Nodum vs Anytype
An Anytype alternative with plain markdown and an MIT licence
Nodum is an alternative to Anytype for people who want plain markdown rather than an object database. Anytype is local-first and encrypted, built on objects, types and relations, and has spent most of its life under a source-available rather than an OSI-approved licence. Nodum is MIT licensed, stores .md files, and runs in a browser.
What Anytype is
Anytype is a local-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace built on objects and relations rather than documents: everything is a typed object, linked to other objects, synced peer-to-peer between your own devices. It is ambitious and privacy-forward, and it has been shipped under a source-available licence with a stated intention of moving to a fully open one.
Side by side
| Property | Anytype | Nodum |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Source-available for most of its history, with a stated move toward a fully open licence | MIT — the whole stack, frontend and backend |
| Hosting | Local-first with peer-to-peer sync; self-hosted sync node possible | Hosted at nodum.md, or self-hosted with one Docker Compose command |
| Your notes are | An encrypted local object store, not markdown files | Plain markdown files, exported as a folder-true zip whenever you ask |
| Linking | Objects link to objects; relations rather than wikilink syntax | [[wikilinks]], [[path/Note]], [[Note|alias]], ![[embeds]] — Obsidian syntax |
| Graph | Graph view over objects and relations | Global and local force-directed graph, GPU-rendered on WebGL2 |
| Pricing model | Free tier with paid storage/sync plans | Free and open source; self-host at your own infrastructure cost |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Any modern browser, desktop and mobile; installable as a PWA |
| Getting out | Markdown and protobuf export | Vault zip of .md files, plus a REST API and an MCP server |
Where each one actually wins
The left-hand column is the honest part. If none of it applies to you, the switch is probably worth making; if several do, it probably is not.
What Anytype does better
- End-to-end encryption and peer-to-peer sync with no server in the middle.
- The object-and-relation model is more expressive than files-and-folders for structured data.
- Genuinely local-first: it works with no network at all.
What Nodum does better
- MIT licensed, unambiguously, with no licence-transition question hanging over it.
- Your notes are markdown files rather than rows in an encrypted object store.
- It runs in a browser, so no install and no per-device setup.
- Obsidian-compatible wikilink syntax and import.
- Publishing, collaboration and an MCP server built in.
So — switch, or stay?
Switch to Nodum if…
- The licence matters to you and you want an OSI-approved one.
- You want files, not objects.
- You need browser access from machines you do not control.
Stay on Anytype if…
- End-to-end encryption and peer-to-peer sync are the requirement.
- You want typed objects and relations rather than documents.
Anytype and Nodum: common questions
Is Anytype open source?
Anytype's code is public, but for most of its life it has been released under a source-available licence rather than an OSI-approved open-source one, with the project stating an intention to move to a fully open licence. Nodum is MIT licensed today, which is an OSI-approved licence with no usage restrictions.
Before you move anything
Whatever you decide, run this once. It takes ten minutes and it is the difference between a migration and an incident.
- Export from Anytype first, and keep that export somewhere safe.
- Import a copy into a throwaway Nodum vault, not your main one.
- Open the graph and look for ghost nodes — those are links that did not resolve.
- Export the Nodum vault and diff it against what you put in.
- Only then delete anything.
Other comparisons
Every comparison is on the alternatives index, and the glossary defines the vocabulary these pages use.
Bring your Anytype notes with you.
Import a zip, look at the graph, export it again. Nothing about it is one-way.