If you're looking for a silky smooth and powerful tool to manage your workflows, Miro and Notion are great choices. However, if you're also looking for an open source solution that is private, customisable, and available across all platforms, you should check out AFFiNE.
So, what about a next-gen knowledge base that is more private, transparent, customisable, and available for Windows/OS/Linux？
That's where AFFiNE sparkles!
Unlike Miro and Notion, which focuses on whiteboards and pages respectively, AFFiNE offers and alternative - defining itself as an all-in-one KnowledgeOS. It supports Kanban, tables, and rich-text paragraphs as building blocks to form pages or whiteboards. It is built with Rust and Typescript, and run with a single command line, giving developers maximum flexibility and simplicity.
AFFiNE is an open source project that overcomes some limitations of Notion and Miro in terms of security and privacy. It helps you store and manage all workflows, from to-do lists to brainstorming sessions, in one unified place. AFFiNE is fully customisable, community-driven, and privacy-focused..
Privacy-focussed and Local-first Solution: Developers and Users
AFFiNE is a new open-source project that offers a privacy-focussed and local-first alternative to Notion and Miro. It aims to address the limitations of these tools in terms of security and privacy, while providing a unified place to manage all your workflows.
With AFFiNE, you can store, integrate, and manage all your to-do lists, goals, brainstorming sessions, and feedback from customer interviews in one place. It offers a better user and developer experience than Miro and Notion, while also placing a high priority on data security and user privacy.
Although AFFiNE is still in its alpha phase, the project aims not only for functionality, but also for a customised experience, community-driven opportunities, and data privacy. As development continues, more features will be added to further enhance the user experience.
Notion Alternative: AFFiNE vs Notion
As an open-source Notion alternative there are many benefits to have. But the choice might not be for everyone, so here are a few of the benefits you can obtain by switching over to AFFiNE:
Privacy
Notion is closed source software solution, where you access your private data in their own cloud. With AFFiNE, you can host your data as per your preference. You own your data, and all data can be fully encrypted to ensure maximum privacy. With AFFiNE, you own your data, no matter what. And no sacrifices to collaboration or the ability to freely share all your data, whether you want to work online, offline or locally.
Transparency
AFFiNE is an open source project, so you can view and modify the code anytime. This ensures transparency and community-driven opportunities for customisation. Furthermore, we are committed to the approach of Build In Public and you can see a wide range of resources, from UI designs and documentation to new features in development. Be sure to check out the AFFiNE Github.
Performance and Native Experience
AFFiNE is built using Rust and Typescript, which provides a modern and stable user experience while maintaining high performance. It is fully cross-platform, ensuring consistency and accessibility on Mac, Windows, and Linux. From web-based solutions to native clients that are in development.
Features of AFFiNE
Shape your page
AFFiNE understands that everyone has their own preferences when it comes to note-taking and collaboration. That's why AFFiNE offers customisable pages to fit your needs. Whether you prefer a structured, organised page for note-taking, or a boundless doodle surface for creativity and brainstorming, AFFiNE makes it easy to shape your documents your way.
With AFFiNE, every page comes with two views - Page and Edgeless - and you can access and edit fully functional blocks anywhere, in any form. This allows you to seamlessly switch between a structured view for notes, and a freeform view for brainstorming, without losing any of your work.
AFFiNE's flexible page structure and block-based approach allow for endless possibilities in how you organise and present your information. Whether you're working on a complex project or just taking simple notes, AFFiNE gives you the flexibility to customise your pages to fit your specific needs.
Plan your task
At AFFiNE, we recognise the importance of efficient task management, and we've been inspired by platforms like Monday, Airtable, and Notion. However, we've also recognised the need for a more streamlined approach that eliminates the need for repetitive work.
With AFFiNE, you can easily set a to-do with markdown and quickly switch to a Kanban view, without having to rewrite your work. Every block group has infinite views, allowing you to keep your single source of truth and eliminating the need for redundant tasks.
This approach to task management allows for a more efficient workflow, saving you time and effort while still keeping you organised and on track. With AFFiNE's customisable views and seamless transitions between them, you can manage your tasks with ease and focus on what matters most.
Sort your knowledge
Our approach to creating a semantic knowledge base eliminates the need for folders and cumbersome file structures. Instead, you can easily find what you need by searching for specific blocks or linking related blocks together. This streamlined approach allows for more efficient knowledge management, saving you time and effort while still keeping your information organised and easily accessible.
As semantic web lovers, we understand the importance of building a knowledge base that is flexible, intuitive, and easy to use. By using blocks, AFFiNE offers a customisable, adaptable approach to knowledge management that fits the unique needs of each user. With AFFiNE, you can create a semantic knowledge base that works for you and your team.
Achieve More
One of AFFiNE's biggest features is the ability to convert any block with just one click. This allows users to easily switch between different views, making it convenient and burden-free for all users to use. Additionally, AFFiNE offers a variety of page and whiteboard views, which can help different users brainstorm, align progress with partners, and process data sets without having to change their working tools flow.
As the development of AFFiNE continues, users can expect more feature additions. Some of the existing highlights include native cross-platform support, the ability to add to-do items in text mode and transform them to board mode, and the ability to self-host or install AFFiNE on your computer. Customisability and data privacy are also top priorities, with a single code base for better maintenance and community-driven extensibility. Advanced formatting support, multi-column view, and the ability to click anywhere and type with Markdown support make editing cells and grids easier with keyboard shortcuts.
Key Features of AFFiNE:
- Versatile Block System: AFFiNE's block system allows for a wide range of features, including rich-text paragraphs, databases, to-do lists, and images. Everything is a block, and each block can be transformed into another type with just a click.
- Seamless Switching: AFFiNE's seamless switching between Paper and Edgeless allows users to utilise a truly free experience. Users can switch between a writing mode and a whiteboard mode to take notes, draw shapes, brainstorm and more.
- Cross-Platform Support: AFFiNE is built with web technologies, providing consistency and accessibility on Desktop (Mac, Windows, and Linux) and Mobile (Android and iOS)
- Customisability: AFFiNE is highly customisable, allowing users to shape their docs their way.
- Community-Driven Extensibility: AFFiNE is an open-source project, and the development team welcomes the community to modify and view the code.
- Local-First Approach: AFFiNE's local-first approach ensures that users own their data, and everything is saved locally on their device.
- Privacy-Focused: AFFiNE values data privacy and security and is committed to safeguarding user privacy while maintaining a seamless user experience. AFFiNE's features provide a powerful and versatile experience for users, making it an excellent alternative to traditional knowledge management tools.
Installing AFFiNE on Desktop: Linux/Windows/macOS
We are still working on the releases for the native clients and apps. From native desktop clients to native mobile Android and iOS applications. For now you can try-out our web-based AFFiNE App. And you can keep an eye-on our official website for more details and announcements.
Keep Updated with the AFFiNE Community
To stay up-to-date with the latest developments in AFFiNE, we invite you to join th our AFFiNE Community. This will let you stay in sync with our latest announcements, features, bug fixes, releases and also connect you with like-minded individuals. The AFFiNE team is also constantly engaging with the community to gather feedback and suggestions for improvement. By staying connected with the AFFiNE community, you can help shape the direction of the project and contribute to its growth and success.
Conclusion
If you're looking for a Notion or Miro alternative that is open source, private, and fully customisable, AFFiNE is definitely worth checking out. With a variety of views and blocks, AFFiNE can help you reduce invalid working hours, improve work efficiency, and release time on work with more creative value.
Check out AFFiNE's official website and GitHub page to learn more. If you have any questions, feel free to ask on any of our social media platforms.