When comparing Trilium Notes vs Dendron, the Slant community recommends Trilium Notes for most people. In the question“What are the best knowledge base systems for personal use?” Trilium Notes is ranked 10th while Dendron is ranked 18th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Note encryption
Pro Free and open source software
Pro Excellent WYSIWYG interface
Pro Attributes that can be assigned to nodes and inherited
Pro Graph of node connectivity
Pro Note versioning
Pro Synchronization with a server
You can set up synchronization but you need a server to do this.
Pro Database storage rather than files
This enables the tool to do a lot of things that would be difficult with plain text file storage.
Pro Archival functionality
Pro Local-first
Dendron does not pull notes off your system unless you want to explicitly. There are easy guides for syncing with Github or you can always use Dropbox, Onedrive etc. to sync your notes wherever you want.
Pro Open-source
Pro Built into VSCode
If you're already developing in VSCode, it's great to have your notes in a familiar environment. Reduces switching costs and you can use familiar keybindings.
Pro Flexible hierarchies
Dendron makes it easy to create and refactor hierarchies at will.
Pro Powerful built-in publishing
Dendron ships with a configuration for publishing your notes with Next.js. The resulting site is searchable and easy to navigate, and the VS Code extension can easily place links to notes in your clipboard for rapid sharing.
Pro It works the way your brain works
You can literally just start writing; Dendron doesn't force you into bullets, folders, projects, etc. You build your vault the way you want it, and Dendron takes care of the presentation.
Pro Helpful development team
Dendron's developers are always putting out videos and office hours to help others become familiar with Dendron.
Cons
Con Interface can be confusing
There is a fair amount of flexibility to the interface but it can also become confusing, especially when some parts are not necessarily simple to use. Most of the basic features nevertheless are intuitive.
Con Database storage rather than files
This makes it a little less simple to work with (also has benefits).
Con Not markdown
It will import and export markdown but it does not store content as markdown. This isn't necessarily a problem if you don't need it.
Con Synchronization requires use of Trilium's sync server
This can be problematic to set up unless you have a web server that will support the requirements of this.
Con Little bit of a learning curve
If you're not familiar with VSCode, there may be a steep learning curve.
Con No mobile app
Dendron runs in VSCode so no ou-of-the-box mobile sync/experience.