People search for an Evernote alternative when the free plan stops being usable, when a paid tier is chosen by note, notebook and device counts, or when they want their notes in plain files or an open-source app. Most move to a privacy-first app with an Evernote importer, to a Markdown vault, or to a single-platform app.
Short answer: The first three alternatives to Evernote in our note-taking apps ranking are Notesnook, Joplin and Obsidian. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Choose Notesnook if you want an Evernote-style app with encryption and an import path. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Note-taking Apps in 2026, and each says where it differs from Evernote.
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Pricing: Free plan with caps; paid tiers by note and device limits; 7-day trial
Established in: Italy
Built for: Existing Evernote users who want clipping, calendar and tasks together
Not for: New users who want a free plan to hold a real archive
01
Why buyers look past Evernote
01
The free plan is a trial-sized notebook
Evernote's plan table shows Free at 50 notes, 1 notebook, 20 tags and sync to 1 device, with 1 GB of storage. Starter raises that to 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks and 3 devices. Anyone with an archive built over years hits the Free ceiling in the first week and has to buy a tier to keep working.
02
Plans are sized by counts, so the tier moves with your archive
Evernote names Starter, Advanced, Flexible and Unlimited, and the differences are note, notebook, space, attachment, device and storage counts, plus features such as the calendar and AI assistant. The pricing page is rendered client side, so we could not read the amounts at the time of checking. Check what your account would cost before you compare.
03
The owner changed and the product follows its owner
The Bending Spoons site says it acquired Evernote in January 2023, and the Evernote site carries a Bending Spoons US Inc. copyright line. Some buyers want a notes tool from an independent maker instead, such as a small team funded by users (Obsidian, Notesnook, Capacities state this on their own sites) or an open-source project.
An outliner on Markdown files, mid-way through a rebuild
you think in daily outlines and want open-source software with local files
#8
03
What each one does differently
1
Notesnook
Pakistan · Free plan with caps; monthly, yearly and five-year plans published; 14-day trial
An end-to-end encrypted notes app with its own Evernote importer that reads ENEX files. The free plan has unlimited notes but only 50 MB of attachment storage a month. Paid Essential, Pro and Believer plans add storage, with a 14-day trial. Client and server are AGPL-licensed and the sync server can be self-hosted.
Switch from Evernote if you want an Evernote-style app with encryption and an import path.
France · Free open source app; Joplin Cloud plans published; self-hosted server priced per user
Open-source notes written in Markdown, free to use, with an ENEX importer that keeps notebooks, tags and attachments. Sync runs through Joplin Cloud, from Basic to Teams on published monthly prices with a 14-day trial and servers in Paris, or through the self-hosted Joplin Server Business. Internal Evernote links are matched by note title, so duplicates can mislink.
Switch from Evernote if you want files you own, a free app and the choice to self-host sync.
A local Markdown vault. The app is free for all uses including commercial. Sync is a paid add-on at USD 4 a user a month billed annually, Publish at USD 8 a site a month. Obsidian's help has an Evernote import page. Obsidian Sync, which includes shared vaults, is a paid add-on.
Switch from Evernote if you want notes as plain files on your own disk and linked thinking.
Italy · Free app; Pro subscription billed through the App Store, 7-day trial
A notes app for Apple devices only, built around tags. Local access, export and three themes are free. Bear Pro adds iCloud sync and 28+ themes, at USD 2.99 a month or USD 29.99 a year after a 7-day trial. Its help centre has an Evernote migration guide. Its site lists apps for Mac and iOS only.
Switch from Evernote if you only use Apple devices and want a simple, quiet writing app.
Not stated by the vendor · Free plan; two annual paid plans published; no trial for paid plans
Encrypted notes, free on the Standard plan with plain text notes and unlimited device sync. Productivity costs USD 90 a year and adds rich note types and folders, Professional USD 120 a year with 100 GB of file storage. The code is AGPL on GitHub. Its FAQ covers importing from Evernote. Rich editors are paid, so free is text only.
Switch from Evernote if you want long-lived, encrypted notes and accept plain text on the free plan.
Not stated by the vendor · Free Basic plan; Pro and Believer subscriptions published; Pro trial in the app
Notes stored as typed objects (people, books, meetings) that link to each other, not as notebooks. Basic is free with unlimited blocks and full export. Pro is USD 9.99 a month and adds AI, tasks and calendar integration. A switching guide from Evernote is in its docs. Bulk import runs in the desktop app, not the browser.
