Note apps differ less in features than in where your notes sit, what happens when the free plan runs out, and how you leave.
This guide ranks twelve of them on those points: local files against hosted accounts, caps on notes and storage, sync costs, encryption, and whether the vendor is independent of a larger owner.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this page. It never changes what an entry
says about a product, including the criticism, and we earn nothing when you click through to a
vendor. How that works.
In short
What note-taking apps software does
Note-taking apps store written notes, clippings and attachments in searchable form, usually organised with tags, notebooks or links, and sync them across a person's phone, tablet and computer.
In this order: setup effort, what it really costs, how your data comes back out, whether
you can leave, and who each note-taking apps tool is built for. One rule sits on top of those tests:
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. Why those five, and why there is no
score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
Free plan with caps; paid tiers by note and device limits; 7-day trial
Yes
Existing Evernote users who want clipping, calendar and tasks together
New users who want a free plan to hold a real archive
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
Local note files you own, with paid sync as an add-on
Ranked #1 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Obsidian starts cheapest on exit: files sit on your own disk in open formats, so leaving needs no export request. The company says it is supported by users rather than investors, and the commercial licence is explicitly not required for work use.
What you give up is a built-in cloud. Cross-device sync is a paid add-on, and anything team-shaped, such as shared vaults, sits behind that subscription.
What stands out
Local files
Closed source
Paid sync
Where it costs you
Sync and Publish are separate paid services on top of the free app
The application is closed source, so extensions come from the community plugin directory
Right for
Individuals and small teams who want notes kept as local files on disk
Wrong for
Teams needing shared editing in the browser with no setup
CanadaFree app; Sync and Publish add-ons published; optional commercial licence
Joplin treats sync as a choice rather than a bundle. You can point it at Dropbox or OneDrive, pay for Joplin Cloud, or run Joplin Server yourself, and the licence is AGPL-3.0-or-later, so the code stays inspectable.
Plugins, a web clipper and a terminal app extend it. The cost is that plans differ by storage and sharing rights, so check which tier lets you share a notebook before committing a team.
What stands out
Open source
Self-hostable
End-to-end encrypted
Where it costs you
The cheapest Cloud plan limits notes and attachments to 10 MB
Multi-user management exists only on the Teams and Server Business plans
Right for
Privacy-minded users who want open source notes and a free choice of sync
Wrong for
Anyone wanting a polished all-in-one workspace with databases
FranceFree open source app; Joplin Cloud plans published; self-hosted server priced per user
The strongest argument is what happens when you stop paying: the free plan lets you read, edit and export what you wrote. Encryption runs on the device before sync, and the code is GPLv3 for both client and server.
The company describes itself as self-funded. On the downside, storage is metered by plan, so image-heavy users climb to the Essential or Pro tier quickly.
What stands out
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
Self-hostable
Where it costs you
Free storage is 50 MB a month with a 10 MB file limit
Several paid limits, such as note versions and reminders, differ by tier
Right for
Encryption-first users who want an open source notes app with sync
Wrong for
People who attach large PDFs and media to notes every week
PakistanFree plan with caps; monthly, yearly and five-year plans published; 14-day trial
The free tier is small on purpose: plain text, tags, offline access, export and encrypted backups, with no file storage. Productivity at an annual price adds the note types and folders most people expect, and Professional adds storage and the longest history.
The README documents self-hosting the sync server. The vendor pages do not say where the company is based, so the country is left unstated.
What stands out
End-to-end encrypted
Open source
Annual plans
Where it costs you
Free plan keeps note history for the current session only
Folders, a web clipper and rich note types require a paid annual plan
Right for
Writers who want plain, encrypted notes that sync across every device
Wrong for
Teams who need shared workspaces or file attachments on a free plan
Not stated by the vendorFree plan; two annual paid plans published; no trial for paid plans
Notes organised as typed objects, with a free core product
Ranked #5 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Capacities asks you to model your notes as object types, which helps when you track people, books or projects and hurts when you only want a page to type on.
The site promises that the core product stays free and says every plan can export everything. The team calls itself small and investor-free. Heavier AI use needs Pro plus an AI add-on with a larger budget.
