When comparing Tomboy vs Gingko, the Slant community recommends Tomboy for most people. In the question“What is the best cross-platform note-taking app?” Tomboy is ranked 14th while Gingko is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Tomboy is:
All the components are free, opensource, and allows self-hosting the sync server.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
All the components are free, opensource, and allows self-hosting the sync server.
Pro Can be extended with add-ins
If Tomboy doesn't have the features you want out of the box, you may be able to find them here as a plug in.
Pro Lightweight
Pro You can customize colors
Pro Allows focusing on one piece of information at a time
Since Gingko documents are "trees", they are always organized on the go. And since everything is written in cards, it is possible to focus on one chunk of content at a time.
Pro Easy to overview
Despite the complexity of the tree structure, it's always clear where you are, and how to quickly add your thoughts.
Pro Markdown support
All formatting is done via Markdown.
Pro Non-linear
Non-linear notetaking allows you more flexibility, freedom and creativity.
Cons
Con Can't easily install on Windows 7
Con Limited free version
The free version is limited to 100 cards and 10 documents. Depending on how you use it, this might not be enough.