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Free alternatives to Evernote

Top pick: Joplin. Switching saves about $99 USD a year.

Evernote, Starter plan

$99 USDa year

$124.90 CAD

Every pick below has a free version.

Runs on
  • Windows
  • macOS
  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Key file formats
.enex.html

Filter alternatives

5 alternatives

Top pick

1 tool

The editor’s first choice for most people switching.

  1. Rank 1: Joplin

    Best for an open-source move with ENEX import

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • iOS
    • Android
    • Command line
    Status: Unknown
    • ENEX: opens only, partial fidelity. Imports ENEX with notebooks, tags and attachments; ENEX export is not listed in the docs
    • HTML: opens and saves, partial fidelity. HTML export works; HTML import is the fallback when ENEX loses formatting

    Imports ENEX files with formatting converted to Markdown, plus attachments and metadata. Sync needs a storage service you choose; Joplin Cloud is a paid option. Free version: The apps are free with no limits. Joplin Cloud sync and sharing is a paid service; Dropbox and OneDrive sync work without it.

Strong

3 tools

Covers most of the same work, with trade-offs noted on each card.

  1. Rank 2: Microsoft OneNote

    Best for free notebooks with a Microsoft account

    License: Freeware
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    Status: Verified

    Free with a Microsoft account. Notebooks live in OneDrive, whose free tier is 5 GB shared with your other files.

  2. Rank 3: Notesnook

    Best for end-to-end encrypted notes on every device

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Unknown
    • ENEX: opens only, partial fidelity. Import keeps attachments, web clips, tags and notebooks; task items lose their metadata
    • HTML: opens and saves, full fidelity

    Imports ENEX with attachments, web clips and tags; task items lose their metadata. The free plan has unlimited notes and 50 MB of attachment storage a month. Free version: Unlimited notes on unlimited devices. Free plan has 50 MB of attachment storage a month and 10 MB files. Paid plans add storage.

  3. Rank 4: Obsidian

    Best for local Markdown notes with plugins

    License: Freeware
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • iOS
    • Android
    Status: Verified
    • ENEX: opens only, partial fidelity. Imports ENEX through the Importer plug-in and converts notes to Markdown; no ENEX export
    • HTML: opens only, partial fidelity. Importer plug-in converts HTML to Markdown; notes are not stored as HTML
    • MD: opens and saves, full fidelity. Notes are plain Markdown files
    • CSV: opens only, partial fidelity. Importer plug-in turns CSV rows into notes; no CSV export

    Imports ENEX files with the official Importer plugin. Free for personal and work use; notes are plain files on your disk.

Situational

1 tool

Right for specific needs, or not yet mature enough to recommend widely.

  1. Rank 5: Standard Notes

    Best for encrypted plain-text notes

    License: Open source
    • Windows
    • macOS
    • Linux
    • Web
    • iOS
    • Android
    • Self-hosted
    Status: Unknown
    • ENEX: opens only, partial fidelity. Built-in importer keeps note text; attachments are not transferred and formatting can be lost

    The free plan is plain-text notes with tags. ENEX import drops attachments and may strip formatting. Free version: Free plan has plain-text notes, tags, unlimited device sync and encrypted backups. Folders and rich notes need Productivity.

Sponsor this page: $149 for 30 days. Sponsors appear above the ranking, labeled; the ranking itself is not for sale.

Feature parity

How each alternative covers what people use Evernote for. Numbers link to editor notes.

