AFFiNE

AFFiNE is a privacy-first, local-first, open-source workspace that merges docs, whiteboards and databases into a single edgeless canvas — a direct alternative to Notion and Miro, now at v0.26.3 with 67,600+ GitHub stars. We rate it 80/100 — the most polished open-source "one app for everything" we have used in 2026, though the self-hosted edition still pulls a few features back behind the managed cloud.

What is AFFiNE?

AFFiNE (pronounced a-fine) is an all-in-one knowledge workspace built by Singapore-based Toeverything Pte. Ltd., founded in 2020 by CEO Jiachen He together with chief architect Wang Yifeng (long-time contributor to Slate and Yjs) and co-founders Yipei Wei, Yinan Long and Chi Zhang. The public repo first opened in mid-2022 and the project hit Product Hunt on October 7, 2022 with 1,069 upvotes and 233 comments.

The pitch is that Notion, Miro, Airtable and Trello each own one surface — pages, canvas, tables or boards — and switching between them breaks your train of thought. AFFiNE merges all four into one edgeless canvas built on BlockSuite, the company's CRDT-based editor engine. Every block — rich text, database, embed, shape, frame — lives on the same canvas, and the latest release (v0.26.3, shipped February 25, 2026) pushes the AI copilot deeper into the product.

Key Features of AFFiNE

• Docs + whiteboard fully merged: Every page has both a document view and an edgeless whiteboard view of the exact same content. Drop shapes, frames, linked pages, slides, mind maps and multi-view databases onto the canvas without context-switching.
• Local-first with real-time sync: Data is stored locally by default; AFFiNE Cloud adds real-time multi-user collaboration on top via Yjs CRDTs and the Rust-based OctoBase storage engine.
• AFFiNE AI copilot: Summarises documents into mind maps, turns outlines into slides, drafts reports, generates canvas artwork, and can scaffold web-page prototypes directly inside a frame.
• Multi-view databases: Tables, boards, calendars, galleries and lists over the same data — each row expands into a full sub-page, Notion-style, but the view lives natively on the whiteboard.
• Native mind maps: Slash-command a mind map anywhere on the canvas, powered by the same Edgeless engine — no plug-in required.
• Cross-platform clients: Electron desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux, a PWA web client at app.affine.pro, plus native iOS and Android apps built in Swift and Kotlin.
• Self-hostable: Docker Compose deployment with Postgres and Redis. Dual-licensed (MIT + commercial) — you can fork, audit and host the full stack yourself.
• Notion import: Export a Notion workspace to HTML and import it directly — pages, sub-pages and most block types come across cleanly.

What Users Say About AFFiNE

Sentiment across Product Hunt, r/selfhosted and the GitHub issue tracker is positive but honest. Reviewers consistently praise the unified docs-plus-canvas experience, the local-first posture, and how fast Toeverything ships — the repo averages multiple releases a month. Product Hunt commenters call it "the open-source Notion+Miro we've been waiting for".

The recurring complaints are real. Multiple GitHub issues (e.g. #8763 and #7097) flag that the self-hosted instance still labels itself "AFFiNE Cloud" in the UI, that sync between the self-hosted server and the desktop client can fail silently, and that some AI and cloud-storage features are gated to Toeverything's managed cloud. Mobile apps are usable but lag behind the desktop, and exports lose block-level features that Markdown cannot represent.

AFFiNE Pricing

AFFiNE has a permanent free tier plus an inexpensive Pro plan and a one-time lifetime option. Self-hosting is free.

Plan	Price	Key Limits
Free (FOSS)	$0 forever	Core editor, local-first, self-host, 10 GB cloud storage, up to 3 collaborators per workspace
Pro	$6.75/month (annual)	100 GB cloud storage, up to 10 members, 30-day version history, 100 MB file uploads, full AI credits
Team	$10/seat/month	Unlimited members, centralised admin, advanced permissions, SSO
Believer (lifetime)	$499.99 one-time	Pro features forever, no recurring fee
Self-host	$0 (infra only)	Full source, Docker Compose, $10–$40/mo of infrastructure

Who Should Use AFFiNE?

Best for: Indie builders, small engineering or research teams, and privacy-sensitive users who want Notion-style docs plus a Miro-style canvas in one app — and who prefer owning their data or self-hosting. The $499.99 lifetime deal is genuinely compelling if you know you want to stay.

Not ideal for: Large enterprises that need mature SSO, fine-grained permissions and audit logs, or teams whose workflows rely on Notion's massive third-party template and integration ecosystem. Power-users looking for a "folder of Markdown files on disk" should still pick Obsidian.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• True merger of docs, whiteboard and databases — not two products stapled together.
• Local-first architecture means AFFiNE keeps working offline and with your data on your disk.
• Open source (MIT + commercial), 67.6k stars, active maintenance, Docker self-host under 30 minutes.
• Cross-platform clients and mobile apps included.
• Generous free tier and an unusually fair $499.99 lifetime plan.

Cons:

• Self-hosted edition has friction — confusing "AFFiNE Cloud" labels, silent sync failures, gated AI features.
• Mobile apps are still catching up to the desktop experience.
• No deep plugin ecosystem yet — the community store is on the roadmap, not shipped.
• Markdown export loses canvas-specific block features.

Alternatives to AFFiNE

The closest alternatives are Obsidian (Markdown-first, huge plug-in ecosystem, no native whiteboard), Notion (richer templates and integrations, closed-source, no true canvas), and AppFlowy (another open-source Notion alternative with a cleaner self-host story but weaker canvas). For pure whiteboarding, tldraw and Excalidraw remain best-in-class, but they are not knowledge bases.

Verdict: Is AFFiNE Worth It?

In 2026 AFFiNE is the most ambitious open-source productivity tool we've reviewed — a genuine attempt to collapse docs, canvas and databases into one coherent workspace, not just three tabs pretending to be one. The self-hosted friction stops us from giving it a higher number, but the free tier is extremely usable, the $6.75/month Pro plan is fair, and the $499.99 Believer lifetime option is the kind of pricing you rarely see from a VC-funded startup. If you've been stuck paying Notion and Miro every month, AFFiNE is the first open alternative that doesn't feel like a compromise. Rating: 80/100.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AFFiNE free?

Yes. AFFiNE has a permanent free FOSS plan with 10 GB of cloud storage and up to 3 collaborators per workspace. Self-hosting is also free. Paid tiers start at $6.75/month for Pro (100 GB, 10 members, full AI) or $499.99 one-time for the Believer lifetime plan.

What platforms does AFFiNE support?

Web (app.affine.pro), macOS, Windows and Linux via Electron desktop apps, plus native iOS and Android apps.

How does AFFiNE compare to Notion?

AFFiNE is open source, local-first and self-hostable; Notion is closed-source and cloud-only. AFFiNE has a real edgeless whiteboard merged into every page, which Notion does not. Notion still wins on third-party integrations, templates and enterprise admin features.

Is AFFiNE open source?

Yes. AFFiNE is dual-licensed under MIT and a commercial license, with the full source code on GitHub (67.6k stars, 4.8k forks).

Can I self-host AFFiNE?

Yes. AFFiNE ships a Docker Compose stack (Postgres + Redis + AFFiNE server) that deploys in about 30 minutes on any VPS, for roughly $10–$40/month of infrastructure. Be aware that some AI and cloud-storage features are still gated to the managed cloud.

Does AFFiNE have a mobile app?

Yes — native iOS and Android apps are available. Reviewers note the mobile experience still lags behind the desktop, but core reading, editing and sync work well.