--- title: My favorite Notion alternative isn't Obsidian, it's... description: AFFiNE is presented as a self-hosted Notion alternative that combines documents, visual whiteboards, and databases in one workspace. Deployed via Docker on a... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-notion-alternative-isn-t-obsidian-it-s-something-i-can-actually-self-host-mngolnjjj twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: My favorite Notion alternative isn't Obsidian, it's something I can actually self-host | daily.dev og:description: AFFiNE is presented as a self-hosted Notion alternative that combines documents, visual whiteboards, and databases in one workspace. Deployed via Docker on a... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-notion-alternative-isn-t-obsidian-it-s-something-i-can-actually-self-host-mngolnjjj og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/mnGOlNJjj.png og:image:alt: My favorite Notion alternative isn't Obsidian, it's something I can actually self-host og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # My favorite Notion alternative isn't Obsidian, it's something I can actually self-host **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary AFFiNE is presented as a self-hosted Notion alternative that combines documents, visual whiteboards, and databases in one workspace. Deployed via Docker on a home server, it offers data ownership without sacrificing usability. Key highlights include an integrated whiteboard for visual planning alongside traditional documents, a clean PKM interface that scales without feeling cluttered, and AI integration via API keys for self-hosted instances — enabling summarization, rewriting, and idea generation directly within the workspace. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is AFFiNE and how is it different from Notion or Obsidian? AFFiNE is an open-source, local-first workspace combining documents, visual whiteboards, and databases into one platform, designed as a self-hostable alternative to Notion. Unlike Obsidian, which is primarily a note-taking app, AFFiNE merges document writing and whiteboard-based visual planning in a single connected workspace, and can be deployed via Docker or used as a desktop app on Windows, macOS, and Linux. _daily.dev surfaces self-hosting picks like AFFiNE for developers comparing Notion alternatives._ ### How do I enable AI features in a self-hosted AFFiNE instance? AI features in a self-hosted AFFiNE instance are enabled by adding your own AI provider API keys within the app. Once configured, AI can summarize long pages, rewrite sections, generate outlines from rough notes, and suggest alternative headlines or explanations, all without leaving the workspace or copying notes into a separate chatbot. _Developers building self-hosted AI-assisted note tools can track setups like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [4 self-hosted Notion alternatives that you can easily run with Docker](https://daily.dev/posts/4-self-hosted-notion-alternatives-that-you-can-easily-run-with-docker-pwsvvk6fs) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I moved my entire Notion workspace to a free tool running on my own machine and never looked back](https://daily.dev/posts/i-moved-my-entire-notion-workspace-to-a-free-tool-running-on-my-own-machine-and-never-looked-back-urzogpdxw) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I replaced my Obsidian setup with this all-in-one open-source workspace](https://daily.dev/posts/i-replaced-my-obsidian-setup-with-this-all-in-one-open-source-workspace-qim8v66bf) · XDA Developers · 6 upvotes · 1 comments - [The best self-hosted Notion alternative isn't AFFiNE or AppFlowy, it's something way simpler](https://daily.dev/posts/the-best-self-hosted-notion-alternative-isn-t-affine-or-appflowy-it-s-something-way-simpler-xdn2izneb) · XDA Developers · 5 upvotes · 0 comments - [How to Self-Host AFFiNE on Windows with WSL and Docker](https://daily.dev/posts/how-to-self-host-affine-on-windows-with-wsl-and-docker-hzfthckie) · freeCodeCamp · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting), [#notion](https://daily.dev/tags/notion) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-notion-alternative-isn-t-obsidian-it-s-something-i-can-actually-self-host-mngolnjjj) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"My favorite Notion alternative isn't Obsidian, it's something I can actually self-host","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-notion-alternative-isn-t-obsidian-it-s-something-i-can-actually-self-host-mngolnjjj","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/my-favorite-notion-alternative-isn-t-obsidian-it-s-something-i-can-actually-self-host-mngolnjjj"},"datePublished":"2026-08-06T22:04:57.324Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:57:42.569Z","description":"AFFiNE is presented as a self-hosted Notion alternative that combines documents, visual whiteboards, and databases in one workspace. 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