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

The best open source alternative to iA Writer is Joplin. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to iA Writer and many of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to iA Writer are Zettlr, Simplenote, ghostwriter and QOwnNotes.

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Alternatives list

  1. Joplin icon

    Joplin

     861 likes
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    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.

    103 Joplin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • AppImageHub
    • Snapcraft
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • F-Droid
    • Cloudron
    • Homebrew
    • Chocolatey
    • Termux
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • Online
    Desktop and mobile apps
     
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    1
    Comments about Joplin as an Alternative to iA Writer
    diver_down
    Positive
    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.
    iA Writer Icon
    Joplin icon

    • Most users think Joplin is a great iA Writer alternative.

    • Joplin is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & Mac alternative to iA Writer.

    • Joplin is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to iA Writer.

    • Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
    • Joplin is MinimalisticiA Writer is not according to our users
  2. Zettlr icon

    Zettlr

     242 likes
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    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.

    174 Zettlr alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Zettlr Main Window (dark mode)
     
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    1
    Comments about Zettlr as an Alternative to iA Writer
    Guest
    Negative
    1

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    iA Writer Icon
    Zettlr icon
    • Zettlr is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Simplenote icon

    Simplenote

     604 likes
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    Made by the company behind WordPress, Simplenote enables users to take notes, lists, and ideas. These notes are stored on the cloud and are accessible across multiple devices.

    107 Simplenote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    Simplenote screenshot 1
     
  5. ghostwriter icon

    ghostwriter

     109 likes
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    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.

    136 ghostwriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    ghostwriter screenshot 1
     
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    1
    8
    Comments about ghostwriter as an Alternative to iA Writer
    NA0341
    Positive
    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.

    iA Writer Icon
    ghostwriter icon

    • Almost everyone thinks ghostwriter is a great iA Writer alternative.

    • ghostwriter is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  6. QOwnNotes icon

    QOwnNotes

     96 likes
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    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.

    259 QOwnNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Qt
    QOwnNotes main screen
     
  7. FocusWriter icon

    FocusWriter

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

    98 FocusWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    FocusWriter screenshot 1
     
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    18
  9. Mark Text icon

    Mark Text

     119 likes
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    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.

    103 Mark Text alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    GitHub Flavored Markdown
     
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    1
    Comments about Mark Text as an Alternative to iA Writer
    Guest
    Positive
    1

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    iA Writer Icon
    Mark Text icon
    • Mark Text is Free and Open SourceiA Writer is Paid and Proprietary
  10. Dendron icon

    Dendron

     71 likes
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    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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Visual Studio Code
    Dendron screenshot 1
     
  11. Foam icon

    Foam

     52 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.

    247 Foam alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Self-Hosted
    • Visual Studio Code
    Foam screenshot 1
     
  12. Marknote icon

    Marknote

     22 likes
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    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.

    97 Marknote alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    Marknote screenshot 1
     
  13. novelWriter icon

    novelWriter

     24 likes
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    novelWriter is a Markdown-like text editor designed for writing novels and larger projects of many smaller plain text documents. It uses its own flavor of Markdown that supports a meta data syntax for comments, synopsis and cross-referencing between files.

    61 novelWriter alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Qt
    Screenshot of older version
     
  14. Daino Notes icon

    Daino Notes

     8 likes
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    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 search, and cross-platform access.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Subscription)
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Daino Notes screenshot 1
     
12 of 39 iA Writer alternatives