Second Brain Method
23 Best Evernote Alternatives For All Your Note Taking (Free & Paid)
Tired of Evernote? This is the list of the Evernote alternatives available, ranging from free to paid. Start organizing your notes better now!
May 1, 2024
Are you looking for Evernote alternatives to improve your productivity and organizational skills? If you're ready to explore other options that may better fit your needs, keep reading! In this blog post, we will introduce you to a range of digital tools that can help you with the Second Brain method. Discover alternative solutions to Evernote that might be the perfect match for your personal and professional goals. We'll focus on their unique features and how they can support you in managing your tasks and projects.
Table of Contents
What Is Evernote?
Evernote is a powerful note-taking app that serves as a digital notebook for users to create, organize, and store notes in various formats such as text, images, audio recordings, and more. Evernote offers a wide range of features and benefits to users, making it a popular choice for individuals and teams looking to manage their notes efficiently.
Seamless Note Access Across Devices
One of the key features of Evernote is its ability to facilitate cross-platform syncing, meaning users can access their notes from multiple devices. This feature allows users to seamlessly switch between devices and continue working on their notes without any interruptions.
Enhancing Research Efficiency
In addition to note-taking, Evernote also offers features like web clipping, which allows users to save articles, web pages, and other online content directly into their Evernote account. This feature is particularly useful for research purposes or for saving content for later reading.
Paperless Organization
Evernote also has a document scanning feature that allows users to scan and save physical documents directly into their Evernote account. This is especially useful for individuals who want to go paperless and store all their important documents digitally.
Evernote offers a wide range of features and benefits that make it a versatile and efficient note-taking tool for individuals and teams alike.
Related Reading
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• Building A Second Brain Summary
• Personal Knowledge Management System
• Personal Knowledge Base
Why Are People Looking For Evernote Alternatives?
In recent years, people have been turning away from Evernote in favor of other note-taking apps for several reasons. Evernote's transition towards a more paid-oriented service has been a significant factor. They started by limiting free accounts and progressively increased the prices over time.
This significant price increase has pushed many users away from Evernote as it is no longer an affordable option for many. Their base plan now costs $14.99 per month or $129.99 per year, which is too high for many users who initially enjoyed Evernote's free services.
Evernote's Free Account Restrictions Prompt User Migration
Evernote's recent limitations on free accounts have been a point of frustration for many long-time users. The imposition of a 50-note limit and a single notebook constraint has caused many to seek alternatives that offer more flexibility and freedom without restrictions. This has been a significant factor in the migration of users away from Evernote to explore other note-taking apps.
Dissatisfaction with Evernote's Performance Spurs Search for Alternatives
Performance issues plaguing Evernote have also been a reason for dissatisfaction among users. Slow speeds, lagging, and other performance problems have driven some users to seek alternatives that offer better speed and performance. This has been a critical factor contributing to the exodus from Evernote towards other note-taking solutions.
Exploring Evernote Alternatives for Enhanced Affordability and Performance
For these reasons, many users have been exploring Evernote alternatives that are more affordable, flexible, and offer better performance to meet their note-taking needs effectively and efficiently.
Streamlining Knowledge Workflows with Otio's AI-Native Workspace
Knowledge workers, researchers, and students today suffer from content overload and are left to deal with it using fragmented, complex, and manual tooling. Too many of them settle for stitching together complicated bookmarking, read-it-later, and note-taking apps to get through their workflows. Now that anyone can create content with the click of a button - this problem is only going to get worse.
Otio solves this problem by providing one AI-native workspace for researchers. It helps them:
1. Collect
A wide range of data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos.
2. Extract key takeaways
With detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat.
3. Create
Draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected. Otio helps you to go from reading list to first draft faster.
Along with this, Otio also helps you write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that are loved by researchers: AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (Youtube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.), Otio enables you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT, as well as AI assisted writing. Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today!
24 Best Evernote Alternatives For All Your Note Taking
1. Otio
Knowledge workers, researchers, and students today suffer from content overload and are left to deal with it using fragmented, complex, and manual tooling. Too many of them settle for stitching together complicated bookmarking, read-it-later, and note-taking apps to get through their workflows. Now that anyone can create content with the click of a button - this problem is only going to get worse.
Otio solves this problem by providing one AI-native workspace for researchers. It helps them
1. Collect
A wide range of data sources, from bookmarks, tweets, and extensive books to YouTube videos.
2. Extract key takeaways
With detailed AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat.
3. Create
Draft outputs using the sources you’ve collected.
