Evernote is one of the best-known note-taking apps on the market, and there are several reasons for this. It offers excellent cross-platform support and numerous useful features, from a rich text editor to optical character recognition (OCR).

the platform also comes with a few notable disadvantages

. Its free plan is quite limited in features and storage, so it might not be the best solution for users on a budget.

Evernote doesn’t do enough to keep users’ data safe

, which you’ll learn more about in this guide. You’ll also see 

what features a solid Evernote alternative should have

, after which you’ll discover some popular apps worth considering.

Skiff Pages is a powerful note-taking platform that combines real-time collaboration with robust encryption

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There are several factors you should consider before choosing a note-taking app. If you’re not sure where to start, take the following steps:

Decide if the pricing is reasonable for your budget

Make sure the app implements the right security measures

we’ll explain these factors in more detail

While no two UIs are the same, a solid note-taking platform should have at least some (and preferably all) of the following:

A rich text editor without complex commands

the platform’s mobile app and assess how easy it is to navigate

. Note-taking apps are often used on the go, so you should be able to quickly glance at the most important information and jot down your notes.

Before you start exploring Evernote alternatives, ask yourself what you need the app for in the first place. Use this to create a reference point to compare different options more easily.

Define the most essential features you need besides the basics

One of the main purposes of a note-taking app is to ensure you can structure your thoughts, ideas, and lots of different information clearly in one place. That’s why your Evernote alternative should have various organizational features.

Organizing your notes is particularly important in shared workspaces, so 

you might need features besides tags and filters

 that help your collaborators weed out unnecessary information easily.

Many users agree that Evernote’s pricing is one of its weakest points. Unless you upgrade to a paid tier, you can only upload 60 MB worth of notes monthly, and individual notes can’t exceed 25 MB. You also don’t get many of the app’s advanced features, like to-do reminders and integrations.

the paid plans aren’t particularly cheap

 (starting at $10.83 per month), it’s clear that the value for money could be better. Several apps either offer 

much more robust free plans or more affordable paid tiers (or both)

No feature or benefit can make up for an app’s inability to keep your personal data and notes safe from unauthorized access. That’s why a platform’s privacy and security measures should be the main deal-breakers while exploring different options.

One of the first security layers you should look into is 

. It turns your data into strings of unintelligible characters, 

making it inaccessible to everyone but the person holding the decryption key

Unfortunately, Evernote and other Big Tech platforms rely on subpar encryption protocols. While there can be some differences in implementation, 

. It’s meant to protect data in transit but doesn’t do a particularly good job of preventing unautorized access to users’ data.

 and is strong by nature, which is why platforms implementing it advertise their solutions as secure and private.

This claim often isn’t true, though, mainly because your provider 

, which gives them access to your notes and puts your data at risk of leaking in case of a cyberattack.

Your best option is a platform supporting 

. It encrypts data using a key created and stored on your device, so 

nobody but you and the person you share a note with can see it

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While there are numerous Evernote competitors to choose from, six platforms stand out:

In the following reviews, you’ll find a detailed layout of these platforms’ most notable aspects. Each of these options offers distinct features and capabilities, catering to a variety of note-taking preferences and organizational styles.

Here’s how they stack up against each other.

If you need a capable note-taking platform that doesn’t charge for advanced features, 

 can be a solid free alternative to Evernote. While it’s 

 in terms of features and note organization, it offers a much more robust free plan that makes the platform suitable for advanced users on a budget.

, the layout of which resembles other apps in the 

. You can format your notes’ contents in numerous ways and embed links, images, and files of different types.

Note organization is similar to Evernote’s—

notebooks are split into sections that consist of individual pages

. You get a clear hierarchy and can navigate your notes without complications.

The main complaint regarding the user interface is that 

 and many other competitors. You also don’t get a comprehensive home page with lots of information—you can only see your notebooks.

OneNote stores your entries in OneDrive, and 

, which should be enough for your notes, especially if you won’t use the drive for other files. If you want more storage,

 you can get up to 1 TB regardless of your chosen plan

As for security, OneNote doesn’t go beyond basic TLS and AES-256 encryption. 

Joplin is a free note-taking app with a few notable advantages over Evernote. It’s open source, which ensures complete transparency you don’t get with an average commercial platform.

It’s easy to use and has a similar note structure as Evernote

, letting you organize notes as notebooks, which you can split into subnotebooks. You can embed images, videos, audio files, and PDFs and

, which is a unique addition unavailable with many competitors.

the app works on a bring-your-own-storage basis

 the benefits of which were already covered.

it doesn’t offer any collaboration features out of the box

. To access them, you’d need to subscribe to Joplin Cloud, which also gives you dedicated storage. There are three plans to choose from:

Another limitation that might make Joplin a subpar option is a 

lack of advanced features like OCR and PDF annotation

 can be a good choice if you’re looking for a simple, free Evernote alternative focused on basic note-taking features—especially if you already use other 

It’s best suited for light personal use

 because you can’t do much besides creating notes. If this is your main intention and you don’t need advanced features, Google Keep should suffice.

