Evernote is no longer the app it was a few years ago. Here are 7 much better alternatives, free or not.
Once upon a time, Evernote was the default note-taking app for everyone. Unfortunately, today it is increasingly difficult to love her. And this is not due to the application itself, but to the company that runs it: with each new update, the free offer becomes more limited, and the premium offer more expensive. The free tier currently only allows you to use Evernote on two devices and limits downloads to 60MB per month.
But over the years, many alternatives have emerged. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google came up with their own solution and now they are all good note-taking apps. If you’d rather use a third party service with premium features that you don’t mind paying for, there’s something for you too. Here are our recommendations for the best Evernote alternatives.
Microsoft OneNote
Don’t think that OneNote is just for Windows users. Like many Microsoft apps, OneNote works great on iPhone, Mac or Android smartphones. There is also a good web application.
In terms of platforms and support, OneNote is just as present as Evernote. And the free offer is good too. There are features like voice notes, attachments, reminders, tags, collaboration, OCR, all for free. And if you’re already paying for Microsoft 365, you even get access to features like Math Assistant, Researcher, and more. But for most users, this is not necessary.
OneNote storage is included with OneDrive, so you get 5 GB for free and can upgrade to 100 GB for $1.99 per month. The only drawback may be the adaptation period. OneNote works in a completely different way than Evernote. OneNote organizes your notes into sections and you can freely edit them. But once you get used to it, everything will be very smooth.
Apple Notes
This option only works if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem. If you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac every day, you won’t get any better than Apple Notes. This simple, free and native app has only gotten better over the years. So much so that most users don’t feel the need for a third party app.
You have all the basic features like managing folders, syncing between devices, formatting, tagging, document scanning, attachments and more. If you’re using an iPad, you can even take notes by hand and copy them to text.
Google Keep
Google Keep is not a complete alternative to Evernote. Keep is incredibly simple, and it doesn’t even have a desktop app or the ability to import your Evernote notes.
That being said, the application is colorful, user-friendly and very easy to use, and if you use an Android smartphone and don’t have to worry about managing your notes on your computer from a simple website, you can be completely satisfied with Keep.
The app is free if you have a Google account. Keep is a good option if you take notes occasionally, need a place to store information, and don’t mind searching through your notes (instead of carefully organizing them).
Bear Notes
Bear Notes is an app for Apple devices only. Similar to Apple Notes – uses iCloud for sync, three-column organization, minimalism – but goes much further. First, Markdown is supported, which means you can export your notes as native HTML. What’s more, Bear Notes has plenty of topics to write and export.
The tagging system is also very good. You can use Bear Notes for free on one device, but we recommend you upgrade to a Bear Pro subscription for $1.49/month or $14.99/year.
concept
Notion can be a very simple note-taking app or a complex database like Wikipedia. The second brain, some even say. But if we ignore this complexity, we end up with a very successful note-taking app. Create a workspace, start taking notes, organize them, and you’ll quickly become addicted.
Use Notion’s countless templates if you like, or choose the Blocks system to add or integrate rich media and documents. Notion is free for individuals, so you can take as many notes as you want. You can even collaborate with up to 5 users without paying.
Joplin
Joplin is a completely free and open source note-taking service that runs on all major platforms. You can use the app for free forever. All data remains with you, and since Joplin uses Markdown, importing and exporting data is very easy.
Joplin also has cross-device sync. You can use Joplin Cloud if you like. A $1.99 per month subscription gives you 1GB of storage, but you don’t have to. You can use Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive to sync your notes and enjoy the same experience across all your devices. If you don’t want to use Dropbox, you can even host Joplin on your own servers.
simple note
Simplenote’s motto is “The easiest way to take notes.”And we must admit that it is. Incredibly simple application, completely free and works on all major platforms.
It is owned and maintained by the WordPress company Automattic. Automatic synchronization, tags, version history, collaboration, everything is there. You can even write in Markdown. All this is free, for life.
If you’re looking for a simple note-taking solution and don’t need overly advanced features like OCR, you can’t go wrong with Simplenote.