Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Pmwiki VS PrivacyNotes

Compare Pmwiki VS PrivacyNotes and see what are their differences

Pmwiki logo Pmwiki

PmWiki is a wiki-based system for collaborative creation and maintenance of websites.

PrivacyNotes logo 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.
Visit Website
  • Pmwiki Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-15
  • PrivacyNotes Journal
    Journal //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Settings
    Settings //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Website
    Website //
    2026-06-25

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 recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your content, your filenames, or anything else. This is real zero-knowledge, not a marketing label.

Five pillars, one encrypted app:

  • Notes - a live markdown editor with note-to-note links, tags, and fast full-text search
  • Tasks - native checklists and task management next to your notes
  • Journals - daily entries with built-in mood, sleep, and medication tracking
  • Files - an encrypted vault for images, audio, and attachments
  • Vault - lock sensitive notes and logins behind a PIN or biometrics

Built for privacy, not surveillance:

  • No ads, no trackers, no analytics, ever
  • Sign in anonymously with a recovery phrase or with Google. No email or personal details required.
  • Open core: the encryption layer and database schema are published for independent review
  • Burn notes: self-destructing shares the server cannot read

Pricing that respects you:

  • Free covers every pillar with two-device sync and offline use
  • Pro is a one-time free, not a subscription, adding unlimited devices, note history, and more storage
  • Optional storage add-ons when you need them

Works on web, macOS, and soon iOS, Android, Windows and Linux with a responsive mobile layout. Import from Apple Notes, Standard Notes, Google Keep, Obsidian, and markdown in a few clicks.

Pmwiki

Website
pmwiki.org
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

PrivacyNotes

$ Details
freemium $48 / One-off (Early adopter price)
Platforms
MacOS Web Firefox Google Chrome Edge Safari
Release Date
2026 June
Startup details
Country
Switzerland
Employees
1 - 9

Pmwiki features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    PmWiki is designed to be straightforward and user-friendly, requiring minimal technical expertise in HTML or CSS, which makes it accessible for non-technical users to create and edit pages.
  • No Database Required
    PmWiki stores its content in flat files, so it doesn't require a database engine like MySQL. This can simplify installation and maintenance for users not familiar with database management.
  • Customizability
    PmWiki offers a flexible template and skins system that enables users to easily modify the appearance and functionality of the site without requiring in-depth programming knowledge.
  • Access Control
    The platform provides robust access control features, allowing administrators to define who can view or edit content on the wiki, which is beneficial for managing collaborative work.
  • Large Community and Support
    PmWiki has an active community and extensive documentation, offering a wealth of resources and community support that can assist users with troubleshooting and expanding their wiki.

Possible disadvantages of Pmwiki

  • Limited Built-in Features
    Compared to other more comprehensive content management systems, PmWiki may lack some advanced built-in features, requiring additional customization or use of plugins to extend functionality.
  • Scalability Concerns
    As PmWiki uses a flat file structure, performance may degrade with very large wikis or high traffic volumes unless optimizations are put in place.
  • Plugin Dependency
    To gain additional functionalities beyond the core features of PmWiki, users often need to rely on third-party plugins, which might vary in quality and support.
  • Less Modern Aesthetic
    Some users might find the default themes and visual aesthetics of PmWiki to be less modern compared to newer platforms, which might require more effort to update or customize.
  • Static Output
    Without a database backend, integrating dynamic content can be challenging, limiting the ability to create dynamic, database-backed applications directly within PmWiki.

PrivacyNotes features and specs

  • 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 of PrivacyNotes

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

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Pmwiki and PrivacyNotes)
WiKis
100 100%
0% 0
Journal
0 0%
100% 100
Content Collaboration
100 100%
0% 0
Note Taking
76 76%
24% 24

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Pmwiki 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

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Pmwiki and PrivacyNotes

Pmwiki Reviews

Top 12 Self-hosted Wiki Engines for 2024: A Comprehensive Guide
PmWiki stands out for its ease of installation and maintenance, as it does not require a database. It offers extensive customization options through skins and plugins, allowing users to personalize their websites. Access control mechanisms ensure that only authorized users can edit content. PmWiki supports easy page creation and editing, with features for categorization and...
Source: medevel.com
The 10 Best Self-hosted Wiki Software for Linux System
PmWiki keeps track of edited pages with page history. So users can easily find out differences between previous and recent pages. Besides, it has a page indexing feature to create dynamic page lists. Even you can categorize your page via the Pagelist feature. It has spam protection features such as blocking words and IP addresses.
Best 11 Open-source Free Wiki Engines for teams and enterprise in 2022
PmWiki is a lightweight open-source wiki built with PHP. It offers a spam protection, page editing, revisions, RSS feeds, search tools, page group management and dozens of themes and plugins.
Source: medevel.com
The Best 20 Wiki Software For Your Business& Internal Knowledge for 2022
A wiki-based content management system, PmWiki is great for collaborative creation and maintenance of your companyโ€™s wiki. Written in PHP and released under General Public License, this wiki tool is extremely easy to install, customize, and maintain. Creating and managing wiki pages is a piece of cake with this wiki software.
17 open source wiki engine/software
PmWiki is a wiki based software for collaborative creation and maintenance of website. it work similar like normal web pages, but only difference is they have an โ€œEditโ€ link that makes it easy to modify existing pages for anyone and add new web pages into the website, using basic editing rules no need to know or use any HTML or CSS language. Page editing can be left open to...

PrivacyNotes Reviews

  1. Everything I Needed in One App

    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 apps for notes, habits, mood, activities, and important dates, everything lives in one place now. It's made staying organized a lot simpler.

    Paying once and knowing I won't lose access to my workflow because I canceled yet another subscription is incredibly refreshing. That peace of mind is worth a lot to me.

  2. Feature rich

    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 app on my phone, laptop and desktop. Highly recommended! Btw, it's a perfect markdown editor as well, not sure why they don't emphasize this more.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Pmwiki and PrivacyNotes, you can also consider the following products

MediaWiki - MediaWiki is a free software wiki package written in PHP, originally for use on Wikipedia.

Obsidian.md - A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

DokuWiki - DokuWiki is a simple to use and highly versatile Open Source wiki software that doesn't require a database.

Standard Notes - A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work

Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware - Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware, also known as Tiki (or TikiWiki), is a full-featured, web-based, multilingual, all-in-one Free/Libre Open Source Software solution. Tiki can be used to create all kinds of web apps, portals, knowledge bases, intranets, etc.

Apple Notes - Apple Notes functions as a service for making short text notes.