AFFiNE
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a solo user or tiny team wanting a free, privacy-first Notion+Miro hybrid and can tolerate rough edges.
New check
Comparison
AFFiNE vs AppFlowy
AFFiNE and AppFlowy both land on Depends.
AppFlowy
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if data control outweighs polish and someone on your team can own patching and hosting; the free self-host core is genuinely capable.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Privacy-focused solo note-takers | Privacy-first teams |
| Who it's not for | Teams handling sensitive data . RCE CVE, ignored XSS reports | Non-technical teams wanting a turnkey Notion experience |
| Privacy | Active 2026 CVEs include remote code execution; researchers report ignored XSS findings; no dedicated security page found.⁸ | Active 2026 CVE record in AppFlowy-Cloud: authorization bypass, auth flaws, and authenticated SQL injection . patch promptly.16 |
| Support quality | Security reports allegedly ignored for months | Users report frustrating self-hosting with little help |
| Public sentiment | Sentiment is split: privacy-minded fans praise the lightweight local-first design, while others complain it feels raw and unstable.⁴ | Users praise the privacy stance and free local AI but routinely flag clunky UI, painful self-hosting, and weak enterprise presence.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | Open-source license is not MIT despite marketing framing; verify terms before commercial use⁷ | AppFlowy-Cloud 0.7.2-0.9.64 has known auth flaws . stay current or risk exposure16 |
Pick AFFiNE when
- Privacy-focused solo note-takers
- Docs + whiteboard hybrid workflows
- Self-hosters wanting open source
- Budget-conscious 1-3 person teams
When AFFiNE is not a fit
- Teams handling sensitive data . RCE CVE, ignored XSS reports
- Groups larger than 3 people on the free plan
- Buyers who need true MIT licensing
- Anyone needing a polished, stable daily-driver tool
Pick AppFlowy when
- Privacy-first teams
- Self-hosters wanting Notion-style docs
- Open-source advocates
- Indie hackers and individuals
When AppFlowy is not a fit
- Non-technical teams wanting a turnkey Notion experience
- Anyone without time to patch frequent security updates
- Enterprises needing vendor-grade compliance and support
- Buyers who won't tolerate clunky, cluttered UI
Sources
official
- AFFiNE Free Plan: 10 GB, 3 Members, 3 Devices (2026)freealternatives.toreview
- AFFiNE Reviews (2026)producthunt.comreview
- I built a second brain with AFFiNExda-developers.comreview
- PSA: Do Not Use Affinereddit.comreview
review
- CVE-2026-21853: AFFiNE Workspace RCE Vulnerabilitysentinelone.comsecurity
- CVE-2026-25477 Detailnvd.nist.govsecurity
- AFFiNE raises $8M funding roundprnewswire.comnews
- AppFlowy Pricing - Cloud & Self-hosted Plansappflowy.comofficial
- AppFlowy GitHub (AGPL-3.0)github.comofficial
- Tried self-hosting AppFlowy (Reddit)reddit.comreview
- I ditched Notion, Trello, and Asana (XDA)xda-developers.comreview
- CVE-2026-88898 (Rapid7)rapid7.comsecurity