Etherpad AlternativesTop Team Collaboration & Note-taking Tools like Etherpad

Etherpad is described as 'Highly customizable Open Source online editor providing collaborative editing in really real-time' and is a popular team collaboration tool in the office & productivity category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Etherpad for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, SaaS, Self-Hosted, Windows and Mac apps. The best Etherpad alternative is CryptPad, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Etherpad are Google Docs, Docs in Proton Drive, Foam and Nuclino.

Etherpad iconEtherpad
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Etherpad is a highly customizable Open Source online editor providing collaborative editing in really real-time.

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Etherpad alternatives page was last updated Feb 16, 2025
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  1. CryptPad icon
     158 likes
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    CryptPad is a private-by-design alternative to popular office tools and cloud services. All the content stored on CryptPad is encrypted before being sent, which means nobody can access your data unless you give them the keys.

    71 CryptPad alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Distraction-free
    3.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  Real time collaboration
    3.  Collaborative writing
    4.  No registration required
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Document Sharing
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Kanban Board
    9.  Encrypted Notes
    10.  Cloud Sync
    11.  Support for MarkDown
    12.  Works Offline

    CryptPad VS Etherpad

     
    Comments about CryptPad as an Alternative to Etherpad
    Guest
    Positive May 30, 2021
    0

    It is more comfortable to use, allows to import documents into your own CP (if you register) and has more bells (it is close to what users expect from online collab. editors).

    Etherpad Icon
    CryptPad icon
    • Almost everyone thinks CryptPad is a great Etherpad alternative.

    • CryptPad is the most popular SaaS & Self-Hosted alternative to Etherpad.

    • CryptPad is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Etherpad.

    • CryptPad is Freemium and Open SourceEtherpad is Free and Open Source
    • CryptPad is Privacy focusedEtherpad is not according to our users
  2. Google Docs icon
     949 likes
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    Powerful online word processor with real-time collaboration, document conversion from Word, extensive formatting options, revision history, and multilingual capabilities, all integrated within the Google Drive ecosystem, accessible through any internet-connected device.

    106 Google Docs alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Top Google Docs Features

    1.  Real time collaboration
    2.  Team Collaboration
    3.  Cloud based
    4.  Collaborative writing
    5.  Online Sharing
    6.  High Availability
    7. Office Online icon  Office Online integration
    8.  File Versioning
    9.  Works Offline
    10. Google Calendar icon  Sync with Google Calendar
    11. IFTTT icon  IFTTT Integration
    12.  Dark Mode

    Google Docs VS Etherpad

     
    Comments about Google Docs as an Alternative to Etherpad
    Guest
    Negative Sep 23, 2020
    1

    Key features of Etherpad are

    • pure text editor
    • open source
    • self hosted none of these apply to google docs
    Etherpad Icon
    Google Docs icon
    • Some users think Google Docs is a great Etherpad alternative, some don't.

    • Google Docs is the most popular Web-based, Android, iPhone, iPad & Android Tablet alternative to Etherpad.

    • Google Docs is Free and ProprietaryEtherpad is Free and Open Source
  3. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Docs in Proton Drive are end-to-end encrypted so your work stays safe from data breaches, online surveillance, and can never be fed into AI models.

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  End-to-End Encryption
    2.  No Tracking
    3.  Real time collaboration
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Cloud Sync
    6.  Online collaboration
    7.  Two-factor Authentication
    8.  Support for MarkDown
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Spell Checking
    11.  WYSIWYG Support

    Docs in Proton Drive VS Etherpad

     
    • Docs in Proton Drive is the most popular Windows & Mac alternative to Etherpad.

    • Docs in Proton Drive is Freemium and ProprietaryEtherpad is Free and Open Source
    • Docs in Proton Drive is Privacy focusedEtherpad is not according to our users
  4. Foam icon
     46 likes
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    Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

    238 Foam alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code

    Foam Features

    1.  Knowledge base
    2.  VSCode
    3.  Knowledge Management
    4.  Write files in markdown
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Support for MarkDown
    8.  Graph view

    Foam VS Etherpad

     
    Comments about Foam as an Alternative to Etherpad
    sjdkhgioweuhrg
    Negative Apr 28, 2022
    0

    Etherpad is collaborative editor. Foam is for personal knowledge management.

