AppFlowy is a good Notion alternative for Open Source and data privacy enthusiasts

Despite rapid technological developments that you would expect to make our lives easier and more relaxing, it seems as if we are only getting busier and more stressed. Being busy has even become fashionable, but the question is whether being busy is the same as being productive. But since the advent of modern apps on our mobile devices and computers, more and more applications are appearing that help us better organize and plan our tasks. Apps help us to show only those tasks that are important at the right time. Other apps help us to concentrate at the right times and to take a rest at other times. Some apps help us empty our brains and build a second brain. And then there’s AppFlowy, an app that allows us to integrate all those functionalities above and build them ourselves in the way we want. In this article, I want to give a first insight into the Open Source application AppFlowy. 

Content of this article

1. Introduction
2. What is AppFlowy
3. Who is AppFlowy for
4. The cost of AppFlowy and what you get
5. How to get AppFlowy
6. How to get started with AppFlowy
7. A first look at what AppFlowy looks like
8. Final words

Introduction

Before I start about AppFlowy, I need to mention Notion first. One of the software solutions that has received a lot of attention and experienced enormous growth in a relatively short period is the Notion application. Millions of people are using Notion on their computers or mobile devices. Notion has become so popular that a large community of users has emerged to exchange knowledge and skills. And Notion has even created possibilities for income streams, based on course creation and the possibility to export your own Notion applications and templates and offer them to other users.

The Notion application is a kind of LEGO box for everyone who does not want to use separate pre-designed apps for all their different tasks and activities, but who wants to determine for themselves what their app looks like and how the logic in their self-made solutions behave for all their tasks, lists, summaries, texts, journals, administrations, etc.

Notion is a fantastic platform for many users that enables you to design solutions. But Notion does not only have advantages but also some disadvantages. For people who value for example features such as local storage of your data to have more control yourself, freedom of self-hosting your application, the advantages of Open Source software, and higher performance because the app can run locally with local data, then Notion is not necessarily the right answer. One of the applications that, in contrast to Nottion, supports these points is the Open Source application AppFlowy. I have studied several alternative applications and in my humble opinion, AppFlowy comes very close to Notion on quite some points but additionally offers local storage of your data, offline support, so you can work without an internet connection, self-hosting of your applications, Open Source foundation, higher performance, and AppFlowy allows you to choose from different AI models, like Llama 3 and Mistral 7B and run them on your local machine for privacy. Oh, and there is an official version for Linux. However, when we compare AppFlowy with Notion, the latter offers a huge arsenal of building blocks, and even though appFlowy is getting better and more extensive every day, in terms of these building blocks and built-in possibilities Notion is still the winner. But if we look at and appreciate AppFlowy on its own, then it is already a very good and extensive application. So a good reason for me to give it some attention on this website.

What is AppFlowy

AppFlowy is a really extensive, but also flexible app in which you can compile your own productivity solutions based on a large number of standard building blocks, but also by designing your own underlying logic. Based on these LEGO-like building blocks you can create lists, set up tables, and compile formulas to compose the behavior of fields and the behavior between fields. You can develop dashboards, you can let people work together in teams, implement integrations with other apps, set up wikis, write your documents, you name it. But you can also easily use AppFlowy as a note-taking and note-making app to dump all your thoughts and keep them safe in your second brain. Or lay down a web of relations between your notes to interconnect within your second brain (read my article “How BASB, GTD, and Scrum help me to manage my productive life” for more information on how I implement Tiago Forte’s Building A Second Brain method in my own life). There is no end to the list of possibilities of AppFlowy.

Because AppFlowy is based on standard building blocks that you can organize and connect according to your own needs, the application is starting to get similarities with low-code and no-code development solutions. In AppFlowy, you are actually able to build your own solutions with comparable functionalities as offered in separate apps such as Todoist, Things, Obsidian, Trello, and ClickUp.

