The Best Open Source iA Writer AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Text Editors like iA Writer

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   Joplin

    913 likes

   Open source app for managing notes and to-dos with Markdown support. Syncs seamlessly across devices using services like Dropbox and OneDrive. Offers end-to-end encrypted synchronicity, offline access, rich import/export options, and a Web Clipper for browsers.

   150 Joplin alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Freemium
   • Open Source

   Application types

   • Note-taking
   • Todo List Manager

   Origin

   • France
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Online
   • Android
   • iPhone
   • Android Tablet
   • iPad
   • Self-Hosted
   • AppImageHub
   • Snapcraft
   • Google Chrome
   • Flathub
   • PortableApps.com
   • F-Droid
   • Cloudron
   • Homebrew
   • Chocolatey
   • Termux
   • Mozilla Firefox

   

   

   

   +7

   

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   Joplin vs iA Writer Comments

    

   diver_down

   Positive comment•Mar 3, 2020

   0

   FOSS and (most importantly!) works on ALL platforms. Ubuntu, Manjaro, iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS... it will sync effortless between them. Oh, and it's also E2EE which is mandatory for good security practices as far as I'm concerned. Thanks L.C. <3

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   

   

   • Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
   • Joplin is Minimalistic and DecentralizediA Writer is not according to our users
2. 

   

   Zettlr

    259 likes

   Unified writing platform offering note-taking, easy citations with Zotero integration, LaTeX/Word templates, snippets, themes, dark modes, code highlighting, multi-language support, and knowledge management with Zettelkasten for seamless writing from notes to books.

   206 Zettlr alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Note-taking
   • Text Editor

   Origin

   • Germany
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Flathub
   • PortableApps.com

   

   

   

   +5

   

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   Guest

   Negative comment•Sep 18, 2020

   1

   iA Writer is for writing longer texts. Zettlr is for note taking.

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   

   

   • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
4. 

   

   Simplenote

    607 likes

   Cloud-based, open-source note-taking app supporting plain text notes, lists, and ideas with real-time sync, multi-device support, version history, markdown, tagging, collaborative editing, no ads, and free registration required for all cloud features.

   149 Simplenote alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application types

   • Note-taking
   • Todo List Manager

   Origin

   • United States

   Alerts

   • Discontinued

   Platforms

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

   

   

   

   +3

   

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5. Ad

   

   

   Daino Notes

   Offers fast, distraction-free note-taking via a high-performance editor with real-time Markdown, local-first storage, image support, Kanban task boards, intuitive drag-and-drop, keyboard shortcuts, configurable themes, fast searc...

   https://www.get-notes.com

   Learn More
6. 

   

   ghostwriter

    114 likes

   ghostwriter is a feature-rich text editor using Markdown syntax which makes it suitable for note-taking, document redaction, simple HTML website creation and much more.

   144 ghostwriter alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application types

   • Text Editor
   • Note-taking

   Origin

   • Germany
   • EU

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux
   • Snapcraft
   • Flathub
   • Haiku

   

   

   

   +1

   

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   NA0341

   Positive comment•Nov 22, 2023

   0

   Fast, lean, open source, many useful features, well integrated with different Markdown parsers - Hemmingway mode. Although for anything beyond just writing I'd suggest something more advanced - like Obsidian.

   

   

   • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
7. 

   

   FocusWriter

    213 likes

   Simple but configurable and themeable, distraction-free text editor for writers. Open-source and available across desktop platforms.

   103 FocusWriter alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application type

   • Text Editor

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Windows
   • Linux
   • PortableApps.com

   

   

   

   +7

   

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8. 

   

   MarkText

    121 likes

   Open-source Markdown editor on Mac, Windows, and Linux offering real-time preview, clean interface, and various themes. Supports math expressions, exports HTML/PDF, allows image pasting, and more.

   116 MarkText alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application types

   • Note-taking
   • Text Editor

   Origin

   • Singapore

   Platforms

   • Mac
   • Windows
   • Linux

   

   

   

   +4

   

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   Guest

   Positive comment•May 19, 2020

   1

   Interface is great, and you can edit the font from the preferences.

   Review by a new / low-activity user.

   

   

   • MarkText is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
10. 

    

    QOwnNotes

     100 likes

    Plain text notepad with markdown support and todo list manager for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, that works together with the notes application of ownCloud.

    294 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

    Application types

    • Note-taking
    • Todo List Manager

    Origin

    • Austria
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt

    

    

    

    +3

    

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11. 

    

    Marknote

     27 likes

    Marknote lets you create rich text notes and easily organise them into notebooks. You can personalise your notebooks by choosing an icon and accent color for each one, making it easy to distinguish between them and keep your notes at your fingertips.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

    Application type

    • Note-taking

    Origin

    • Germany
    • EU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft

    

    

    

    +1

    

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12. 

    

    HelixNotes

     14 likes

    HelixNotes is a local markdown note-taking app built with Rust, Tauri 2.0, and SvelteKit. Your notes are standard .md files on your filesystem - sync with whatever you want or nothing at all.

    118 HelixNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (AGPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Note-taking

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android

    

    

    

    +1

    

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13. 

    

    Foam

     53 likes

    Foam is a personal knowledge management and sharing system inspired by Roam Research, built on Visual Studio Code and GitHub.

    258 Foam alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    • Note-taking

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code

    

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14. 

    

    Ferrite

     11 likes

    Fast, native text editor supporting Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML with live preview, syntax highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, CSV/TSV viewing, collapsible trees, Git integration, regex find/replace, customizable themes, zen mode, and multi-language support.

    56 Ferrite alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    • Text Editor

    Origin

    • Norway

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak

    

    

    

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15. 

    

    Dendron

     71 likes

    Dendron is an open-source, local-first, markdown-based, note-taking tool built on top of VSCode. It supports all the usual features you would expect like tagging, backlinks, a graph view, split panes, and so forth.

    222 Dendron alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (Apache-2.0)

    Application type

    • Note-taking

    Origin

    • International

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code

    

    

    

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