sitealternatives
Productivity · 9 alternatives

Instead of Simplenote, try one of these 9.

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

Show onlySorted by likes · 9 of 9
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
SimplenoteWhat you have now
Bare-bones, fast notes that sync everywhere for free.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Notion#1
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#2
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
Logseq#3
Outliner for networked thought, with backlinks and daily journals.
PriceFree
donations
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Joplin#4
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
Evernote#5
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
Standard Notes#6
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
Google Keep#7
Simple cross-device notes and checklists.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · iOS · Android
Notesnook#8
Open-source encrypted notes with private sync.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
PrivacyNotes#9
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. How we compare.

Simplenote alternatives at a glance

Simplenote is a free productivity app. We compared 9 alternatives: 5 are open source, 3 are completely free, 3 can be self-hosted and 4 work fully offline. The most popular is Notion, with 4.9k likes.

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 optionJoplin

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

Free · Open source · Self‑hostable · Works offline
Best to self-hostStandard Notes

Simple, encrypted notes app focused on privacy and longevity.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable · Works offline

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