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The AFFiNE alternative for a team wiki you fully own
Last updated September 9, 2026
AFFiNE is an ambitious open-source workspace, and its bet is the edgeless canvas — the same document as a page or an infinite whiteboard. It also ships a first-party MCP server, so this is not a comparison about who has agents. It is about licensing and shape: AFFiNE’s client is MIT but its self-host backend sits under a separate Enterprise Edition license, and a self-hosted workspace is capped at 10 seats without a Team license. tela is open core as well — the honest question is what each side puts behind the wall. AFFiNE gates the seats; tela gates per-org SSO and audit logs and leaves the product itself AGPL, uncapped and markdown-canonical.
tela vs AFFiNE, at a glance
| Feature | tela | AFFiNE |
|---|---|---|
| License | AGPL-3.0 — the whole product is the free core; a paid Enterprise add-on covers per-org SSO and audit logs | MIT client; the self-host backend is under its source-available Enterprise Edition license |
| Self-hostable | Yes — self-host free, plus a free cloud tier | Yes — a workspace is capped at 10 seats without a Team license |
| What is behind the paid tier | Per-org SSO and audit logs — the company layer | The seats — 10 per self-hosted workspace |
| Storage | Canonical markdown you own — export is a copy, not a conversion | BlockSuite/Yjs documents; markdown is import/export |
| Ask your docs (AI) | Built in — ranked full-text always, plus semantic Ask that cites its sources (self-host brings its own model) | Yes — self-host requires bring-your-own API keys |
| Agents read & write (MCP) | Built in — agents read and write, scoped per token, over a hosted endpoint | Built-in MCP — read tools by default, write tools rolling out |
| Generate docs from your code | Yes — Atlas builds a cited, coverage-checked wiki from git repos and Jira | No |
Why teams switch to tela
- No seat ceiling on a self-hosted install; AFFiNE caps a self-hosted workspace at 10 seats without a Team license, while tela does not count seats in its free core at all.
- Both are open core — the difference is where the wall sits. tela licenses per-org SSO and audit logs; everything a team actually writes with, including Atlas, Ask and the MCP server, is AGPL and free.
- Markdown is the document, not an export target: the same page is a .md file you can grep, diff, and mount as a folder that syncs both ways.
- Atlas generates a cited wiki from your repos and Jira — AFFiNE gives you a surface to write on, not one that drafts from your code and then scores its own coverage.
When AFFiNE is the better choice
AFFiNE’s edgeless canvas is a real differentiator and tela has nothing like it: one document you can flip between a page and an infinite whiteboard, plus mind maps, presentation mode, and search that indexes text on the canvas. It is also local-first — unlimited local workspaces, free forever, no account — ships native mobile apps, and its docs actively support free self-hosting with prebuilt images. If your team thinks visually and wants diagramming and writing in one surface, AFFiNE is the more interesting tool.
Frequently asked questions
Is tela a good AFFiNE alternative?
Yes. No seat ceiling on a self-hosted install; AFFiNE caps a self-hosted workspace at 10 seats without a Team license, while tela does not count seats in its free core at all. tela is open-source (AGPL-3.0), self-hostable, and markdown-native, with a built-in MCP server so AI agents read and write your docs.
Can I self-host tela and connect AI agents to it?
Yes. Self-host tela for free (AGPL-3.0) or start on the free cloud tier. Its built-in MCP server lets agents like Claude search, read and write your wiki directly, on tools scoped by the token you give them.
When is AFFiNE the better choice?
AFFiNE’s edgeless canvas is a real differentiator and tela has nothing like it: one document you can flip between a page and an infinite whiteboard, plus mind maps, presentation mode, and search that indexes text on the canvas. It is also local-first — unlimited local workspaces, free forever, no account — ships native mobile apps, and its docs actively support free self-hosting with prebuilt images. If your team thinks visually and wants diagramming and writing in one surface, AFFiNE is the more interesting tool.
Try tela
tela is an open-source (AGPL), self-hostable team wiki. Self-host it, or start on the free cloud tier at telawiki.com. See the MCP server docs for connecting your agents, or compare tela with other tools.
github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE — root LICENSE and the backend EE license; docs.affine.pro self-host (seat quota, BYOK AI); affine.pro/mcp and /pricing (verified 2026). tela facts current as of September 9, 2026.