Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to Craft · 🧠 notes & knowledge
Craft vs AFFiNE
Polished documents, links and canvases, with local workspaces and usable exports. Here is how AFFiNE ($0/mo free) stacks up against Craft ($10/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
Craft vs AFFiNE Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-14
| Dimension | Craft (Paid) | AFFiNE (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $10 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $120 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $120) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $600 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $600) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $1,200 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $1,200) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | free MIT AND MPL-2.0 |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | desktopmobilewebself-hostedone-click install |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ $0 forever |
Deep Dive: Switching from Craft to AFFiNE
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
It approaches Craft's documents and canvases, but typography, sharing, publishing, export consistency, and collaborative polish are less mature.
How to deploy AFFiNE
Use AFFiNE Cloud or install the desktop app; self-hosted collaboration uses the official Docker Compose stack with AFFiNE, PostgreSQL, and Redis
What it takes to run
The desktop app is straightforward, but free self-hosted sync and collaboration require Docker, PostgreSQL, Redis, persistent volumes, configuration, migrations, backups, and a correctly exposed server URL
Where your data lives
A local-only desktop workspace stays on that device; AFFiNE Cloud stores it in AFFiNE's service, while self-hosted workspaces use PostgreSQL for structured data, mounted blob storage for uploads, Redis for cache, and local configuration files
Why fork AFFiNE instead of vibe-coding a Craft clone?
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For Craft, write visually polished documents, link them, and export a portable personal library. The hard boundary is native apps, sync, publishing, collaboration, and strong block-editor polish, plus sync, collaboration, and capture polish.
Craft vs AFFiNE FAQ
Is AFFiNE a good free alternative to Craft?+
Yes. AFFiNE is a verified free replacement for Craft. Polished documents, links and canvases, with local workspaces and usable exports.
What is the catch when switching from Craft to AFFiNE?+
It approaches Craft's documents and canvases, but typography, sharing, publishing, export consistency, and collaborative polish are less mature.
How much do you save switching from Craft to AFFiNE?+
Craft costs $10/mo ($120/yr) per seat, whereas AFFiNE is $0/mo. Switching saves $120/yr for a solo user, $600/yr for a 5-person team, and $1,200/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host AFFiNE instead of Craft?+
Install: Use AFFiNE Cloud or install the desktop app; self-hosted collaboration uses the official Docker Compose stack with AFFiNE, PostgreSQL, and Redis. Setup: The desktop app is straightforward, but free self-hosted sync and collaboration require Docker, PostgreSQL, Redis, persistent volumes, configuration, migrations, backups, and a correctly exposed server URL
