Honest Comparison

Mina vs BlockNote

The open source Block-Based rich text editor

01Quick Stats

Mina

StarsNew
Bundle~45KB
LicenseMIT
ActivityActive
FrameworkReact

BlockNote

Stars9.2k
Bundle~120KB
LicenseMPL-2.0 + paid
ActivityActive
FrameworkReact
02Feature Comparison
Feature
Mina
BlockNote
Bundle size
~45KB
~120KB
License
MIT (fully free)
MPL-2.0 + commercial
API simplicity
Simple hooks
Complex API surface
AI features
Free, provider-agnostic
Paid add-on
Notion-style UX
Good
Excellent
Collaboration
Coming soon
First-class Yjs
Export formats
HTML, JSON, MD
HTML, JSON, MD, PDF, Word
Block types
12+ types
15+ types
Drag & drop
Built-in
Built-in
Slash commands
Built-in
Built-in
03Strengths

Where each editor shines

An honest look at what each editor does best.

Mina wins

Significantly smaller bundle (~45KB vs ~120KB)

MIT license — no commercial fees for any feature

Simpler, cleaner API with less surface area

Free AI features, works with any provider

Two editor variants (Full + Compact) for different use cases

BlockNote wins

More mature Notion-style UX with polished interactions

First-class Yjs collaboration built in

More export formats including PDF and Word

Larger community with 9.2k stars

More block types out of the box

04Code Comparison
Mina — 9 lines
import { Editor } from "@/components/ui/rich-editor"

function App() {
  return (
    <Editor
      initialContent={content}
      onChange={({ json, html }) => save(json)}
    />
  )
}
BlockNote — 17 lines
import { BlockNoteView } from "@blocknote/mantine"
import { useCreateBlockNote } from "@blocknote/react"
import "@blocknote/mantine/style.css"
import "@blocknote/core/fonts/inter.css"

function App() {
  const editor = useCreateBlockNote({
    initialContent: content,
  })

  return (
    <BlockNoteView
      editor={editor}
      onChange={() => {
        save(editor.document)
      }}
    />
  )
}
05The Verdict

Choose Mina if...

  • Bundle size is a priority for your application
  • You want MIT license with no commercial restrictions
  • You need a simpler API with less learning curve
  • You want free AI features without vendor lock-in

Choose BlockNote if...

  • You need real-time collaboration with Yjs today
  • You need PDF/Word export built in
  • You want the most polished Notion-style experience
  • You don't mind the larger bundle and MPL license

Ready to build?

Try Mina Rich Editor — 3 lines of code, zero ProseMirror.

Installation coming soon

MIT License · 2025–2026 Mina Massoud