Substack VS Trilium Notes

Compare Substack VS Trilium Notes and see what are their differences

Rating: 0 reviews
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Rating: 0 reviews
Pricing: Open source
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Notivo

Notivo is a private, per-person notebook for managers. Capture feedback, commitments, and 1:1 context as it happens — from web, iOS, WhatsApp, email, ChatGPT, or Claude — then get it back later, organized by person. 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?

Trilium Notes might be a bit more popular than Substack. We know about 116 links to it since March 2021 and only 113 links to Substack.

social mentions: 113 vs 116
Blogging popularity: 100% vs 0%

Base details

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

	Substack	Trilium Notes
Website	substack.com	github.com
Pricing	—	Open source
Company	Startup from the United States	Startup from the Czech Republic
Listed in	Creators Blogging Paid Newsletters CMS +1	Note Taking Notes Personal Notes Knowledge Management +1

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Substack 6 features

Trilium Notes 7 features

Ease of Use
Substack offers a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for writers to publish and monetize their newsletters.
Built-in Monetization
Writers can easily charge readers for subscriptions, allowing for straightforward monetization.
Direct Audience Connection
Substack allows writers to build a direct relationship with their audience via email, which can lead to a more engaged readership.
Discovery and Community
Features like staff picks and recommendations help writers get discovered by new readers.
No Upfront Costs
Substack does not charge upfront fees; instead, it takes a percentage of subscription revenues, making it easier to start.
Content Ownership
Writers retain full ownership of their content, giving them more control over their work.

Possible disadvantages

Revenue Share
Substack takes a 10% cut of subscription revenues, which can add up for writers with a large subscriber base.
Limited Customization
The platform has limited customization options compared to building a custom website or using more flexible CMS options.
Dependency on Platform
Relying on Substack means depending on its policies and infrastructure, which could pose risks if the platform changes its terms or features.
Competition
As more writers join Substack, it can become challenging to stand out amidst the growing competition.
Email Deliverability
Writers may face issues with email deliverability, as some newsletters may end up in spam folders.
Payment Processing Fees
Besides Substack's fee, payment processors like Stripe also take a percentage, further reducing net earnings for writers.

Hierarchical Note Organization
Trilium Notes allows complex, hierarchical organization of notes, helping users manage and navigate their information more efficiently.
Rich Text Editing
It supports rich text formatting, which enables users to create well-structured and visually appealing notes, including tables, images, and code snippets.
Dynamic Note Linking
Notes can be dynamically linked, which helps in creating a web of knowledge and improving information retrieval.
Cross-Platform
Trilium Notes is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring users can access their notes from any system.
Version Control
The application provides version control for notes, allowing users to track changes and revert to previous versions if necessary.
Encryption
Trilium supports encryption for sensitive notes, ensuring that users’ confidential information remains secure.
Extensive Scripting and Automation
Users can extend and automate functionalities through JavaScript-based scripts, making the system highly customizable and efficient.

Possible disadvantages

Complex Setup
Initial setup can be complex for non-technical users, as it might require knowledge of server hosting and configuring local instances.
Steeper Learning Curve
The rich feature set and flexibility can result in a steeper learning curve, making it intimidating for new users.
Lack of Mobile Application
Trilium Notes does not have a dedicated mobile application, which can limit accessibility and usability for users who rely on mobile devices.
Performance Issues with Large Databases
Users with very large databases may experience performance issues, impacting usability and speed.
Limited Online Collaboration
Trilium Notes does not offer robust online collaboration features, which can be a drawback for users who need real-time collaborative editing capabilities.
Community Support
Being an open-source application, it primarily relies on community support, which might not be as responsive or comprehensive as dedicated technical support.

Analysis

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

Substack

Trilium Notes

Overall verdict

Substack is a good choice for writers seeking autonomy and a straightforward way to monetize their content. However, it may not be the best fit for those who prefer working within the framework of a larger publication or those unfamiliar with the challenges of building and maintaining a subscriber base.

Why this product is good

Substack is a platform that allows writers, journalists, and content creators to publish and monetize their newsletters. It is praised for its ease of use, built-in subscription system, and direct-to-consumer model which enables writers to retain control over their audience and content. The platform has attracted both independent writers and established journalists seeking the freedom to monetize their work without traditional media constraints.