Otio helps you to go from reading list to first draft faster. Along with this, Otio also helps you write research papers/essays faster. Here are our top features that are loved by researchers:
AI-generated notes on all bookmarks (YouTube videos, PDFs, articles, etc.)
Otio enables you to chat with individual links or entire knowledge bases, just like you chat with ChatGPT
AI-assisted writing.
Let Otio be your AI research and writing partner — try Otio for free today!
2. Google Keep
Google Keep is one of the many Google apps. It’s also one of the best Evernote alternatives in the market today. With a simple, easy-to-use interface, it’s no surprise that it was one of the most downloaded note-taking apps in 2019.
Google Keep has a user-friendly interface and sync seamlessly across every Google device. You can organize notes via label and the app can handle handwritten notes, voice memos, and audio notes as well.
Google Keep pros
Supports rich text formatting
Set reminders and add to-do lists to your notes
The mobile apps are completely free
Intuitive drag and drop interface is similar to post-it notes
Google Keep limitations
No alternate themes on this app
Lacks task management abilities
No desktop app for Windows, Linux, or macOS platforms
Google Keep pricing
The Google Keep app is completely free.
3. Microsoft OneNote
The Microsoft OneNote app is another powerful note-taker. Like Box Notes, Quip, and Zoho Notebook, it comes with basic collaboration feature options to work on notes together.
Microsoft OneNote offers customizable themes on the desktop application and it supports text notes, voice memos, audio notes, and to-do list. This note-taker can encrypt notes before you share them. You can organize notes via folders and use digital sticky notes for enhanced user experience.
Microsoft OneNote pros
Supports handwritten notes
You can easily share your notes and folders via email or URLs
Tons of simple, handy shortcuts
Access to sticky note feature
Microsoft OneNote limitations
The mobile app interface isn’t as intuitive as the web app
The app can’t alphabetically sort note pages
This notes app can’t be used as a task management tool substitute
Microsoft OneNote pricing
Initially, Microsoft OneNote was only available to Microsoft Office 365 users. The notes app is now free for anyone to use.
4. Joplin
Joplin is a free, open-source note-taking app that uses a lot of the same structure as Evernote, in terms of how you can group and organize notes and notebooks. It's reasonably user-friendly, and you have the option of bringing your own storage and syncing or paying for Joplin Cloud starting at 1.99 euros per month for 1GB of storage.
Joplin was created as a free and open-source alternative to Evernote, so the two apps have a lot in common. There are apps for all major platforms, plus Linux and a terminal application.
Pros
There's no web app, but there is a web clipper.
You can organize notes into notebooks and subnotebooks, which is essentially the same as notebooks and stacks.
Joplin uses a three-pane interface similar to Evernote's as well, although it goes one step further and splits the editor so that you can see the HTML or Markdown version of your note side by side with the rich text version. You can toggle to see only one editor in either rich text, HTML, or Markdown if you prefer.
Joplin also has the ability to capture geolocation data when you make a note, just as Evernote does. If you want to bring your own storage, it's easy to set up Joplin with Dropbox, Nextcloud, OneDrive, or WebDAV.
Cons
Joplin doesn't have OCR, collaboration, sketching and handwriting support, email forwarding, scanning in the mobile apps, PDF annotation.
It also doesn't have any of Evernote's other advanced features, namely anything to do with collaboration.
Joplin Pricing
The Pro plan costs 5.99 euros per month or 57.48 per year for 10GB storage.
5. Notion
Notion is one of the best Evernote alternatives. It provides users with a place to write, think, and organize your thoughts. Notion has templates and other features that supports effective task management and note-taking. Their drag-and-drop editor allows users to easily customize their workspaces. Notion also has a collaboration tool where users can collaborate in real-time.
Pros
Notion offers a wide range of blocks and templates that can be customized to fit individual needs, making it a versatile tool for note-taking, project management, and knowledge management
Notion is a cost-efficient tool, especially for individual use, with a free version that provides basic features and a premium version that is inexpensive for teams of all sizes
Notion is designed to be intuitive and easy to use, making it accessible to people of all skill levels, with a user-friendly interface that makes navigation a breeze
Cons
Notion can be overwhelming to use, especially for new users, with so many different types of blocks and templates available that it can be hard to know where to start
Notion has fewer integrations than other productivity tools, which can disadvantage users who need to connect Notion to other apps and services
Pricing
Free or paid for Personal plan for $ 4/ month, and Team plan for $ 8/ month.
6. Dropbox Paper
Dropbox Paper is a co-editing tool that allows users to create and coordinate their thoughts in one place. Dropbox Paper serves as a compelling alternative to Evernote, offering a collaborative platform for creating and sharing documents seamlessly. With support for images, tables, and tasks, Dropbox Paper provides a versatile environment for team collaboration and project management.
