Self-Hosted Alternatives to Notion

Why Replace Notion?

Data ownership. Your notes, documents, and databases live on Notion’s servers. You can’t run Notion locally. If Notion changes their terms, raises prices, or shuts down, your data is at their mercy. Export tools exist but don’t capture everything perfectly.

Privacy. Notion stores everything unencrypted on their servers. Notion employees (and anyone who gains access to their infrastructure) can read your documents. For sensitive company documentation, this is a real risk.

Cost. Notion’s free tier has limitations (block limits for teams, file upload caps). The Plus plan is $10/user/month. For a 10-person team, that’s $1,200/year. Self-hosted alternatives are free to run on hardware you already own.

Vendor lock-in. Notion’s proprietary block format doesn’t export cleanly to standard formats. The longer you use Notion, the harder it becomes to leave. Self-hosted alternatives use standard formats (Markdown, HTML) or open-source databases.

Performance. Notion’s web app can be slow, especially on large workspaces. Self-hosted alternatives running on your local network are consistently faster.

Best Alternatives

Outline — Best for Team Documentation

Outline is the closest self-hosted match to Notion’s documentation features. Modern UI, real-time collaboration, slash commands, Markdown editing, and a clean reading experience. It lacks Notion’s databases (no kanban, no tables) but excels at what it does: team knowledge bases and documentation.

Best for: Teams that primarily use Notion for docs, not databases.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Outline]

AppFlowy — Best Full Notion Clone

AppFlowy covers the widest range of Notion features: documents, databases (table, kanban, calendar, grid), and workspace collaboration. Native desktop and mobile apps sync through a self-hosted AppFlowy Cloud server. The most complete Notion replacement available.

Best for: Teams that rely on Notion’s database features and want a near-complete replacement.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host AppFlowy]

AFFiNE — Best for Visual Thinkers

AFFiNE combines Notion-style documents with Miro-style whiteboards. Any page can switch between document and whiteboard mode. If your team uses both Notion and a whiteboard tool (Miro, FigJam), AFFiNE aims to replace both. Still in active development — expect beta-quality rough edges.

Best for: Teams that need documents + visual thinking tools.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host AFFiNE]

BookStack — Best for Simplicity

BookStack uses a structured hierarchy (Shelves → Books → Chapters → Pages) that’s intuitive for organized documentation. Built-in authentication, WYSIWYG editor, PDF export, and a clean UI. The simplest self-hosted wiki to deploy and manage.

Best for: Small teams that want a simple, well-organized wiki without Notion’s complexity.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host BookStack]

Wiki.js — Best for Developer Teams

Wiki.js offers Git-based content sync, multiple editors (Markdown, WYSIWYG, HTML), and configurable search backends. Write documentation in Markdown, sync to a Git repo, and let non-technical users edit through the visual editor. Best for developer-centric documentation.

Best for: Technical teams that want Git-based content management.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Wiki.js]

Migration Guide

From Notion to Outline

1. In Notion, go to Settings → Export → Export all workspace content (Markdown & CSV)
2. In Outline, use Settings → Import → Upload the exported ZIP
3. Review imported documents — formatting may need minor cleanup
4. Re-create any Notion databases as separate documents (Outline doesn’t have database views)

From Notion to AppFlowy

1. Export from Notion as Markdown & CSV
2. Import Markdown files into AppFlowy documents
3. Recreate database views in AppFlowy’s database feature
4. Re-link between documents

From Notion to BookStack

1. Export from Notion as Markdown
2. Create the Shelf/Book/Chapter structure in BookStack
3. Copy-paste or import Markdown content into BookStack pages
4. Re-create internal links between pages

General Migration Tips

• Plan your structure first. Notion’s flat pages-within-pages don’t map 1:1 to most wikis’ structures. Decide how to organize before importing.
• Databases don’t migrate. No self-hosted tool perfectly imports Notion databases. Plan to recreate them.
• Images and files. Export includes attachments, but import tools may not handle them all. Verify images display correctly after import.
• Links break. Internal links between Notion pages won’t work after migration. Budget time for re-linking.

Cost Comparison

What You Give Up

• Notion’s database views. Notion’s tables, kanbans, calendars, timelines, and galleries are its killer feature. Only AppFlowy partially replicates this. Outline, BookStack, and Wiki.js don’t have database views.
• Notion AI. Notion’s built-in AI assistant for writing, summarizing, and translating. Some alternatives are adding AI features, but none match Notion’s integration.
• Polish and reliability. Notion is a well-funded company with hundreds of engineers. Self-hosted alternatives are less polished. Expect occasional bugs and slower feature development.
• Templates marketplace. Notion’s community templates don’t transfer to self-hosted tools.
• Integrations. Notion’s integrations with Slack, GitHub, Figma, and other tools don’t have equivalents in most self-hosted wikis. Outline has some API-based integrations.
• Sharing. Notion’s public page sharing is seamless. Self-hosted alternatives support it but require more setup.

Related

• Best Self-Hosted Note Taking
• Outline vs Notion Alternatives
• How to Self-Host Outline
• How to Self-Host AppFlowy
• How to Self-Host AFFiNE
• How to Self-Host BookStack
• How to Self-Host Wiki.js
• AppFlowy vs AFFiNE
• BookStack vs Outline
• Docker Compose Basics