The Best Open Source Evernote AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Todo List Managers like Evernote

The best open source alternative to Evernote is Joplin. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Evernote and 17 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Evernote are Standard Notes, Simplenote, Turtl and Logseq.

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Evernote alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Evernote.

Evernote

2472

Note-taking Tool
Freemium • Proprietary

Evernote is a cross-platform, freemium app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving.

More about Evernote

Evernote alternatives page was last updated Aug 29, 2024

Joplin
Joplin is an open source note-taking alternative to Evernote that is also available on most mainstream platforms. Unlike Evernote, Joplin is an offline first and client-side encrypted app. On top of no upload limit, it can also import notes from Evernote and other note-taking services. These advantages and t...
60 Joplin alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Cloudron
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Termux
- Mozilla Firefox
+3
Top Joplin Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Cloud Sync
3. End-to-End Encryption
4. Privacy focused
5. Web Clipper
6. Works Offline
7. Local Storage
8. Android Sync
9. Tagging
10. Ad-free
11. File Sync
12. Encrypted Notes
Show all NaN Joplin features ▾
Joplin VS Evernote
Is Joplin a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about Joplin as an Alternative to Evernote
frankmcc
Synchronizes between Windows, Linux and Android. I keep all of my notes here. Markdown is easy to learn. There are browser extensions to allow clipping notes from the web. Supports images, documents and links. Best all around notes app ever!
Top positive comment •Jan 29, 2020
3
Guest
PRO:

markdown ?

let you encrypt your notes

save them on your computer(backup with thirdparty backupsoftware)

free, Open Source

crossplatform

CON:

no OCR

Top positive comment •Jul 29, 2018
13
mandrael
Joplin is a quite okay alternative to Evernote, but it has its issues. 1) the mobile sync doesn't work in the background, so it doesn't work sufficiently. Issue on Android and iOS. It only syncs if you watch it. No background-sync (!!). 2) It's not WYSIWYG and you can't do several common things you can do with Evernote or Nimbus. Joplin has to improve in sync and user-friendlyness. Then it can really compete. But: it has the best Evernote import feature on the market. This worked flawlessly!
Top negative comment •May 24, 2022
3
Eduardo3382
There is a large community behind this app that can assist you if you find some problem.
Positive comment •May 13, 2022
0
RemovedUser
It's not WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) as Evernote. You need to learn Markdown.
Negative comment •May 3, 2022
2
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5 of 25 comments
- Most users think Joplin is a great Evernote alternative.
- Joplin is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Evernote.
- Joplin is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Evernote.
- Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary
- Joplin is Privacy focusedEvernote is not according to our users

Standard Notes
Though Standard Notes only supports text entry out of the box, it has its own advantages compared to Evernote. Its features can also be expanded with extensions. It's end-to-end encrypted, open source (but freemium), and has no device limit. It can synchronize your notes to as many supported devices as you w...
65 Standard Notes alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
+4
Top Standard Notes Features
1. End-to-End Encryption
2. Privacy focused
3. Cloud Sync
4. Encrypted Notes
5. Support for MarkDown
6. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
7. Clean design
8. Works Offline
9. Encrypted Backup
10. AES Encryption
11. Security focused
12. Sync on many devices
Show all NaN Standard Notes features ▾
Standard Notes VS Evernote
Is Standard Notes a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about Standard Notes as an Alternative to Evernote

RemovedUser
Standard Notes is the service that I can trust to not share and read my notes.
Top positive comment •Aug 8, 2020
2
Ed Cook
A clean and simple, yet versatile and secure end-to-end encrypted notes app. There are multiple available extensions that allow for including images, building spreadsheets, and using markdown, among many other things.
Top positive comment •Dec 7, 2019
6
Guest
Does not support images or attachments, only text.
Top negative comment •May 5, 2018
14
a a
Not good as joplin because almost all features are paid
Positive comment •Mar 10, 2022
2
Guest
Standard Notes is a multiplatform application (Windows, Android, Linux), secure with perfect synchronization on several devices. Only problem: it is not multilingual.
Positive comment •Mar 23, 2019
2
Show more comments
5 of 12 comments
- Almost everyone thinks Standard Notes is a great Evernote alternative.
- Standard Notes is Freemium and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary
- Standard Notes is Privacy focused and Security focusedEvernote is not according to our users

Simplenote
As its name suggests, Simplenote is a simplified note-taking app for Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. It only supports text-based entry and doesn't really support media clipping or any of the more advanced or elaborate features found in other Evernote alternatives. However, for text-based no...
54 Simplenote alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
+3
Top Simplenote Features
1. Cross-device syncing
2. Support for MarkDown
3. Search by tags
4. Clean design
5. Simple text editor
6. Dark Mode
7. Full-Text Search
8. Portable
9. Works Offline
10. No Tracking
11. Ad-free
12. Lightweight
Show all NaN Simplenote features ▾
Simplenote VS Evernote
Is Simplenote a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about Simplenote as an Alternative to Evernote

Guest
Very quick sync, responsive UI, works good across Windows, Linux and Android, although missing support for graphical notes and more text formatting options
Top positive comment •Nov 13, 2016
10
John Fastman
Simplenote is a cross-platform app that allows you to take simple (as the name implies) text-based notes and sync them across your devices. There is markdown support, but little else. It's Evernote with almost everything but the note taking feature taken out. If that appeals to you, it's great. Also, thumbs up for open source and Linux support!
Top positive comment •Dec 31, 2016
5
Guest
Not an archiver. Simplenote is for just that: simple markdown notes.
Top negative comment •Jun 15, 2017
22
pufeed
Simplenote is very literal in the name. It is as basic as you can get. Markdown notes. That's it.
Negative comment •Sep 2, 2021
1
luminousdragongames
The core features of evernote are about clipping information and saving it, note writing text notes. While it might be a good program it doesn't fit.
Negative comment •Nov 18, 2019
4
Show more comments
5 of 10 comments
- Most users think Simplenote is a great Evernote alternative.
- Simplenote is Free and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary
- Simplenote is LightweightEvernote is not according to our users