Users can create notebooks without size limits, although direct document insertion requires uploading to Dropbox first. The interface is user-friendly, allowing for easy drag-and-drop functionality. While there isn't an official method to migrate files from Evernote to Dropbox Paper, users can explore alternative apps or services for file migration.
Pros
Dropbox Paper allows for real-time collaboration on documents, making it easy for teams to work together on projects and share feedback
Seamless integration with Dropbox allows for easy access to files and resources stored in Dropbox, streamlining workflows and enhancing productivity
Dropbox Paper features a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate, making it accessible to users of all skill levels and reducing the learning curve
Cons
Dropbox Paper has limited formatting options compared to other document editing tools, which can be a drawback for users who require more advanced formatting
Users may face limitations in accessing and editing documents offline, as Dropbox Paper's functionality is restricted without an internet connection
Pricing
It is free with a Dropbox account.
7. Bear
One of the biggest differences between Bear and Evernote is Bear’s organizational structure. Unlike Evernote, which relies on the Notes/Notebooks schema, Bear favors a Slack-like hashtag system that organizes relevant items by hashtag. One of the most immediate benefits of hashtag organization is that one note can be saved across multiple relevant hashtags. Notes in Bear can also be assigned an unlimited number of tags.
Another of Bear’s handiest features is the ability to link between notes. This might not sound that impressive but it’s amazing how few tools offer this functionality. (Google Docs still doesn’t do this after fourteen years!) Bear’s linking works similarly to adding a hyperlink to a text document. Best of all, there’s no limit on how many links you can add between notes.
Pros
Clean, elegant UI
Great mobile functionality
Flexible hashtag organization
Fast, responsive search function
Linking between notes
Cons
Only available for iOS/OS X; no Android or Windows versions available
No sharing/collaboration features
No password protection/encryption options
No notifications or reminders for timely tasks
8. Zoho Notebook
Zoho is a company based in south India that focuses on selling cloud-based business apps for rather low subscription prices. Similar to Microsoft or Google, Zoho also offers free apps to individuals, perhaps as an entry point to learning about its brand of software. Zoho Notebook is one such free app.
It doesn't look anything like Evernote, but it offers some of the same functionality and might be a good alternative, depending on how you plan to use it. Unlike Evernote, Zoho Notebook interprets "notebook" in a way that mimics the physical object. When you view your notebooks, you see a little display of books, each with its own cover. Your notes can use different color "paper," too.
Pros
Zoho Notebook has apps for all major platforms: Android, iOS, iPad, macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. It comes with a tool for migrating from Evernote
Zoho Notebooks is free. There are no in-app purchases, tiers of service to agonize over, or even storage limits for note cards you create.
Storage is handled by Zoho Docs, which has a 5GB limit for free users, and that applies to files you upload to your notes. In terms of features,
Zoho Notebook supports text, images, audio recordings, tags, attachments, reminders, handwriting, sketching, scanning, checklists, and more.
You get a web clipper, access to your notes' version history, and a voice command assistant in the mobile apps called Zia.
Cons
Zoho Notebook is missing a few key features, such as email forwarding, OCR on images, and the ability to view all your notebooks in list format.
The maximum file upload size is 5MB.
If you have thousands of notes and dozens or hundreds of notebooks, Zoho Notebook may feel a tad stifling, as it's impossible to create a view of your notes and notebooks that shows you very much at once.
Zoho Notebook pricing
This Evernote alternative is free for all.
9. Notejoy
Notejoy is a real joy when it comes to collaborative notes for your entire team. You can easily give and receive feedback with note views, threaded discussions, and reactions. And its fast search function makes it easy to find what you need.
Pros
Forward emails to the app to convert into notes
End-to-end encryption
Offers themes and dark mode
Search texts within images, PDFs, etc.
Cons
No automations
No task or workflow management
Doesn’t offer other view options
Can be expensive for just a note taking app
Notejoy pricing
This app offers a free plan. The paid plans start at $4/user for solo users and $8/user per month for teams.
10. Todoist
Todoist is an Evernote alternative that’s available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Use it to organize, prioritize, and manage projects while noting down important information you need to remember. The app also comes with templates to help you get started in minutes.
Todoist has a recurring due date to remember deadlines. It also helps you easily set priorities for managing urgent tasks
Pros
Lets you assign tasks
Customize your workflow with labels, themes, etc.
Add voice notes for more context in comments
Allows you to favorite key tasks, labels, etc.