Recommended for

Independent writers and journalists
Content creators looking to monetize their work
Individuals seeking a direct relationship with their audience
Those who appreciate simplicity in publishing

Overall verdict

Trilium Notes is a solid choice for users who need a highly customizable and organized note-taking solution, particularly those comfortable with open-source software. Its rich features and flexibility make it ideal for power users and those looking to organize large volumes of notes.

Why this product is good

Trilium Notes is considered good because it offers a powerful note-taking environment with hierarchical structure, which allows for advanced organization of notes. It also supports rich text formatting, scripting, note versioning, and has encryption features to secure sensitive information. Additionally, Trilium is open-source, which means its development and feature set are guided by a community of users committed to improving the software.

Recommended for

Trilium Notes is recommended for users who need detailed organization tools, enjoy customization, or have programming skills to leverage its scripting features. It is also suitable for privacy-conscious users who require encryption and for those who appreciate open-source platforms where they can contribute to the software's development.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Substack 5 videos + Add

Trilium Notes 1 video + Add

Monetizing Podcasts and Newsletters - Chris Best of Substack and Jonathan Gill of Backtracks

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

Substack

Trilium Notes

100% 100%

Blogging

0% 0%

Note Taking

100% 100%

CMS

0% 0%

Todos

100% 100%

User comments

Share your experience with using Substack and Trilium Notes. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews and articles

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

Substack no reviews yet

Trilium Notes no reviews yet

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
forgefusion.io · Dec 2023

Substack offers writers of all experience levels the ability to write an email newsletter that’s profitable through subscriptions. Substack provides purpose-built web and newsletter publishing tools to enable writers...
10 Best Medium Alternatives for Reading and Publishing
www.geeksforgeeks.org · Nov 2023

What sеts Substack apart is its sеamlеss intеgration of contеnt crеation and subscription-basеd monеtization. Substack’s usеr-friеndly intеrfacе, distribution tools, and support for various contеnt formats make it a...
9 Best Medium Alternatives for Making Money With Your Writing in 2023
www.authorityhacker.com · Sep 2023

Substack and Medium differ primarily in their monetization methods. Medium pays creators based on reader engagement, while Substack enables writers to monetize directly through paid subscriptions to their newsletters....

10 Best Open Source Note-Taking Apps for Linux
www.tecmint.com · Mar 2023

Trilium Notes features fast and easy navigation between notes with full-text search and note hoisting, relation maps, link maps for visualizing notes and their relations, and a touch-optimized user interface for...

Social recommendations and mentions

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

Substack 113 mentions

Trilium Notes 116 mentions

How to Get Substack Newsletter Data: Posts, Comments and Subscriber Counts
a profile link: https://substack.com/@noahpinion. - Source: dev.to / 3 days ago
Ask HN: What are you working on? (November 2026)
A free comedy newsletter that has nothing to do with technology yet mentions it from time to time. https://substack.com/@yelluwcomedy. - Source: Hacker News / 6 days ago
UK Defence Startups Are Being Denied Banking Services Under ESG Rules
Books have already been written on this, some as early as 1945 (That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewis). Otherwise I can recommend basically everything by Curtis Yarvin and Kevin Dolan (https://substack.com/@exitgroup,... - Source: Hacker News / 26 days ago

Taking Notes with Joplin
https://github.com/zadam/trilium#trilium-is-in-maintenance-m... above and beyond the license difference... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
French gov's open source alternative to Notion or Outline
It depends on what subset of Notion you use. Nothing (including Notion) is perfect for me. I'd like to build my own eventually, but I'm currently using Obsidian which doesn't hit your "works in the browser" requirement. One option,... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
Siyuan: Privacy-first, self-hosted personal knowledge management software
I can also recommend Trilium Notes [1], which I have been happily using for years. It's currently in "maintenance mode", which I personally see as a feature (no risk of bloatware). Self-hosted, great webapp, optional native clients and... - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago

Alternatives to Substack and Trilium Notes

When comparing Substack and Trilium Notes, you can also consider the following products.

Ghost
Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Compare Ghost to Substack or Trilium Notes:

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CherryTree
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.

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CherryTree vs Substack CherryTree vs Trilium Notes
Medium
Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

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Obsidian
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.

Compare Obsidian to Substack or Trilium Notes:

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beehiiv
beehiiv empowers people to create, monetize, and grow by providing the most powerful and robust newsletter platform, holistically under one roof.

Compare beehiiv to Substack or Trilium Notes:

beehiiv vs Substack beehiiv vs Trilium Notes
Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.

Compare Joplin to Substack or Trilium Notes:

Joplin vs Substack Joplin vs Trilium Notes