Turtl
Turtl is open source and encrypted end-to-end, so it's desirable as an Evernote alternative from a privacy standpoint. However, its development has ceased since 2019. It also lacks some of the more intricate features of Evernote and some of its highest rated alternatives, such as the ability to import notes ...
154 Turtl alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
+1
Top Turtl Features
1. Encrypted Notes
2. End-to-End Encryption
3. Support for MarkDown
4. Sync on many devices
5. Cloud Sync
6. Data portability
7. Real time collaboration
8. Privacy focused
9. To do lists
10. Notebook
11. List management
12. Client side encryption
Show all NaN Turtl features ▾
Discontinued
The last update is from 2019.
Turtl VS Evernote
Is Turtl a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about Turtl as an Alternative to Evernote

Guest
Turtl stores your info encrypted, unlike Evernote. Much more private.
Top positive comment •Oct 26, 2016
10
John Fastman
Turtl is presently more of a bookmark sync utility than Evernote replacement. (For an open source Evernote replacement see TagSpaces). Unlike Evernote, Turtl is open source and use end-to-end encryption so that you can store simple notes and online bookmarks with full privacy, even from the Turtl developers. A browser plugin works together with the client to capture links. It's still being developed but already a good choice for cross-platform bookmark/note syncing.
Top positive comment •Dec 17, 2016
0
AnonAT
Windows versions do not work properly. There is very little documentation and a poor forum.
Top negative comment •Mar 28, 2017
6
Guest
Client-side AES encryption (private), open-source and free syncing. Markdown support, attachments, bookmarks, browser plugins and apps for Win, OsX, Linux and Android. Best used for simple notes, but it's infinitely better than, say Simplenote and much more private than Evernote.
Positive comment •Mar 18, 2017
1
kbabir
Turtl has a great potential to be a full alternative to evernote in the future. But that will take time, still waiting for import feature from other services like evernote,simplenote etc.
Positive comment •Feb 2, 2017
1
Show more comments
5 of 6 comments
- Most users think Turtl is a great Evernote alternative.
- Turtl is Freemium and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary
- Turtl is Privacy focusedEvernote is not according to our users

Logseq
Logseq is a platform for knowledge sharing and management. It focuses on privacy, longevity, and user control. Notice: the backend code will be open-sourced as soon as we’re sure that the backend service meets the security standards.
112 Logseq alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
Top Logseq Features
1. Bidirectional links
2. Graph view
3. Outliner
4. Backlinks
5. Local Storage
6. Knowledge base
7. Support for MarkDown
8. Knowledge Management
9. Works Offline
10. Note organization
11. Ad-free
12. Full-Text Search
Show all NaN Logseq features ▾
Logseq VS Evernote
Is Logseq a good alternative to Evernote?

CherryTree
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
61 CherryTree alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
+3
Top CherryTree Features
1. Hierarchical Structure
2. Tree structure
3. Infinite hierarchical depth
4. Includes images in notes
5. Outliner
6. Tree view
7. Text-manipulation
8. Tree Style Tabs
9. Syntax Highlighting
10. Support for MarkDown
11. Code Formatting
12. Portable
Show all NaN CherryTree features ▾
CherryTree VS Evernote
Is CherryTree a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about CherryTree as an Alternative to Evernote

RemovedUser
Rich text with images; Syntax highlighting (store codes); You can link notes; You can export notes as HTML (a web page), PDF, and others; Really customizable.
Positive comment •May 3, 2022
1
Guest
CherryTree is a great alternative, particularly if you're also looking for the notebook/wiki setup (think of it as a newer, less buggy Zim). SQLite storage, optional encryption, hierarchical node structure, syntax highlighting (for code documentation), customizable keyboard shortcuts, cross-platform, etc.
Positive comment •Oct 15, 2018
1
- Most users think CherryTree is a great Evernote alternative.
- CherryTree is Free and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary

TiddlyWiki
TiddlyWiki is a single html file with all the characteristics of a wiki - including all of the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching) and the style sheet. Because its a single file, its very portable - you can email it, put it on a web server or share...
153 TiddlyWiki alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
- Xfce
- RemoteStorage
Top TiddlyWiki Features
1. Customizable
2. Standalone
3. Cross page linking
4. Support for MarkDown
5. Wiki
6. Portable
7. Wiki-like interface
8. No registration required
9. Ad-free
10. Dark Mode
11. No Coding Required
12. WYSIWYG Support
Show all NaN TiddlyWiki features ▾
TiddlyWiki VS Evernote
Is TiddlyWiki a good alternative to Evernote?
Comments about TiddlyWiki as an Alternative to Evernote

Tarcilio Neto
Although the approach is different, it is an alternative for other platforms in regards to note-taking in which Evernote does not cover (self-hosting mostly).
Positive comment •Aug 5, 2016
0
- Most users think TiddlyWiki is a great Evernote alternative.
- TiddlyWiki is Free and Open SourceEvernote is Freemium and Proprietary
- TiddlyWiki is CustomizableEvernote is not according to our users