Here are some characteristics of AppFlowy (source: https://appflowy.io/):

• Project management tools
• Task management tools
• Ready to use templates
• AI support
• Personal website support
• Custom views like Kanban, calendar, and grid
• Customization via themes, fonts, and page styles
• Extensive list of building blocks and properties
• Markdown support
• Local storage of your data
• Offline support
• Self-hosting
• AppFlowy Cloud for backup and access via different devices
• Open Source
• Official support for Linux

Who is AppFlowy for

One of my favorite productivity gurus on YouTube, Ali Abdaal, has done a nice comparison to explain how different layers of systems can help you with your different layers of productivity. He defines productivity as follows: “Productivity is using our time intentionally and effectively“. To achieve that, he is constantly looking for the perfect productivity system. In his YouTube episode called “How to Build the Ultimate Productivity System“, Ali Abdaal distinguishes between 3 types of layers to build a productivity system, namely:

• Layer 1: Ron
• Layer 2: Hermione
• Layer 3: Dumbledore 

In Layer 1: Ron it’s simply all about keeping your life in order, like calendars, to-do lists, and contact lists. In Layer 2: Hermione it is about adding functionality to capture and organize your consumption of books, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc, for which you want to remember stuff. In Layer 3: Dumbledore you build a second brain by connecting all your stored information. In my opinion, an app like AppFlowy can help you with supporting and integrating all three levels. And if you are only interested in one of the levels, that is fine for AppFlowy as well.

The cost of AppFlowy and what you get

There is no reason not to try AppFlowy as an individual or as a couple of 2 members, to see if you like it because the free version of AppFlowy offers almost everything important to be able to set up complex solutions that you also get in the paid version. So, after trying it out, you just continue with the free tier if it is enough for you to base your productivity environment on. Here are the different pricing tiers for AppFlowy (source: https://appflowy.io/pricing):

Free: For individuals up to 2 members to organize everything.

Price: $0

• 1 collaborative workspace up to 2 members
• Unlimited pages & blocks
• 5 GB storage
• Intelligent search
• 20 AI responses
• Mobile app
• Real-time collaboration

Pro: For small teams to manage projects and team knowledge.

Price: $10 per user per month billed annually or $12.50 per user per month billed monthly

Everything in Free, and

• Unlimited storage
• Up to 10 workspace members
• Unlimited AI responses
• Unlimited file uploads
• Custom namespace (coming soon)

Further, there are some AI-related pricing tiers.

How to get AppFlowy

You can run AppFlowy on almost every platform via a dedicated installable app. You can find the download page via the button below to get AppFlowy for macOS Intel, macOS Universal, Windows, Linux AppImage, deb, rpm, tar.gz, Flatpak, and Snap.

And you can also install AppFlowy on iOS and Android devices via the below button:

How to get started with AppFlowy

In this article, I will not yet explain in detail how you can create your own custom applications and solutions in AppFlowy. I’ll save that for future articles because there is too much to explain to fit it in just one article. But in this article, I want to explain the first general steps on how to get started with AppFlowy:

1. We start of course with downloading and installing AppFlowy. If you missed it, please read the previous section for more information.
2. When you finish the installation, start AppFlowy.
3. Now we have different options to work with Appflow, but basically, you can choose to work only standalone or via the cloud in a hybrid way (when using the cloud option, you can still work with your data in case there is no internet connection).
   • You don’t have to use the cloud options in AppFlowy. One of the nice differences between AppFlowy and Notion is that you can use it locally, without an internet connection. And via Open Settings / Manage data, you can even change the file storage location to your preferred location.
   • Next to local storage, you have also the option to work with AppFlowy via their AppFlowy Cloud or a self-hosted option. Via Open Settings / Cloud Settings, you can change options. Via Open Settings / My Account, you can sign up to use AppFlowy Cloud. From here you can enter your email address and click ‘Continue’ to sign up via their Magic Link solution, which sends a temporary link to your email address. You can also log in via your Google, Github, or Discord account.
   • Note: If you are first using AppFlowy local only and you want to enable AppFlowy Cloud later while already having data in the application, you must read: https://docs.appflowy.io/docs/guides/sync-desktop-and-mobile
4. Now it is time for our first functional steps in AppFlowy. It is nice to first have a look at all the available standard templates. AppFlowy comes with lots of templates. This helps you to investigate how these solutions are built and offers a way to directly start being productive. There are many different templates available, for Project Management, Engineering, Startups, Education, Marketing, Management, Human Resources, Sales & CRM, Team Meetings, AI-powered, Docs, Wiki, Database, and Kanban. You can select a template that suits your needs, or you can modify them as you like.
5. Although the templates are nice to start with, I expect that at a certain moment, you also want to try out things yourself. So start creating your first AppFlowy page. A page is like a document, but also a placeholder for a database, a board, a timeline, or a calendar, and can contain multiple sections, hierarchies, and relations to other pages. You can give each page a title, a nice header or cover image, and a unique icon.
6. Now that you have created a page, you can add content to your page. Think about items like text, images, checklists, grids, calendars, and Kanban boards. After you type the “/” symbol, you will be guided by AppFlowy so you always see what you can add and what you can change. AppFlowy is also a drag-and-drop-based system, so you can arrange the content and format by simply moving items around.
7. AppFlowy offers options to create very simple solutions but also extremely complex solutions and structures. Try to investigate all available features, like the available formulas that you can use to dynamically change your content. Also, try out the filtering options so you understand how to play with your data. 
8. As said, AppFlowy is also hierarchy-based, so you can organize all your pages so they fit your needs. You can build up a structure of multiple levels of pages. You can organize your pages below workspaces, which are like top-level organizational folders. You can also create team spaces to collaborate.

