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Comparison · Collab

HedgeDoc vs SiYuan

A side-by-side editorial comparison of HedgeDoc and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

HedgeDoc vs SiYuan: at a glance

FeatureHedgeDocSiYuan
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score2.55.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesmarkdown, collaborative-editing, security-fixes, self-hostednote-taking, knowledge base, ai agent, databases
Last editorial update2mo ago1d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is HedgeDoc?

A collaborative markdown editor on a security-driven maintenance cadence.

HedgeDoc's 1.x line ships every one to two months and is dominated by security response. Recent releases carry seven advisories between them — HTML injection via an email localpart, YAML frontmatter denial of service, CSRF in the Gist export, a rate-limit bypass through CF-Connecting-IP, a permission-value validation gap, missing upload security headers, and script execution in uploaded SVGs. Around those sit configuration knobs for the external-link warning, webp uploads, and rate limits.

Read the full HedgeDoc trajectory →

What is SiYuan?

SiYuan 3.8.9 reaches RC, adding AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs.

SiYuan moved 3.8.9 from beta.6 to rc.1 on Oct 28. The RC's only new item is AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs; the rest of its long list matches beta.5's cumulative notes: pinned agent sessions, backlink filtering by database fields, block-reference collection through database automation, resizable table rows, mind-map themes and node copy/paste, TIFF previews and macOS proxy detection.

Read the full SiYuan trajectory →

HedgeDoc vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side

H
HedgeDoc
COLLAB
2.5

A collaborative markdown editor on a security-driven maintenance cadence.

◆ Current state

HedgeDoc's 1.x line ships every one to two months and is dominated by security response. Recent releases carry seven advisories between them — HTML injection via an email localpart, YAML frontmatter denial of service, CSRF in the Gist export, a rate-limit bypass through CF-Connecting-IP, a permission-value validation gap, missing upload security headers, and script execution in uploaded SVGs. Around those sit configuration knobs for the external-link warning, webp uploads, and rate limits.

◆ Where it's heading

Two threads run in parallel. The perimeter work reduces attack surface and maintenance burden at once: old API endpoints and unused config are deleted, Node 18 support is dropped now that its security window has closed, and features added in one release tend to gain an off switch in the next. The second thread is realtime correctness — concurrent-editing data loss, connections dropped mid-handshake, operations discarded during revision gap recovery — which is the only work aimed at the core editing experience rather than its edges.

◆ Prediction

Expect the 1.x line to continue as security and correctness maintenance, with more legacy endpoints and configuration removed rather than new editing features added.

S
SiYuan
COLLAB
5.0

SiYuan 3.8.9 reaches RC, adding AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs.

◆ Current state

SiYuan moved 3.8.9 from beta.6 to rc.1 on Oct 28. The RC's only new item is AI-agent extraction of images embedded in PDFs; the rest of its long list matches beta.5's cumulative notes: pinned agent sessions, backlink filtering by database fields, block-reference collection through database automation, resizable table rows, mind-map themes and node copy/paste, TIFF previews and macOS proxy detection.

◆ Where it's heading

The 3.8.x line keeps turning databases and mind maps into structured tools that act on the block graph, and the built-in agent is gaining reach into document content such as PDFs. The release cadence is fast and noisy, with most builds repeating the same cumulative notes.

◆ Prediction

A stable 3.8.9 is likely within days, with little added beyond fixes now that it has reached RC.

Alternatives to HedgeDoc and SiYuan

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either HedgeDoc or SiYuan.

See all HedgeDoc alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →

Recent activity from HedgeDoc and SiYuan

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 RC1: AI agent extracts images from PDFs
  2. 1d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 6 (same notes as beta 5)
  3. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 5: full notes incl. pinned agent sessions
  4. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 4 improves LaTeX paste and import
  5. 2d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 3 (same notes as beta 1)
  6. 3d agoSiYuanSiYuan 3.8.9 beta 2 (same notes as beta 1)
  7. 2mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.12.0
  8. 3mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.11.1
  9. 4mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.11.0
  10. 6mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.8
  11. 8mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.7
  12. 8mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.6

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between HedgeDoc and SiYuan?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is HedgeDoc better than SiYuan?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to HedgeDoc?

Top HedgeDoc alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "HedgeDoc alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hedgedoc for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?

Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.