What stands out
Object-based
Free core plan
Independent team
Where it costs you
Version history, tasks and the AI assistant sit behind the Pro subscription
Free media uploads are capped at 5 GB in total, then 100 MB a month
Right for
Researchers who think in linked objects of different types, not folders
Wrong for
Anyone who wants plain files on disk to open in other editors
Not stated by the vendorFree Basic plan; Pro and Believer subscriptions published; Pro trial in the app
Anytype's pitch is control: data sits on your devices, syncs peer to peer, and the whole network can be self-hosted without paying the membership. Memberships are priced by remote storage rather than by feature.
The licence deserves a read before you build on it, since it is source available. Its Business offering adds SSO and an admin panel, which suggests the individual plans are not aimed at managed teams.
What stands out
Local-first
Source available
Self-hostable
Where it costs you
Free remote storage is only 100 MB
The code licence is source available, not open source
Right for
People who want private, local-first notes with optional self-hosting available
Wrong for
Teams that need guaranteed polished real-time collaboration today
Not stated by the vendorFree tier; paid memberships by storage published; self-hosted network needs no membership
Trilium suits people who already run a home server. The note tree, cloning a note into several parents, per-note encryption and the scripting layer are documented in the repository, and sync needs a server you control.
A phone client works offline and syncs back. Nobody sells you a plan, so there is also nobody to call. If the server breaks, repair is your job.
What stands out
Open source
Self-hosted sync
Scriptable
Where it costs you
No vendor-run sync service, so you host and update the server yourself
The project is a community repository rather than a company with a support desk
Right for
Technical users who want a self-hosted, scriptable personal wiki they run
Wrong for
Non-technical teams wanting hosted accounts and a support contact
Not stated by the vendorFree open source app; sync server self-hosted, third parties offer hosting
An outliner on Markdown files, mid-way through a rebuild
Ranked #8 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourcePublished pricingElsewhere
Logseq is attractive on principle: open licence, plain file formats, funding by sponsors. The risk is timing. The project's own page flags the database version as beta with possible data loss and recommends backups, and sync is an alpha sign-up.
Treat it as software you follow and test, not a record system. A file-based graph on disk stays the safest way to hold your notes while it changes.
What stands out
Open source
Outliner
Database beta
Where it costs you
The database version is beta and the project warns data loss is possible
The new real-time sync is still in alpha
Right for
Outliner fans who want open source notes in Markdown or Org files
Wrong for
Buyers who need a stable, supported sync service now
Not stated by the vendorFree open source app; sync in alpha
Markdown notes for Apple devices, with a Pro subscription
Ranked #9 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Bear is made by Shiny Frog, whose terms are governed by Italian law, and it lives inside the Apple ecosystem.
Pro unlocks iCloud sync, locking and export to PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG, so data leaving Bear in a clean format is itself a paid feature. The subscription is billed by Apple and covers every device on one Apple ID, which keeps household use simple.
What stands out
Apple only
Pro subscription
Markdown
Where it costs you
Help pages list apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad only
Sync, encryption and rich export all require the Pro subscription
Right for
Apple users who want a quiet Markdown writing app with iCloud sync
Wrong for
Windows or Android users, and teams on mixed devices
ItalyFree app; Pro subscription billed through the App Store, 7-day trial
Designed documents on Apple and Windows, with a block-capped free plan
Ranked #10 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Craft counts content in blocks, so a free account fills up faster than a page count suggests. Plus removes the limit, and Family bundles two to six accounts at a fixed price, while Team bundles up to ten.
Shared spaces start at Family. The site describes the entity only as Craft Docs Limited, Inc., so country is left unstated. AI credits are a separate allowance on each plan.
What stands out
Block-limited free plan
Family plan
Apple and Windows
Where it costs you
The free plan stops at 1,500 blocks of content
Free version history is 7 days, against 30 on Plus
Right for
Individuals who want well-designed documents and a bundled family plan option
Wrong for
Anyone with a large archive who wants a free plan
Not stated by the vendorFree Starter plan capped at 1,500 blocks; Plus, Family and Team plans published
A free, minimal notes app from Automattic with tags and history
Ranked #11 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Simplenote does very little and charges nothing. Tags, Markdown, history and a share link are the extent of it.
Because Automattic owns it and the terms reserve the right to change or end the service, treat it as convenient rather than permanent, and keep your own export. Its own terms advise against storing credentials or card numbers, which rules out a common use of notes.