Switch from Evernote if you want linked objects in place of notebooks and a free tier without a note cap.
Not stated by the vendor · Free Starter plan capped at 1,500 blocks; Plus, Family and Team plans published
A document-style notes app with blocks and shared Spaces. The free Starter plan caps content at 1,500 blocks and 1 GB. Plus is EUR 8 a month monthly or EUR 6.4 on the yearly price, Team EUR 50 a month for up to 10 accounts. Sharing a Space needs the Family or Team plan. Craft's pricing page lists no Evernote importer.
Switch from Evernote if you write polished documents and share them with a small team.
Not stated by the vendor · Free tier; paid memberships by storage published; self-hosted network needs no membership
A local-first workspace from a Swiss association with objects and relations. The free plan includes 100 MB of remote storage and 10 shared channels. Plus is USD 4 a month, Pro USD 8, Ultra USD 16. A self-hosted network needs no membership. We found no Evernote importer on its pricing page, so expect a manual move.
Switch from Evernote if you want your own data layer, optional self-hosting and a small storage allowance.
Not stated by the vendor · Free open source app; sync server self-hosted, third parties offer hosting
A self-hosted hierarchical notes app that supports Evernote and Markdown import and export. It is AGPL-licensed on GitHub and free. There is no vendor-run cloud sync to buy: you run the server, or a third party hosts it. Its repository lists a touch-optimised mobile frontend.
Switch from Evernote if you run your own server and want a nested note tree.
United States · Free; no paid plan listed on the site
A plain, free notes app from Automattic with tags, Markdown and a history of every change. Apps cover iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux and the browser, and there is no paid plan on the site. Its site lists no notebooks, attachments or tasks, so it replaces only Evernote's plain note use.
Switch from Evernote if you only need fast text notes synced everywhere, and no folders or files.
Not stated by the vendor · Free open source app; sync in alpha
An open-source outliner for linked notes, described on its site as a privacy-first knowledge base. The source on GitHub is AGPL-3.0. Its website shows no pricing, hosting or Evernote import details, so we state none. Expect to move notes by hand or through a Markdown route and to judge sync yourself.
Switch from Evernote if you think in daily outlines and want open-source software with local files.
Stay on Evernote if your archive is already inside it, you rely on the web clipper, document scanning, tasks and calendar in one app, and you are happy with the tier your account is on. Evernote's table lists unlimited notes, notebooks and devices only on the Advanced tier, so confirm your tier before you stay. Leave if you need plain-file ownership or a note-count-free free plan.
05
What moving off Evernote involves
01
Export from the desktop app, notebook by notebook
Notesnook's import guide states that exporting Evernote notebooks as ENEX is not possible from the Evernote web app and is done in the desktop app, one notebook at a time. Joplin, Notesnook, Trilium, Bear and Capacities each document an Evernote route, so test the importer with one notebook before you move the rest.
02
Check what survives the import
Joplin converts Evernote's HTML to Markdown and says plain text with basic formatting converts without loss, while internal links are matched by note title and can fail with duplicate titles. Colours and font sizes may differ after conversion. Run a sample, then compare attachments and links before you cancel your Evernote plan.
06
Questions about replacing Evernote
6 answers
Is Evernote still free?
Yes. The plan table lists a Free plan with 50 notes, 1 notebook, 20 tags, 1 GB of storage and sync to one device. Paid tiers raise those limits. Free trials of paid plans last 7 days unless stated otherwise.
Who owns Evernote now?
The Bending Spoons site lists Evernote as acquired in January 2023, and the Evernote footer carries a Bending Spoons US Inc. copyright line.
Which alternatives can import Evernote notes?
Notesnook has an Evernote importer for ENEX files, Joplin imports ENEX and Trilium lists Evernote import. Bear, Capacities and Standard Notes document Evernote routes, and Obsidian has an Evernote import help page.
Which alternatives are open source?
Notesnook client and server (AGPL), Joplin (AGPL-3.0-or-later), Standard Notes, Trilium and Logseq (each AGPL-3.0 on GitHub). Obsidian is free to use but we did not verify an open-source licence.
Which alternative has the lowest price?
Simplenote is free with no paid plan on its site, and Joplin, Trilium and Logseq are free to use. Of the hosted paid options we read, Notesnook Essential is EUR 1.80 a month on annual billing including tax.
Can I move away without a subscription to anything?
Yes. Obsidian is free without limits and stores notes on your device, and Joplin and Trilium are free apps. Sync is the part that costs money or needs a server of your own.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed
19 October 2026. How we review.