The app’s interface makes it suitable for beginners—you can create notes right from the main screen and see them 

displayed in one place in the form of sticky notes

Organizational features allow you to customize your space and:

Google Keep is entirely free to use, with the only limitation being 

15 GB of combined Google Workspace storage

. While it may be enough if you’ll only use it for notes, your space might fill up quickly if you plan on 

Another major drawback of Google Keep is weak security

, as the platform uses two basic encryption measures and doesn’t offer E2EE. Google is also particularly notorious for invasive privacy practices, so this app isn’t suitable for security-conscious users.

Dropbox Paper is one of the best Evernote alternatives if you’re looking for a platform with more advanced collaboration features. It feels more like a shared workspace than a note-taking tool, so it’s suitable for teams of different sizes.

Evernote alternative—buying guide + reviews

 go far beyond basic note-taking, letting users create comprehensive documents. While they serve the same general purpose, the two platforms couldn’t be more different in several aspects.

 to decide which platform suits your workflow better. You’ll then discover a third option that combines some of the best features of both platforms to enhance your productivity while keeping your data safe.

Skiff Pages offers unparalleled security for personal note-taking and collaboration

Access Skiff’s advanced features

Notion vs. Obsidian—breaking down the main differences

 that resemble one another to an extent, Notion and Obsidian are vastly different, particularly in the following aspects:

While Obsidian and Notion are both well-designed, you’ll notice that their UIs look entirely different the moment you enter the apps.

These differences mainly stem from the fact that 

. Notion is designed for comprehensive document creation and project management, while Obsidian is more of a single-user platform for creating elaborate notes and connecting them intuitively.

lets you create wikis, project roadmaps, and documents, so 

it’s packed with features that might take a while to master

. Luckily, you get various templates that help you understand how everything works faster.

Obsidian features a clean and minimalistic user interface

, making it easy to start creating notes. The problem arises with text formatting, as the platform uses Markdown, a text-to-HTML tool that might be too technical for beginners.

Still, if you’re willing to invest the time and effort necessary to figure it out, you’ll uncover many

With all of the above in mind, when comparing Obsidian notes vs. Notion, the conclusion is that 

neither is the most beginner-friendly tool

 on the market. Both come with advanced features you’ll learn about throughout this guide, so facing a slight learning curve before getting used to them is normal.

A common denominator of Notion and Obsidian is the ability to create notes and documents beyond plain text. Both platforms let you add various elements that make for rich, dynamic notes, such as:

 here because adding various content types is much easier. Each page consists of blocks, which can be anything from a bullet point to a math equation. Adding the blocks is easy enough, whereas 

Obsidian requires understanding Markdown codes

Notion also has various features geared toward 

 that let you configure notes in many ways. You can add tasks with dependencies and deadlines, which you can then assign to team members. 

, leading us to the next major difference—team collaboration.

, one of Notion’s primary purposes is collaboration. While you can use it independently, some of its key features are tailored to teams.

You can invite team members to contribute to your notes or only allow viewing and commenting. If you assign contributors, 

—you won’t see the changes as they happen, but you can follow a page and get notified whenever someone changes it.

There’s also an option to click the profile icons of people currently viewing a doc, which takes you to the block they visited the most recently.

Naturally, the platform’s collaboration features are particularly apparent on the project management side. You can 

Obsidian doesn’t offer any of the above features

. It’s mainly designed for individual use, particularly because your notes aren’t stored on the cloud but in your 

 (the implications of which will be covered later).

The only way to unlock some collaboration features is to get the

. In this case, other users with the add-on enabled can contribute to the note.

While Notion and Obsidian take entirely different approaches to note organization, both are quite impressive.

Notion lets you assign tags and labels to notes, though there are no folders—you can only 

to create a note hierarchy. Parent pages will appear in the sidebar, where you can expand them to see corresponding subpages.

 to connect relevant sources more easily. If several entries contain the same information, you can use the 

 to update it on all notes, which simplifies page management.

, which are essentially folders on your device. You also get a sidebar with a list view of your notes and a unique organization feature that sets it apart from the competitors—

The Graph feature lets you interlink your notes to visualize their connections. You get an interactive, 

 you can navigate seamlessly. As you hover over a note, the branches connecting it with other entries will get highlighted to give you a clear overview of your ideas.

It all comes down to whether you prefer traditional note organization methods offered by Notion or a more futuristic and aesthetically pleasing approach provided by Obsidian. There’s no right answer here, though Obsidian deserves points for innovation and creativity.

Notion offers a free plan, which is feature-rich enough to give personal users a taste of its capabilities. You get access to all the basic features you need to take robust notes, plus a few extras like a seven-day page history and integration with Slack, GitHub, and other platforms.