What stands out
Free
Tags
Automattic
Where it costs you
Terms say not to store sensitive information such as passwords
Automattic reserves the right to modify or terminate the service without notice
Right for
People who want a free, minimal notes app on every platform
Wrong for
Anyone who needs team workspaces or a promise of long-term service
United StatesFree; no paid plan listed on the site
The long-running notes app, now run by Bending Spoons
Ranked #12 of 12 in Best Note-taking Apps in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
Evernote is no longer independent: the service is provided by Bending Spoons, and the legal notice address is in Milan. The plan table shows how tight the free tier is, at 50 notes, one notebook and one device.
Starter and Advanced lift those caps. The terms promise that notes can be exported, which matters if the pricing moves again.
What stands out
Bending Spoons
Free plan caps
AI features
Where it costs you
Free plan limits you to 50 notes and one device
Starter allows 1,000 notes on 3 devices, so heavy archives need Advanced
Right for
Existing Evernote users who want clipping, calendar and tasks together
Wrong for
New users who want a free plan to hold a real archive
ItalyFree plan with caps; paid tiers by note and device limits; 7-day trial
Note-taking apps store written notes, clippings and attachments in searchable form, usually organised with tags, notebooks or links, and sync them across a person's phone, tablet and computer. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
12 of the 12 tools here publish what they cost; the other 0 quote per organisation. The ones you can compare without a sales call: Obsidian, Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes, Capacities, Anytype, Trilium Notes, Logseq, Bear, Craft, Simplenote, Evernote.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 12 vendors are established in 6 countries across 3 regions (Elsewhere 7, Europe 3, North America 2). That decides whose disclosure law applies to what the vendor holds, wherever the servers are.
03
Consider whether you want the source
6 of these are open source: Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes, Anytype, Trilium Notes, Logseq. Hosting one yourself trades a subscription for maintenance.
Local files or a hosted account: how Obsidian, Joplin and Evernote differ on leaving
Most note-taking regret is about leaving, not joining. Obsidian keeps notes on your own device in open file formats, so there is nothing to request when you walk away. Joplin sits in between: the app is AGPL-licensed and you choose Dropbox, OneDrive, Joplin Cloud or your own Joplin Server as the sync target.
Evernote is a hosted account, and its terms say notes can be exported at any time, with the plan page naming PDF export of notes and notebooks. Bear Pro makes advanced export to PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG a paid feature. Ask for the export before you commit, not after a price change. Test it on a notebook with attachments, tags and links, and open the result in another editor to see what survived.
Export a notebook with images and tags during the trial and open it elsewhere.
Find out which export formats sit behind a paid tier, as with Bear Pro.
Check whether sync needs a separate subscription, as with Obsidian Sync.
Free plans cap different things: notes, blocks, storage or history
Every free note plan stops somewhere, and where it stops tells you who it was built for. Evernote's free plan allows 50 notes, one notebook and one device. Craft's Starter allows 1,500 blocks and 7 days of version history. Anytype's free tier gives 100 MB of remote storage. Notesnook caps free storage at 50 MB a month and files at 10 MB.
Standard Notes keeps free note history for the current session only. Capacities lets everything through but meters media uploads after 5 GB. A person writing text will never meet the Notesnook or Anytype cap; a person who pastes screenshots meets it in a month. Count your own note volume and attachment habits first, then pick the cap that your habits will not hit.
Count your current notes, attachments and devices before you read any plan table.
Ask what happens to existing notes when a cap is reached or a plan lapses.
Compare version history on free plans, since it is the limit people only discover after a mistake.
Encryption claims: Standard Notes, Notesnook and Joplin Cloud against Simplenote
Encryption is the point of several products here and a footnote in others. Standard Notes encrypts notes on the device with keys generated at sign-in, and treats its own server as untrusted. Notesnook states that data is encrypted on-device before it syncs, and Joplin Cloud describes end-to-end encryption in which the company cannot read your data.
Obsidian Sync uses AES-256 end-to-end encryption. Simplenote is different: its terms tell users not to store bank account numbers, card details or passwords in it. That is a clear statement of scope, so use it for drafts and lists. The practical test is what you actually put in your notes. If it includes client data or credentials, pick a product that names its encryption and publishes its code.
