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authentik VS PrivacyNotes

Compare authentik VS PrivacyNotes and see what are their differences

authentik

authentik is an open-source identity provider focused on flexibility and versatility.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Alternatives Is it good?
PrivacyNotes

Zero-knowledge encrypted notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords in one app. Your keys never leave your device. One-time price, no subscription. Hosted in Switzerland.

Rating
5.0 · 2 reviews
Pricing
Open source Freemium Free trial $48 / One-off (Early adopter price)
Alternatives Is it good?
Kanera
Plan work on flexible boards, connect projects through Global Work and Portfolio, and keep reporting, notes, automation, API, and AI access together. sponsored
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, authentik seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 52 times since March 2021.

social mentions
52 vs 0
Identity And Access Management popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
113 vs 28

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

authentik
PrivacyNotes
Website goauthentik.io privacynotes.app
Pricing
Open source
Open source Freemium Free trial $48 / One-off (Early adopter price) Official pricing
Platforms —
MacOS Web Firefox Google Chrome Edge Safari +3
Company — Startup from Switzerland · 1 - 9 employees · 2026
Listed in
Identity And Access Management Identity Provider SSO Authentication +1
Note Taking Journal Task Management Private Photo Vault Password Managers Privacy Document Encryption File Encryption Private Journal Notes Personal Notes +8

About authentik and PrivacyNotes

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

authentik
PrivacyNotes

No description of authentik yet.

PrivacyNotes is a zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that brings your notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords into one app, so you stop juggling four separate subscriptions. Everything is encrypted on your device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it ever syncs. Your keys are derived from a...

Read more about PrivacyNotes

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

authentik 5 features
PrivacyNotes 5 features
  • Open Source
    Authentik is an open-source identity provider, which means you can access and modify the source code to suit your needs without licensing fees.
  • Flexible Authentication Methods
    Authentik supports a variety of authentication methods, including traditional username/password, OAuth, SAML, and LDAP, allowing integration with diverse systems.
  • User Interface and Experience
    Provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface for administrators to manage user identities and configure authentication workflows.
  • Docker Deployment
    Easily deployable via Docker, which simplifies the installation and scaling processes, making it adaptable to different environments.
  • Community Support
    Being open-source, authentik benefits from community contributions which can lead to faster improvements and support through forums and community channels.

Possible disadvantages

  • Complex Configuration
    The flexibility of authentik can lead to complex configurations that might be challenging for users without prior experience in identity management systems.
  • Limited Documentation
    The official documentation may not be as comprehensive as commercial offerings, potentially making the implementation process slower for new users.
  • Scalability Concerns
    While suitable for many use cases, authentik might face challenges when scaling to extremely large, enterprise-level implementations without tailored optimizations.
  • Support Reliance on Community
    As an open-source project, the level of direct support is typically limited unless supplemented by a third-party service provider.
  • Relative Maturity
    Compared to some established competitors, authentik might lack some advanced features present in mature, commercial identity management solutions.
  • Privacy-focused
    PrivacyNotes is designed with privacy as a core principle, aiming to keep your notes secure and away from third-party access, which appeals to users concerned about data confidentiality.
  • Encryption
    The service typically emphasizes encryption to protect note content, meaning your data is scrambled and less vulnerable to unauthorized reading if intercepted or stored.
  • Ephemeral notes
    Many privacy note services offer self-destructing or temporary notes that automatically delete after being read or after a set time, reducing the digital footprint left behind.
  • Simple and lightweight
    Such tools often provide a clean, minimal interface focused on quick note creation and sharing without unnecessary features, making it easy to use.
  • No account required
    Privacy-oriented note apps frequently allow you to create and share notes without registration, lowering the barrier to entry and reducing personal data collection.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

authentik
PrivacyNotes

No analysis of authentik yet.

Overall verdict

  • I don't have verified, specific information about PrivacyNotes (privacynotes.app) to make a reliable assessment of its quality, security practices, or features. I cannot confirm details about its encryption methods, privacy policy, company background, or user reviews.