Cons
No task statuses
Doesn’t offer custom fields
Lacks native document creator
No place for real-time chats
Todoist pricing
This Evernote alternative offers a free plan and a paid plan that costs $3/user per month.
11. Hive
Hive is a project management tool with a dedicated feature for meeting notes. It’s a great alternative to Evernote that you can use to take down every meeting note, assign tasks, and collaborate with your team. Hive has shareable notes for external participants and supports real-time collaboration.
Pros
Offers templates for product roadmaps, onboarding, etc.
Lets you create recurring meeting notes
Convert meeting notes into action items
Offers an Android and iOS app
Cons
You need add-ons for timesheets, analytics, and resourcing feature
No idea management feature like mind maps or a whiteboard
No embed view to access apps from Hive
Hive pricing
This alternative to Evernote has no free plan. You’ll have to pay $12/user per month for Hive notes.
12. Apple Notes
If you use an iOS device like an iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer, you’ve probably noticed the Apple Notes app. This Evernote alternative is available to only Apple device users. It excels in making quick to-dos and organizes your work. The best part is every Apple note will sync with your cloud storage (iCloud), so you can quickly recover notes (deleted in the last 30 days) too.
Pros
Drag-and-drop folder organization
View notes in gallery view
Pin your favorite notes
Add checklists
Cons
Only an Apple user can use it
Lacks task management features
Doesn’t support markdown
Apple Notes pricing
This Apple device app is free for all iOS and macOS users.
13. Milanote
Milanote an app made for visual collaborators such as product designers and photographers. It’s a flexible visual workspace for creating moodboards, capturing notes, and getting feedback on design concepts. Milanote has visual organization features with boards, cards, and image with a wide range of customization features
Pros
Built-in templates
Animated GIFs and fonts
Encrypted notes at rest and in transit
Cons
Limited integrations
Steep learning curve
Limited features in the free version
Milanote pricing
Milanote offers free and paid plans starting at $9.99/month per user.
14. GoodNotes
GoodNotes is a digital note-taking app that allows users to take handwritten notes and annotate PDFs on their mobile devices. With GoodNotes, users can create and organize digital notebooks, import PDFs and images, and annotate them using a variety of writing and drawing tools. GoodNotes also supports handwriting and the ability to create multiple notebooks, folders, and tags.
Pros
Pen to paper like writing expirience
Importing and annotating PDFs
Cloud syncing
Cons
Limited platforms
File size
Limited OCR capabilities
GoodNotes pricing
GoodNotes free plan is limited to 3 notebooks and its paid version starts at $9.99.
15. nTask
This Evernote alternative has capabilities for note taking, task management, project management based on notes and brainstorming sessions, meeting integrations module, etc. nTask has a note-taking feature with support for text notes, to-do lists, Kanban boards, etc. Notes can also be converted to activities with dedicated assignees.
Pros
Affordable pricing plans
Easily export data in multiple file formats
Intuitive user interface with a minimal learning curve
Interactive Gantt charts, checklists, risk management module, and much more
Con
Cannot alphabetically sort tasks and notes
nTask pricing
Basic’s a free plan for low-scale users with a select number of features
nTask premium starts at $3 per user per month
For business users, the nTask Business plan starts at $8 per user per month
16. ProofHub
As a great Evernote alternative, ProofHub offers advanced project management and team collaboration features besides its intuitive and useful note taking app. With an easy-to-interface, this feature-rich software helps teams stay in ultimate control of their tasks, projects, and communications.
Pros
All-in-one tool
Flexible task management
Easy file sharing
Powerful collaboration features
Simple, no per-user pricing
Cons
Limited number of app integrations
No free plan
No Linux support
ProofHub pricing
The Essential plan with basic features starts at $45/month, and its Ultimate Control plan with unlimited users and all the advanced features starts at $89/month.
More Evernote Alternatives To Consider
17. Craft
Craft is another great Evernote alternative that takes you into a whole new realm of note taking with its AI assistant. Simply type in a short command and within seconds, the built-in tool will help you to write your notes. Get assistance writing a blog post, checking your grammar and spelling, rewriting an entry in a different tone, translating into a different language and more. You can even get a quick summary of a long body of text, saving you time when it comes to reviewing documents.
The interface is intuitive and user-friendly, with templates available to help get you started crafting your notes with ease. Keep your notes organized with features such as blocks, tables and markdown, subpages, and bi-directional linking. Craft is available for all Apple devices, Windows and on the web with a free starter plan. There’s an upgraded pro plan available for $5 per month, as well as business and enterprise level subscriptions for teams.