In future articles, I will go into much more depth on everything AppFlowy has to offer. My goal is to write a complete tutorial series on AppFlowy. 

A first look at what AppFlowy looks like

AppFlowy has a relatively minimalistic user interface, with a clean design that shows a sidebar on the left of the screen, a main content area in the middle of the screen, and a toolbar at the top. This is probably a familiar and in my opinion, very logical setup if you have worked before with applications like Evernote, Joplin, Todoist, etc.

The sidebar contains the hierarchy you create within your workspace. It has a well-known collapsable structure so you can maneuver efficiently and effectively through the page structure you prefer. These pages can be normal pages, but also databases, and functional blocks within these pages. Further, the top part of this sidebar contains access to your workspaces and options to create workspaces. Further, you see a notification bell and an icon to access your settings. The bottom part of the sidebar shows a Trash icon and an option to open the available templates.

The main center area displays all the content that you have added to the page, which is based on an extensive set of building blocks, like Text, Heading, Image, Bulleted List, Quote, Table, Grid, and Kanban.

The toolbar at the top of the screen provides access to different functions like a breadcrumb structure to easily see where you are in your structure and to easily maneuver, a share option, an option to add the page to your favorites, and a menu to duplicate, move, or delete.

In the previous image, you see that I created a small database to store all the movies my wife and I have seen in the cinema or on TV. I used the grid building block to create this database. Above this grid, you see the name of the grid, and a plus sign to add a new grid, a new board, or a new calendar. Further, you see a filter option, a sort option, and a settings option. I will discuss all this in a future article.

AppFlowy uses a block-based way of working. You can add a block by typing “/” to open a pop-up menu with all available options. There are different blocks for different purposes. When a block is added to the page, you can change the position and the size of a block. Think of blocks that help you to set up tables, boards, timelines, calendars, lists, galleries, headings, quotes, dividers, links, callouts, image placeholders, videos, audio, code, files, views, and databases.

With AppFlowy you have options to collaborate with others, you can publish a page as a webpage and a structure of pages as a website, and you can export your pages as HTML or Markdown. You can also use markdown to fill and structure your pages.

This is it for now. I just scratched the service of what AppFlowy has to offer, but I am already excited to tell you more about all these options in future articles as part of my planned AppFlowy Basics series.

Final words

In my opinion, AppFlowy is already a very capable piece of software that is flexible, and comprehensive, can support many use cases, easily supports you to grow from novice to expert at your own pace, gives you the tools to build both simple and very complex solutions, and gives you options to collaborate with others. AppFlowy has so much to offer that you should be careful not to spend more time building your own productivity solutions than you spend on your actual tasks. This article will be part of an AppFlowy Basics series of AppFlowy-related articles. In subsequent articles, as part of my AppFlowy Basics series, I will explain step by step what the possibilities of AppFlowy are and take you by the hand to make some beautiful simple, and complex applications in AppFlowy. So keep an eye on this website for new AppFlowy articles. With this article, I hope to have given you a first insight into what AppFlowy is, what its characteristics are, for whom AppFlowy can be of interest, how to obtain AppFlowy, and how to take the first steps.

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