portability is the second thread and it runs both ways — importing Obsidian vaults, comparing document versions, file history and data snapshots in the same menu. Worth reading carefully: each alpha restates every item from the ones before it, so a long changelog here is not the same as a large release.
◆ Prediction
The 3.7.4 alphas already carry a stable-sized list, so the next milestone is that stable rather than a new direction. The Stable/Beta/Alpha update channel added in alpha.3 suggests the team expects users to sit on pre-releases deliberately.
Alternatives to Zettlr and SiYuan
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 Zettlr or SiYuan.
KACE
KACE's real news lands in two numbered releases a quarter; the rest of the feed is fix notices
GitHub
GitHub shut down its model catalog and shipped stacked pull requests on the same day.
Notion
Notion is turning itself into the place other companies' agents come to work.
Slack
Slack's app platform is being rebuilt around agents, with the SDKs clearing old ground behind it.
MSPbots
MSP automation aiming at an autonomous ticket lifecycle, reported only through roadmap posts
See all Zettlr alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →
Recent activity from Zettlr and SiYuan
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoSiYuanDatabase views and update channels lead a long 3.7.4 alpha
- 4d agoSiYuan3.7.4-alpha.2: one relation-selector tweak
- 5d agoZettlrZettlr 4.7 adds long-requested custom shortcuts
- 6d agoSiYuan3.7.4 alpha opens with export, flashcard and database work
- 10d agoSiYuan3.7.3: Obsidian Vault import and unified data migration
- 11d agoSiYuan3.7.3-beta.3: release-candidate rollup ahead of stable
- 11d agoSiYuan3.7.3-beta.2: same rollup as the following beta
- 1mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.6 fixes regressions from the editor transition
- 2mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.5 adds a long-running task indicator
- 3mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.4 improves the file manager and security model
- 4mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.3.1 escapes shell paths during export
- 4mo agoZettlrZettlr 4.3 adds workspace sorting and folder colors
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Zettlr and SiYuan?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan 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 Zettlr better than SiYuan?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.