Why this product is good

  • Unable to verify claims about encryption or zero-knowledge architecture without independent confirmation
  • No access to current user reviews, ratings, or reputation data for this specific service
  • Cannot confirm company legitimacy, ownership, or track record
  • Unable to verify uptime, reliability, or actual security audit results
  • No information available on pricing structure or terms of service specifics

Recommended for

  • Before using, research independently via security audit reports if available
  • Check for third-party security reviews or penetration testing results
  • Verify the company's privacy policy and data handling practices directly on their site
  • Look for user reviews on independent platforms rather than relying on marketing claims
  • Consider established, well-audited alternatives if handling highly sensitive information

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

authentik 3 videos + Add
PrivacyNotes 0 videos + Add

New ZOEVA Authentik Skin Natural Luminous Foundation...First Impressions Review + 10 HR Wear Test

More videos

  • - Authentik: How to Install with Docker and Why You Should
  • - Authentik Music Video Review Show

No PrivacyNotes videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
authentik
PrivacyNotes
100% 100%
Identity And Access Management
0% 0%
0% 0%
Journal
100% 100%
100% 100%
Identity Provider
0% 0%
0% 0%
Note Taking
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing authentik and PrivacyNotes.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Honestly? We have no idea, and that is the entire point. Signup is anonymous (a recovery phrase or Google, no email or personal details), the app ships zero analytics and zero trackers, and zero-knowledge encryption means we cannot see who you are or what you store. We could not name a single customer if we tried. A privacy product that tracked its users closely enough to brag about them would be missing the plot.

What makes your product unique?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

PrivacyNotes is the only zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that keeps notes, tasks, journals, files, and a password vault behind one set of on-device keys. Most privacy apps do one of those well and rent it to you monthly. We do all five, encrypt everything with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it leaves your device, and charge once instead of forever. The encryption core is open core, published so the claims can be verified rather than trusted.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Three reasons:

  • One app, not four subscriptions. Standard Notes, Day One, and Lunatask each rent you a slice (notes, journaling, tasks). PrivacyNotes covers all of them plus files and a vault, for a fair one-time fee.
  • Real zero-knowledge. Your keys come from a recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your notes, your filenames, or your metadata. Some encrypted apps leave note or task metadata in the clear; we do not.
  • Verifiable, not just trusted. The crypto and schema are open core and published for review, and there is no ad, tracker, or analytics anywhere in the app.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Privacy-conscious individuals and independent professionals who handle information they would not want a vendor reading: lawyers, journalists, healthcare and mental-health practitioners, developers, security specialists, researchers, and founders. It also fits anyone who simply wants one private home for their notes, tasks, journaling, and wellness tracking instead of spreading them across surveillance-funded apps.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

React, TypeScript, Vite and Tailwind CSS.

What's the story behind your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

PrivacyNotes started from a simple frustration: staying organized meant scattering your life across half a dozen apps, most of which could read everything you typed and billed you monthly for the privilege. We wanted one place for notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords, encrypted so thoroughly that the people running the servers could not read a word of it, and paid for once rather than forever. So we built the encryption first, made the keys live only on your device, and published the crypto as open core so the promise could be checked, not just believed. Everything else grew from one rule: your data is yours, and no one else's to mine.

User comments

Share your experience with using authentik and PrivacyNotes. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Log in or Post with

Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

authentik no reviews yet
PrivacyNotes 5.0 · 2 reviews

We have no reviews of authentik yet. Be the first one to post

  • Everything I Needed in One App
    SaaSHub review
    · Aug 2026

    This app checks every box for me. Clean interface, no learning curve, local-first encryption, and secure sync across all of my devices. The biggest surprise is how many apps it replaced. Instead of juggling separate...

  • Feature rich
    SaaSHub review
    · Jul 2026

    The best thing about this: No subscription model, it's a one-time fee for a lifetime license. But you can start for free with the generous freemium model. I only needed to upgrade to pro because I wanted to use the...

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

authentik 52 mentions
PrivacyNotes 0 mentions
  • AI slop security engineering: Okta's NextJS-0auth troubles
    Https://goauthentik.io/#comparison They have an enterprise version now (mostly for support and bleeding edge features that later make it into the open source product.) It's pretty easy to self host. I have been doing it for a small site... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • We replaced passwords with something worse
    I recently set up passkey-only sign ins for a webapp I'm writing using Authentik [0](Python OIDC provider, with quite a nice docker-compose run-up, took only minutes to stand up.) It was surprisingly easy to configure everything so that... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Frequent reauth doesn't make you more secure
    I set up Authentik[^1] on my NAS in a docker container and went from there! Just had to add a .well-known webfinger file to my domain that pointed to the Authentik instance and it "just worked" with Tailscale. [^1]: https://goauthentik.io/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

View more

Tracking PrivacyNotes since Jun 2026.

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