Best 5 Affine Alternatives

Affine launched in late 2022 as an ambitious project from Toeverything, promising to be "more than Notion and Miro" by merging docs and whiteboards into a single platform. The Singapore-based team created a knowledge base that brings planning, sorting, and creating together, built on their open-source foundations BlockSuite and OctoBase. With features inspired by Trello's Kanban boards, Miro's edgeless canvas, and Notion's block-based approach, Affine gained attention as a privacy-first alternative that stores data locally while offering cloud sync options.

The platform quickly evolved through multiple versions, adding features like databases, whiteboard improvements, and AI capabilities. By 2024, Affine had established itself as a unique player in the knowledge management space, offering both free local storage and paid cloud services with up to 100GB storage, real-time collaboration, and AI features for Pro users.

However, as users have spent more time with Affine, various limitations and challenges have emerged. While the vision remains compelling, practical issues have led many to seek alternatives that better match their workflow needs and reliability expectations.

Why Users Are Looking for Affine Alternatives

Several issues have driven users to explore Affine alternatives:

• Missing basic features: Despite the hype, users report missing functionality like simple tables (without creating full databases), page toggles, and proper comment features. One user noted the platform offers "less elegance" but lacks the "multitude of complex functions" found in competitors.

• Stability and data loss concerns: Early adopters report losing data due to stability issues. One user stated: "I lost all my early test data due to those stability issues - pretty frustrating," though acknowledging recent improvements.

• Cloud sync and collaboration issues: The FAQ reveals ongoing problems with inviting members ("refresh this page to see if this execution is successfully operated"), endless loading states, and the inability to work offline with synced workspaces.

• Server-side proprietary limitations: While the client is open-source, Affine's server components remain closed-source, creating dependency on their infrastructure for sync features and limiting true self-hosting capabilities.

Docmost

Docmost is an open-source wiki and documentation software designed for seamless real-time collaboration, allowing multiple users to work on the same page simultaneously without overwriting each other. Released under the AGPL-3.0 license, Docmost positions itself as a modern alternative to both Notion and Confluence, offering a fresh approach to knowledge base software that addresses many of Affine's limitations.

Docmost offers a straightforward approach to collaborative documentation that sidesteps Affine's complexity. Where Affine tries to merge whiteboards and docs into a "hyper-fused" experience, Docmost focuses on doing wikis and documentation exceptionally well. This clarity of purpose translates into a more stable, predictable platform.

Docmost provides reliable real-time collaboration that works across devices. Multiple users can edit pages simultaneously without the refresh-and-hope approach Affine users face when inviting collaborators. The platform includes a rich editor supporting tables, LaTeX math, callouts, and integrated diagramming with Mermaid, Draw.io, and Excalidraw, covering most visual needs without Affine's whiteboard learning curve.

Docmost's architecture uses Spaces to organize content by teams or projects, each with granular permissions. This addresses the organizational challenges Affine users face with its page/subpage structure limitations. The platform supports importing from Confluence and Notion, plus both S3 and local storage options for true data control. With support for over 10 languages and active development, Docmost provides the best documentation software teams need.

Docmost features​

• Collaborative Real-time Editor: Work together on pages in real time.
• Diagrams: Built-in support for Drawio, Excalidraw, and Mermaid diagramming tools.
• Spaces: Organize your pages by team, projects, or departments for better collaboration.
• Permissions Management: Easily control access to pages with easy-to-understand permissions.
• Groups: Easily grant unified permissions to users via groups.
• Comments: Add inline comments to pages for better communication and feedback.
• Page History: Track changes with a comprehensive version history.
• Nested Navigation: You can nest and reorder pages via the sidebar.
• Search: Quickly find the information you need with powerful search capabilities.
• File Attachment: Attach files to your pages for quick reference and sharing.
• Embeds: Embed content from Airtable, Loom, YouTube, and more.
• Authentication: Email and password + SSO login (SAML 2.0/OIDC) in the Enterprise edition.

AppFlowy

AppFlowy shares Affine's vision of being an open-source Notion alternative but takes a different technical approach. Built with Flutter and Rust rather than Affine's TypeScript/Rust combination, AppFlowy prioritizes native performance and true offline capabilities.

While AppFlowy faces its own development challenges, it offers genuine local-first storage without Affine's cloud dependency issues. Users don't encounter "refresh to see if it worked" scenarios or lose access to their data when sync fails. The platform works entirely offline, addressing a major pain point for Affine users who can't convert synced workspaces to local ones without export/import workarounds.

AppFlowy's approach to privacy and data control is more transparent than Affine's hybrid model. Everything runs locally by default, with optional cloud services clearly separated. This contrasts with Affine's confusing mix of local storage and proprietary server requirements for basic features like collaboration.

Though AppFlowy's feature set is still growing, its foundation on proven technologies and commitment to offline-first design make it attractive for users burned by Affine's stability issues and data loss problems.

Obsidian

Obsidian takes a fundamentally different approach from Affine's all-in-one ambitions. Rather than trying to merge documents and whiteboards, Obsidian excels at what it does best: powerful note-taking with local markdown files. This focused approach results in the stability Affine users crave.

Where Affine users struggle with data loss and sync issues, Obsidian's file-based system means your notes are always accessible. They're just markdown files on your computer. No proprietary formats, no cloud dependencies, no "refresh and pray" moments. The extensive plugin ecosystem (over 1,000 plugins) lets users add features as needed, unlike waiting for Affine's roadmap promises.

Obsidian's graph view and bidirectional linking create the connected knowledge base Affine aims for, but with proven reliability. Canvas mode provides visual thinking capabilities without Affine's whiteboard complexity. Yes, there's a learning curve, but users gain a stable knowledge management tool that works today, not someday.

For those who value data ownership and reliability over bleeding-edge features, Obsidian's mature ecosystem and transparent business model (free personal use, paid commercial licenses) offer peace of mind Affine can't match yet.

XWiki

XWiki takes an enterprise-grade approach to knowledge management that contrasts sharply with Affine's consumer-focused design. Where Affine struggles with basic features and stability, XWiki brings over 20 years of development and battle-tested reliability to organizations needing robust documentation systems.

Unlike Affine's missing mobile support and collaboration issues, XWiki provides a mature platform that works across devices with proven real-time editing capabilities. The platform's Java-based architecture might seem old-school compared to Affine's modern TypeScript approach, but it translates to stability and performance at scale.

XWiki's extensibility goes far beyond Affine's roadmap promises. As an application wiki, it allows storing structured data and executing server-side scripts directly within pages. Users can write in Velocity, Groovy, Python, Ruby, or PHP to create custom applications. This programmability makes XWiki suitable for complex organizational needs that Affine can't address.

The platform includes enterprise features like LDAP integration, fine-grained access controls, and support for importing from multiple wiki formats. While XWiki lacks Affine's visual whiteboard appeal, it compensates with reliability, scalability, and a proven track record in production environments worldwide.

Logseq

Logseq provides an interesting middle ground between Affine's ambitious vision and practical usability. Like Affine, it's open-source and local-first, but Logseq's outliner-based approach and mature codebase deliver stability Affine currently lacks.

Built around daily journals and bidirectional linking, Logseq stores everything in plain markdown or org-mode files. This means no data loss from stability issues, no sync problems requiring page refreshes, and complete portability. The graph database and network visualization help discover connections between ideas.

Logseq includes integrated task management, PDF annotation, and powerful queries for organizing information. While it lacks Affine's visual whiteboard features, many users find the trade-off worthwhile for reliability. The desktop app is fully featured with mobile apps available, addressing Affine's platform limitations.