Still, the plan comes with some limitations—

 to collaborate on your docs, and the file upload limit is 5 MB. To overcome these restrictions and access additional features, 

you can choose between Notion’s three plans

Notion charges separately for one of its best features—

. The feature helps you write, translate, and summarize text quickly, which can significantly improve your productivity. Regardless of your plan, 

you must pay $10/month ($8/month with annual billing)

Obsidian is entirely free for personal use

, so you only need to pay if you want a commercial use license, which comes at $50/user/year. Still, you can access 

Your note-taking platform’s security features should be deal-breakers when you’re making the final decision. While Notion and Obsidian share some protective measures—such as password protection of your notes—the two platforms significantly differ when it comes to the most critical security measure—data encryption.

, which safeguards data resting on servers

These encryption measures are common among most Big Tech providers (

Besides numerous vulnerabilities a cybercriminal can exploit, Notion owns your decryption keys, which means

. If you get the Sync add-on to access notes on multiple devices, they’ll be end-to-end encrypted before syncing.

 is far ahead of standard security measures like TLS and AES because all data is encrypted using a key created and stored on your device. 

Nobody can read your notes without a decryption key

, which is also stored on your device instead of the provider’s server.

While Obsidian’s security measures are impressive, there have been concerns regarding a few 

. The estimated exploitation probability for all of them is low, but they might still make security-conscious users uneasy.

 platform that doesn’t charge for security or useful features, 

 can be a better option than Notion and Obsidian

Access built-in end-to-end encryption and safely create and organize notes, share documents, and collaborate in real-time

Prioritize security in note-taking with Skiff Pages

Skiff Pages—an E2EE note-taking powerhouse

Skiff Pages is a comprehensive note-taking and document-creation platform that uses end-to-end encryption to give you full control of your data.

 shared between collaborators. All participants have an asymmetric key pair consisting of two keys:

—Encrypts the symmetric key, giving each user a unique copy

—Decrypts documents and is stored on the user’s device

. Only those you share the note with can see its contents and key metadata (file name, date created, change timestamps, etc.).

For further anonymity, zero-knowledge login allows you to

 without leaving any personal information, ensuring 

If you want to learn more about Skiff’s security measures, you can 

Skiff Pages combines Notion’s advanced note-taking features with Obsidian’s security while addressing the main drawbacks of both platforms.

 for your notes, so you can avoid the limitations of local storage and seamlessly sync your files between devices.

 and happens in real time. You can invite users to contribute to your documents and unshare notes when you want to remove someone’s access. 

 for better access control. Your team communicates end-to-end encrypted document changes through Web Sockets, protecting your privacy.

While creating your notes, you can leverage Skiff Pages’ numerous customization features and 

 that allow you to add code blocks, tables, dividers, and many other elements to your notes.

Obsidian vs. Notion—an in-depth comparison

OneNote is one of the most useful apps in the 

. It’s a robust note-taking solution featuring many tools that let you jot down quick thoughts or create comprehensive documents.

Still, the platform is far from perfect. 

It might be too complicated for casual users

 or those needing an app for everyday personal notes. Its user interface is also 

outdated compared to most OneNote competitors

, as it hasn’t undergone major overhauls in a while.

 Microsoft isn’t considered a particularly safe provider

—an issue that extends to all its platforms.

you’ll learn what features to look for in a OneNote alternative

 to enjoy a better, more secure note-taking experience. You’ll also discover some of the main OneNote competitors catering to different user groups to find the best option.

Explore end-to-end encrypted note-taking and collaboration with Skiff Pages

Safeguard your ideas

Factors to consider when choosing an alternative to OneNote

While comparing different note-taking apps, you should consider the following aspects:

An app’s user interface directly impacts ease of use and productivity, so it should be clutter-free and easy to navigate.

OneNote’s layout isn’t particularly complex

—it resembles Microsoft’s other apps like Word and 

, so it’s packed with features but might not be to everyone’s taste. Many other options provide the same features while having a more modern look.

Of course, esthetics should never come at the cost of functionality. Some note-taking apps like 

offer a clean, minimalistic look but overcomplicate note editing

 by requiring the knowledge of simple coding languages. These types of apps are not the best choice for users who aren’t tech-savvy.

strike a balance between robust features and a user-friendly layout

The features to expect from a note-taking app depend mainly on what you’ll use it for. Still, there are a few 

universally desirable note-taking features

 every solid platform should offer, such as:

An average user should be able to perform all their tasks with the above features, but 

you may need other components depending on your workflow

. Start by defining everything you’ll need for comprehensive note-taking, and then see which platform checks all the boxes.

Every app has a unique approach to organization. For example, 

 and display them visually, while others use the more traditional methods and stick to simple hierarchies.

 like comprehensive dashboards letting you glance at the key information without opening specific notebooks. Ideally, you’ll find a solution that fixes this issue.

OneNote is free to use despite being equipped with various advanced features, which isn’t the case with many platforms. When browsing alternatives, ensure you still get

rich free plan or affordable paid options

 offering all the necessary features without exceeding your budget.

While you can expect to pay for some of the most advanced features of an app, 

you should be able to complete basic tasks without commitments

. Decide on the features you need the most to avoid overpaying for those you don’t need.