Productivity · 14 alternatives

Instead of Evernote, try one of these 14.

Every alternative is lined up against Evernote on what people actually switch for: price, open source, self-hosting, offline use and platforms. Evernote sits in the first row, so you can see what you give up.

Show onlySorted by likes · 14 of 14
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
EvernoteWhat you have now
Classic note-taking app for capturing ideas, clips and to-dos.
PriceFreemium
from $15/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis and project tracking.
PriceFreemium
from $10/seat
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Obsidian#2Our pick
Private, local-first knowledge base built on plain Markdown files.
PriceFreemium
sync $4/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Outliner for networked thought, with backlinks and daily journals.
PriceFree
donations
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Local-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace with objects and sets.
PriceFree
paid extras
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Free-form digital notebook that ships with Microsoft 365.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Open-source note taking with end-to-end encrypted sync.
PriceFree
cloud $3/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Simple, encrypted notes app focused on privacy and longevity.
PriceFreemium
from $7/mo
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Beautiful Markdown notes with tags, made for Apple devices.
PriceFreemium
pro $3/mo
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Mac · iOS
Simple cross-device notes and checklists.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
Fast, elegant notes synced across every platform for one price.
PricePaid
$40 lifetime
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Bare-bones, fast notes that sync everywhere for free.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Zettlr#12
Markdown writing app with citation support.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Notesnook#13
Open-source encrypted notes with private sync.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
PrivacyNotes#14
Encrypted workspace for notes, files, and journal.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android

How to read this. “Yes” means fully supported by the maker. “Partial” means it works with caveats. Likes reflect community popularity; vendors can’t pay for them or for placement. Our pick, marked in lime, is the option we would point most people leaving Evernote to first. How we compare.

Evernote alternatives at a glance

Evernote is a freemium productivity app (from $15/mo). We compared 14 alternatives: 8 are open source, 7 are completely free, 3 can be self-hosted and 9 work fully offline. The most popular is Notion, with 4.9k likes, while our pick is Obsidian.

Most liked overallNotion

All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis and project tracking.

Freemium
Best free optionLogseq

Outliner for networked thought, with backlinks and daily journals.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best open-source optionAnytype

Local-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace with objects and sets.

Free · Open source · Works offline
Best to self-hostJoplin

Open-source note taking with end-to-end encrypted sync.

Free · Open source · Self‑hostable · Works offline