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AFFiNE
Decision matrix
AFFiNE app decision matrix
Overview
Verdict: worth it once you actually use both halves, written notes and a visual canvas, in the same project; if you only want one or the other, it's more tool than you need. Free covers a small personal workspace; Pro ($6.75/month) or Team ($10/seat/month) add real cloud storage and more members.
Other good fits
Anyone who wants local-first notes with an open-source (MIT) editor and the option to self-host later.
+ Pros
Read pros
AFFiNE puts written documents and an edgeless (infinite) whiteboard in the same workspace, so a page of notes and a board of sticky notes can reference each other instead of living in separate apps. It's local-first: the desktop and mobile apps work fully offline, and the editor itself is MIT-licensed and open source. Cloud sync, real-time collaboration and an AI add-on are optional paid layers on top.
Pick it when…
A project genuinely needs both a written brief and a visual board, and switching apps to move between them wastes time.
You want notes that work offline by default and only sync to the cloud when you choose to.
You'd rather keep the option to self-host than commit to a closed-source, cloud-only note tool.
− Cons
Read cons
The combined document-and-canvas workspace has more moving parts than a plain shared document, so a simple case (one page, one owner, no visual planning) can end up with unnecessary structure. Local-first means offline devices are the source of truth until they sync, which is exactly what you want for privacy but means two offline edits to the same page can conflict.
Pick something else when…
You just need Markdown notes an AI tool can query, no canvas.Basic Memory is lighter for that.
Version history and diffing matter more than a visual canvas. Plain Markdown files in a Git repository give you that for free.
A team wants a shared, self-hosted place to store that Git repository without paying for AFFiNE's cloud.Gitea covers that.
Avoid if
You need a production self-hosted service but nobody on the team can run Postgres, Redis, blob storage and backups.
Workflow
Start a page for the written brief → add an edgeless canvas linked from that page for the visual side → invite collaborators only once the structure is settled → use Collections to group related pages and boards → move to Pro or Team once local storage and single-device use aren't enough.
Unlimited local workspaces, full editor, no cloud sync
Cloud Basic
Free
10 GB cloud storage, up to 3 members, 7-day version history
Pro
$6.75/month
100 GB cloud storage, up to 10 members, 30-day version history
Team
$10/seat/month
Unlimited members (10+ seats), multiple admin roles, priority support
AFFiNE AI (add-on)
$8.90/month, billed annually
Writing, rewriting and mind-map generation inside docs and boards
Self-hosting is free in licence terms but not in effort: the documented stack is Postgres, Redis, blob storage, a reverse proxy with HTTPS, backups and upgrades, all things you own once you run it yourself.
Restrictions
Most of the repository is MIT-licensed, but specific backend and native directories carry separate terms; check the licence file for anything you plan to redistribute. Production self-hosting needs Postgres, Redis, object storage, HTTPS and a backup and restore plan you've actually tested, not just configured.
First project
Documentation-based suggestion — not run here.
Plan a fictional lab open-day: one written page with the goal, audience and three deliverables, and one linked whiteboard with sticky notes for tasks, risks and a rough timeline. Link every sticky note back to the deliverable it supports.
Done when a colleague who never saw the brief can open the board and correctly guess which deliverable each sticky note supports.
Links & evidence
Documentation-based · not hands-on · Sep 23, 2026
Rests on AFFiNE's pricing page, its self-hosting documentation and its GitHub repository, read on 2026-09-23. No AFFiNE workspace was installed or run for this review.
AFFiNE pricing · Sep 23, 2026 — Local FOSS free, Cloud Basic free (10GB/3 members), Pro $6.75/month, Team $10/seat/month, AI add-on $8.90/month.
View sourced imageStill frame from the official AFFiNE demonstration. Official AFFiNE repository workspace demonstration.
toeverything/AFFiNE
Repository-owned interface asset referenced by the official AFFiNE README; owner requested its use on 13 September 2026. Source attribution retained. First frame converted to WebP for a lightweight static preview; original media retained.