    Etherpad Icon
    Foam icon
    • Foam is Free and Open SourceEtherpad is also Free and Open Source
  5. Nuclino icon
     134 likes
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    Nuclino is a unified workspace where teams can bring all their knowledge, docs, and projects together in one place. It’s a modern, simple, and blazingly fast way to collaborate, without the chaos of files and folders, context switching, or silos.

    303 Nuclino alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • iPad

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Minimalistic

    Features

    1.  Real time collaboration
    2.  Mind Map view
    3.  Kanban Board
    4.  Support for MarkDown
    5.  WYSIWYG Support
    6.  Team Collaboration
    7.  Drag and Drop
    8.  Wiki-like interface
    9.  Infinite hierarchical depth
    10.  Custom fields
    11.  Internal linking
    12.  Hierarchical Structure

    Nuclino VS Etherpad

     
    • Nuclino is the most popular Linux alternative to Etherpad.

    • Nuclino is Freemium and ProprietaryEtherpad is Free and Open Source
    • Nuclino is Lightweight and MinimalisticEtherpad is not according to our users
  6. Walling icon
     42 likes
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    Working on a project, researching a topic or writing an article? Walling makes it easy to break down your ideas, refine them and visually organize them.

    269 Walling alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Walling Features

    1.  Real time collaboration
    2.  Kanban Board
    3.  Note organization
    4.  Online collaboration
    5.  Wiki
    6.  Notebook

    Walling VS Etherpad

     
  7. HedgeDoc icon
     25 likes
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    HedgeDoc (fcommunity-driven fork of CodiMD) is an open-source collaborative markdown editor. With HedgeDoc you can easily collaborate on notes, graphs and even presentations in real-time. All you need to do is to share your note-link to your co-workers, and they’re ready to go.

    29 HedgeDoc alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
    • Docker

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Real time collaboration
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Works Offline

    HedgeDoc VS Etherpad

     
  8. Nextcloud Notes icon
     25 likes
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    The Notes app is a distraction free notes taking app. It provides categories for better organization and supports formatting using Markdown syntax. Notes are saved as files in your Nextcloud, so you can view and edit them with every .

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Self-Hosted
    • F-Droid
    • iPhone
    • iPad

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for MarkDown
    2.  Cloud Sync
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Ad-free
    5. Nextcloud icon  Nextcloud integration

    Nextcloud Notes VS Etherpad

     
  9. HackMD icon
     38 likes
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    HackMD is a browser-based, real-time collaborative markdown editor. It was inspired by hackpad but focuses more on speed and flexibility.

    38 HackMD alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • TW flagTaiwan

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Heroku
    • Docker

    HackMD Features

    1.  Unlimited storage
    2.  Support for MarkDown
    3.  Real time collaboration
    4.  Cloud based
    5. Dropbox icon  Dropbox integration
    6. GitHub icon  GitHub Integration
    7.  Web-Based

    HackMD VS Etherpad

     
    Comments about HackMD as an Alternative to Etherpad
    andi_
    Positive Mar 11, 2018
    1

    Markdown support and live preview, but missing author colors

    Guest
    Positive Oct 16, 2019
    0

    It has Markdown support out of the box.

    Etherpad Icon
    HackMD icon
    • Almost everyone thinks HackMD is a great Etherpad alternative.

    • HackMD is Freemium and ProprietaryEtherpad is Free and Open Source
  10. Widget-Board icon
     22 likes
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    Widget Board is a productivity tool that lets you create custom boards with your favorite widgets such as tasks, notes, media, date & time, weather, calendar and so much more!.

    50 Widget-Board alternatives

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Google Chrome
    • Context Chrome Extension
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)

    Widget-Board Features

    1.  Brainstorming
    2.  Upload images
    3.  Widgets

    Widget-Board VS Etherpad

     
10 of 55 Etherpad alternatives