Look for the vendor's own encryption statement, not a padlock icon.
Check whether the code is published, as it is for Standard Notes, Notesnook and Joplin.
Read the terms for any list of things you should not store.
Betas, source-available licences and self-hosted sync: Logseq, Anytype and Trilium Notes
Three tools here ask you to take on risk in exchange for control. Logseq is AGPL-licensed, yet its own page calls the new database version beta, warns that data loss is possible and lists real-time sync as alpha. Anytype publishes its desktop code under a source-available licence rather than an open source one, and lets you run your own network without paying a membership.
Trilium Notes is AGPL-3.0 and synchronises against a server you operate, with only third parties offering hosting. All three suit people who will keep backups and read release notes. None suits a business that wants a vendor to call. Decide who patches the server and who restores a damaged graph before the first note is written.
Keep a dated backup outside the app before trusting a beta or alpha feature.
Read the licence name, since source available is not open source.
Name the person who will run and update a self-hosted sync server.
What goes wrong most often when buying note-taking apps software
Choosing Evernote or Craft on a free plan and discovering the note or block cap only after the archive is half imported.
Assuming Obsidian is a complete team product, when sync and publishing are separate paid add-ons on top of the free app.
Treating Logseq's database version as stable, when its own page tells users to back up because data loss is possible.
Storing passwords or card numbers in Simplenote, whose terms say the service is not for that information.
07
Frequently asked questions
8 answers
What is the best note-taking apps in 2026?
Obsidian leads our ranking of 12. Notes stay on your device in open file formats, and the app costs nothing for personal or work use; the commercial licence is optional. The company says it is supported by its users, not by investors.
The price of that independence is that sync and web publishing are separate subscriptions, and the app itself is closed source, so you rely on the plugin directory for anything beyond the core.
Which note-taking apps tools publish their pricing?
12 of the 12, with the pricing model each one publishes:
Joplin: Free open source app; Joplin Cloud plans published; self-hosted server priced per user.
Notesnook: Free plan with caps; monthly, yearly and five-year plans published; 14-day trial.
Standard Notes: Free plan; two annual paid plans published; no trial for paid plans.
Capacities: Free Basic plan; Pro and Believer subscriptions published; Pro trial in the app.
Anytype: Free tier; paid memberships by storage published; self-hosted network needs no membership.
Trilium Notes: Free open source app; sync server self-hosted, third parties offer hosting.
Logseq: Free open source app; sync in alpha.
Bear: Free app; Pro subscription billed through the App Store, 7-day trial.
Craft: Free Starter plan capped at 1,500 blocks; Plus, Family and Team plans published.
Simplenote: Free; no paid plan listed on the site.
Evernote: Free plan with caps; paid tiers by note and device limits; 7-day trial.
The other 0 quote per organisation.
Is there a free note-taking apps tool?
Obsidian, Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes, Capacities, Anytype, Trilium Notes, Logseq, Bear, Craft, Simplenote, Evernote offer a free tier or a free self-hosted edition.
Where are these note-taking apps vendors established?
In 6 countries across 3 regions: Elsewhere 7, Europe 3, North America 2.
Obsidian: Canada.
Joplin: France.
Notesnook: Pakistan.
Standard Notes: Not stated by the vendor.
Capacities: Not stated by the vendor.
Anytype: Not stated by the vendor.
Trilium Notes: Not stated by the vendor.
Logseq: Not stated by the vendor.
Bear: Italy.
Craft: Not stated by the vendor.
Simplenote: United States.
Evernote: Italy.
Which note-taking apps tools are open source?
Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes, Anytype, Trilium Notes, Logseq.
Which note-taking apps tools can you host yourself?
Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes, Anytype, Trilium Notes. The other 7 are hosted by the vendor only.
What should you use instead of Obsidian?
Joplin and Notesnook are the next two on this page. Joplin is for Privacy-minded users who want open source notes and a free choice of sync; Notesnook is for Encryption-first users who want an open source notes app with sync.
Who should not buy Obsidian?
Teams needing shared editing in the browser with no setup. Sync and Publish are separate paid services on top of the free app.
If your note-taking apps product belongs among these 12, tell us what it does and who it is for. Inclusion is an editorial call; what a listing is and is not is set out under software advice.
