sitealternatives
Productivity · 8 alternatives

Instead of Zim, try one of these 8.

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

Show onlySorted by likes · 8 of 8
Alternative
Price
Open source
Self-host
Offline
Platforms
ZimWhat you have now
Desktop wiki keeping linked notes in plain text files.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
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
Anytype#3
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
Microsoft OneNote#4
Free-form digital notebook that ships with Microsoft 365.
PriceFree
Open sourceNo
Self-hostNo
OfflinePartial
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Joplin#5
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
Simplenote#6
Bare-bones, fast notes that sync everywhere for free.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Web · Win · Mac · Linux · iOS · Android
Zettlr#7
Markdown writing app with citation support.
PriceFree
Open sourceYes
Self-hostNo
OfflineYes
Platforms
Win · Mac · Linux
Notesnook#8
Open-source encrypted notes with private sync.
PriceFreemium
Open sourceYes
Self-hostYes
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.

Zim alternatives at a glance

Zim is a free productivity app. We compared 8 alternatives: 5 are open source, 5 are completely free, 2 can be self-hosted and 5 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 optionAnytype

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

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-hostNotesnook

Open-source encrypted notes with private sync.

Freemium · Open source · Self‑hostable

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