18. xTiles
Add some creativity to your note-taking with xTiles. Its intuitive interface and infinite canvas workspace make XTiles a great alternative to Evernote. Lay out ideas, keep it all organized with a drag-and-drop editing feature, and customize your view. The platform lets you add mixing notes, assorted media, links, and files to your dashboard. Its search function lets you look through your notes quickly, optimizing your productivity.
Another advantage of xTitles is its versatility, being available on desktop and mobile, you can jot down notes on your phone and then pick up on it again when you are back at your desk. There’s a free plan available with limited file uploads and cards, and you can get unlimited usage for $8/month.
19. Slite
Slite sticks out as a robust alternative to Evernote when it comes to collaborative note-taking. It has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for everyone on your team to create, share, and collaborate on notes in real-time – perfect for meeting notes, brainstorming sessions, and more. In comparison, Evernote has a more individual-focused design, whereas Slite emphasizes team collaboration with features such as mentions, comments, and shared channels.
These features encourage better communication and real-time collaboration within your team, similar to platforms like Slack but within a note-taking context. Slite offers a free plan with limited features and paid plans start at $8/user/month.
20. Boost Note
Boost Note is not your average note-taking app, but a solution designed for developer team’s to help with workflow documentation. The solution allows real-time collaboration between teammates, while its markdown editor makes it easier to write a tech spec. If you are looking for a note-taking app that is developer-friendly, Boost Note might be what you need.
The solution is not only a note-taking solution, but also offers project and task management with integration to 4,000 different apps. When compared to Evernote, Boost Note stands out for its API, markdown support, offline access for Windows and Android and for taking notes during meetings. Evernote is hard to beat when it comes to consolidating information using different sources, for example handwritten notes, typed notes, receipts, and supporting web clippers, images, text and links.
Boost Note offers a free 14-day trial. Its paid plan starts at $5 per user/month.
21. Fellow
Fellow is a great note-taking app for anyone looking to streamline meeting communication with their team. While it’s not as comprehensive as Hive paired with Hive Notes, there are a ton of great functionalities. In Fellow you can bring together collaborative agendas that you can use to take real-time meeting notes across the team. You can also apply templates, add next steps, and assign action items to teammates.
22. Hypercontext
For those looking to take better, more effective meeting notes, look no further than Hypercontext. Hypercontext allows you to take notes within your meeting agenda, which will automatically get emailed to meeting participants as soon as the meeting’s finished.
You can also assign clear next steps and action items to teammates so that nothing gets lost in the shuffle. The platform helps streamline and document everything you need before, during, and after your meeting, in one place.
23. Clover
Another alternative to Evernote is Clover, a digital notebook that combines notes, tasks, whiteboards, and a daily planner into one streamlined app. The solution offers powerful features including infinite canvas, presentation options, and the ability to embed rich media to your notes, so your colleagues can interact with content from YouTube, Figma, SoundCloud, and more.
Clover offers a free plan that supports up to three guests and 50MB uploads. Clover Pro plan starts at $6 per month with unlimited guests and 10GB monthly uploads.
24. Taskade
If you loved Evernote for the collaboration, you’ll get better mileage from Taskade. Taskade integrates ChatGPT everywhere you can enter text, and it takes a collaboration-first approach. The app is centered around projects, but each project is a modular document you can keep on adding on to. And when a project is open, everyone who’s in it, and online, can be seen from the top. It doesn’t do the Google Docs thing of showing you who’s editing what with live cursors, but the version history will help figure that out.
You’ll also find basic task management features here. It has a web clipper, but there’s no OCR support.
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Supercharge Your Researching Ability With Otio — Try Otio for Free Today
Otio is the next-generation tool designed to alleviate the content overload faced by knowledge workers, researchers, and students. This platform offers a seamless solution to the problem of fragmented, complex, and manual tooling that plagues modern workflows, providing a singular AI-native workspace for researchers. Otio aids in the collection of diverse data sources—ranging from bookmarks and tweets to extensive books and YouTube videos.
Streamlined Research Workflow
With Otio, researchers can efficiently glean key takeaways through AI-generated notes and source-grounded Q&A chat. Otio facilitates the drafting of outputs using the collected sources, streamlining the transition from reading list to first draft. One of the standout features of Otio is its AI-generated notes on all bookmarks, including YouTube videos, PDFs, and articles.
Enhancing Research Efficiency
Users can also engage in chat interactions with individual links or entire knowledge bases, akin to conversing with ChatGPT. Otio further assists researchers with AI-driven writing, offering support and enhancing the overall workflow. With Otio as your AI research and writing partner, you can experience a streamlined and efficient research process.
Take advantage of Otio's features today and elevate your research and writing endeavors to new heights.
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