Joplin
Windmill
| Feature | Joplin | Windmill |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $10/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | privacy-advocates, developers, linux-users, evernote-migrants | developers, devops-teams, internal-tools, data-pipelines |
| Founded | 2017 | 2022 |
| Markdown | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encryption | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sync | ✓ | ✗ |
| Web Clipper | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Notebooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Editor | ✗ | ✓ |
| Script To Ui | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduling | ✗ | ✓ |
| Approval Flows | ✗ | ✓ |
| Multi Language | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Audit Logs | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Joplin Pros
- Free and open-source
- End-to-end encryption
- Self-host option
- Import from Evernote
✗ Joplin Cons
- Less polished UI
- Sync requires setup
- Limited collaboration
✓ Windmill Pros
- Open-source and self-hostable
- Supports Python, TypeScript, Go, Bash, SQL natively
- Auto-generates UI from script parameters
- Excellent scheduling and workflow orchestration
✗ Windmill Cons
- Smaller community than Zapier/n8n
- Self-hosting requires infrastructure knowledge
- Less polished documentation for beginners
The Verdict
Joplin is built for privacy advocates and developers, with a focus on markdown and encryption. Windmill targets developers and devops teams and leads with workflow-editor and script-to-ui.
On pricing, Joplin is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $2.99/mo compared to $10/mo for Windmill. That $7.01/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Windmill offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Joplin takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.