Feature parity with Evernote
FeatureJoplinMicrosoft OneNoteNotesnookObsidianStandard Notes
Capture
Web clipperYesNote 1YesNote 2YesNote 3YesNote 4NoNote 5
Search
Search inside images and PDFsPartialNote 6PartialNote 7NoNote 8NoNote 9NoNote 10
Organization
Notebooks, stacks and tagsYesNote 11YesNote 12YesNote 13YesNote 14PartialNote 15
Tasks
Tasks and remindersPartialNote 16PartialNote 17PartialNote 18PartialNote 19NoNote 20
Sync
Sync across devicesYesNote 21YesNote 22YesNote 23PartialNote 24YesNote 25
Documents
Document scanning and PDF annotationNoNote 26PartialNote 27NoNote 28NoNote 29NoNote 30
Parity score67%75%58%50%25%
  1. Joplin, Web clipper: Free Chrome and Firefox clipper
  2. Microsoft OneNote, Web clipper: Official OneNote Web Clipper
  3. Notesnook, Web clipper: Official clipper extension
  4. Obsidian, Web clipper: Official Web Clipper browser extension
  5. Standard Notes, Web clipper: The Web Clipper needs the paid Productivity plan
  6. Joplin, Search inside images and PDFs: Optional OCR indexes text in images and PDF attachments
  7. Microsoft OneNote, Search inside images and PDFs: Image text search depends on the app and platform
  8. Notesnook, Search inside images and PDFs: No OCR search of attachments is listed
  9. Obsidian, Search inside images and PDFs: Search covers note text; no built-in OCR
  10. Standard Notes, Search inside images and PDFs: No OCR search
  11. Joplin, Notebooks, stacks and tags: Notebooks with sub-notebooks and tags
  12. Microsoft OneNote, Notebooks, stacks and tags: Notebooks, sections, pages and tags
  13. Notesnook, Notebooks, stacks and tags: Notebooks, tags and colors; the free plan caps notebooks at 50 and colors at 7
  14. Obsidian, Notebooks, stacks and tags: Folders, tags and links between notes
  15. Standard Notes, Notebooks, stacks and tags: Tags on the free plan; folders need a paid plan
  16. Joplin, Tasks and reminders: To-do notes with alerts; no recurring tasks
  17. Microsoft OneNote, Tasks and reminders: To Do tags; reminders run through Outlook tasks
  18. Notesnook, Tasks and reminders: Checklists and reminders inside notes; no task manager
  19. Obsidian, Tasks and reminders: Checkbox tasks; reminders come from community plugins
  20. Standard Notes, Tasks and reminders: Checklists need a paid plan
  21. Joplin, Sync across devices: Sync through Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV or other targets you set up
  22. Microsoft OneNote, Sync across devices: Syncs through OneDrive
  23. Notesnook, Sync across devices: End-to-end encrypted sync on unlimited devices
  24. Obsidian, Sync across devices: Official Sync is paid; free options are iCloud, Syncthing or Git
  25. Standard Notes, Sync across devices: End-to-end encrypted sync on unlimited devices
  26. Joplin, Document scanning and PDF annotation: No document scanner or PDF annotation
  27. Microsoft OneNote, Document scanning and PDF annotation: Printouts and scans can be inserted and marked up with ink
  28. Notesnook, Document scanning and PDF annotation: No document scanner or PDF annotation
  29. Obsidian, Document scanning and PDF annotation: PDFs can be viewed but not annotated without a plugin
  30. Standard Notes, Document scanning and PDF annotation: No document scanner or PDF annotation

Not covered by any free alternative yet: Search inside images and PDFs, Tasks and reminders, Document scanning and PDF annotation. See all feature gaps

File formats

Can each alternative open and save Evernote files?

Opening and saving Evernote files
FormatJoplinMicrosoft OneNoteNotesnookObsidianStandard Notes
.enexOpens onlyNote 1Partial fidelityNoNote 2Opens onlyNote 3Partial fidelityOpens onlyNote 4Partial fidelityOpens onlyNote 5Partial fidelity
.htmlOpens and savesNote 6Partial fidelityNoNote 7Opens and savesFull fidelityOpens onlyNote 8Partial fidelityNoNote 9
  1. Joplin, .enex: Imports ENEX with notebooks, tags and attachments; ENEX export is not listed in the docs
  2. Microsoft OneNote, .enex: OneNote has no built-in ENEX import
  3. Notesnook, .enex: Import keeps attachments, web clips, tags and notebooks; task items lose their metadata
  4. Obsidian, .enex: Imports ENEX through the Importer plug-in and converts notes to Markdown; no ENEX export
  5. Standard Notes, .enex: Built-in importer keeps note text; attachments are not transferred and formatting can be lost
  6. Joplin, .html: HTML export works; HTML import is the fallback when ENEX loses formatting
  7. Microsoft OneNote, .html: Saves pages as single-file web pages, Word or PDF, not plain HTML
  8. Obsidian, .html: Importer plug-in converts HTML to Markdown; notes are not stored as HTML
  9. Standard Notes, .html: No HTML import or export

What switching saves

Switching saves about $99 USD / $125 CAD a year. Prices checked .

Based on Starter plan. Price source.

About this page

Last verified . Ranking: tier first, then the published score.

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Related

Evernote is a product of Evernote, named here for comparison only. Platforms listed for Evernote: Windows, macOS, Web, iOS, Android.