AFFiNE review

AFFiNE combines documents, whiteboards, and databases in one workspace for writing, drawing, and planning. Documents use blocks to organize content; whiteboards provide an open canvas for visualizing ideas and collaborating; databases sit alongside both. The product brief also lists project planning, templates for planners, storyboards and notes, and an AI assistant for writing, drawing, and planning.

AFFiNE describes itself as local-first and privacy-focused, with users in control of their data. Its Reddit introduction calls it a web-based workspace and says users can self-host AFFiNE Cloud. That may appeal to people looking for a Notion-and-Miro-style workspace, but don’t assume every part of the product has the same license: Reddit discussions raise specific questions about the server package and what counts as open source. Check the license for the components you plan to use before treating AFFiNE as a fully FOSS replacement.

The main appeal is having notes, visual planning, and structured information together instead of splitting those jobs across separate tools. The product brief describes documents, whiteboards, databases, project planning, templates, and an AI assistant in the same workspace. That gives teams a range of ways to plan and organize work without making the product only a note editor or only a canvas.

There is a free option, and the paid tiers publish concrete storage and collaboration limits. According to the published pricing details, Free includes 10 GB of cloud storage, up to three workspace members, and a seven-day version history. Pro is $6.75 per month when billed annually and raises those limits to 100 GB, 10 members, and 30 days of history. Team costs $10 per seat per month, billed annually, with 100 GB of initial storage plus 20 GB per seat, multiple admin roles, and priority support. A $499.99 one-time Believer purchase includes lifetime personal use, Pro features, and 1 TB of cloud storage. AFFiNE AI is a separate $8.90-per-month add-on, also billed annually.

The free plan has real ceilings: 10 GB of cloud storage, a 10 MB maximum file size, three members per workspace, seven-day version history, and up to three login devices. Pro raises the file-size cap to 100 MB, but still limits workspaces to 10 members. Team allows 500 MB files, but its $10 annual-billing price is per seat, so the cost grows with the team. The pricing details do not publish monthly billing prices for these plans.

The bigger concern for self-hosters is the gap between “open source” positioning and the licensing questions users raise. Commenters on Reddit say the server package is under an enterprise license rather than MIT, and disagree about which code is required for normal use. Another Reddit post reports hitting a 100 GB limit on a self-hosted server; that is a user report, not a published plan limit in the published pricing details. We’d verify the current license and self-hosting terms before migrating on the assumption that every component is FOSS or that self-hosting removes storage restrictions.

AFFiNE has a free plan, but its caps are tight for shared or file-heavy work: 10 GB of cloud storage, 10 MB per file, three members per workspace, seven-day version history, and three login devices. The pricing page lists Pro at $6.75 per month, billed annually. That raises storage to 100 GB, the file limit to 100 MB, and workspace membership to 10; version history grows to 30 days.

Team costs $10 per seat per month, also billed annually. That is a per-seat jump from Pro, with 100 GB of initial storage plus 20 GB per seat and a 500 MB file limit. Team also adds multiple admin roles and priority support. AFFiNE AI is a separate $8.90-per-month add-on, billed annually, so check whether your intended plan includes what you need before budgeting.

Believer is a $499.99 one-time purchase for lifetime personal use, with Pro features and 1 TB of cloud storage. Enterprise and Code License pricing is custom.

AFFiNE combines documents, whiteboards, and databases in one workspace, so moving to it may mean changing more than your note-taking tool. The published information does not specify import or export formats, migration tools, or how much content transfers between those features. Confirm those details before moving a working project archive; they are not published in the material we reviewed.

The same gap matters if you leave. The product is described as local-first and open source, but the published pricing details do not explain what you can export from cloud workspaces or whether exports preserve links, database structure, and whiteboards. Enterprise lists self-hosted deployments; that is not the same as a stated self-hosting option on every plan. Check the applicable license, too, if strict FOSS use is a requirement.

We have no Reddit posts or comments in the published material, so we can’t report why users leave. Treat data portability and license terms as pre-switch checks, not assumptions.