The Best Microsoft OneNote AlternativesTop Note-taking Tools & Todo List Managers like Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is described as 'Part of the Microsoft 365 (Office) , is a digital notebook application that gives people one place to gather notes and information. It also offers shared notebooks, syncing between multiple computers and devices via Windows' and is a leading Note-taking tool in the office & productivity category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Microsoft OneNote for a variety of platforms, including Android, Windows, Web-based, iPhone and Mac apps. The best Microsoft OneNote alternative is Obsidian. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try NoteLedge or sNotes – Students Notes. Other great apps like Microsoft OneNote are Joplin, Zim, Xournal++ and Notion.

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Microsoft OneNote 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 Microsoft OneNote.

Microsoft OneNote

1126

Note-taking Tool
Freemium • Proprietary

Microsoft OneNote, part of the Microsoft 365 (Office) , is a digital notebook application that gives people one place to gather notes and information. It also offers shared notebooks,...

More about Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote alternatives page was last updated Jul 22, 2024

monday.com

License model

Freemium • Proprietary

Application types

Platforms

Mac
Windows
Online
Android
iPhone
iPad

Obsidian
Obsidian is a note-taking app that lets you create a personal knowledge graph with ease. It is designed for non-linear thinking and allows you to easily link your notes together wiki-style.
83 Obsidian alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
+4
Top Obsidian Features
1. Support for MarkDown
2. Local Storage
3. Works Offline
4. Graph view
5. Bidirectional links
6. Mind Mapping
7. Personal Information Manager (PIM)
8. No registration required
9. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
10. Knowledge Management
11. Backlink
12. Dark Mode
Show all NaN Obsidian features ▾
Obsidian VS Microsoft OneNote
Is Obsidian a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
- Almost everyone thinks Obsidian is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- Obsidian is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- Obsidian is the most popular free alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- Obsidian is Free Personal and ProprietaryMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary

NoteLedge
Capture inspiration from Pinterest, YouTube or web pages, organize ideas in one place and add your notes. Make mood boards or quick sketches to visualize and present ideas!.
31 NoteLedge alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
+5
Top NoteLedge Features
1. Audio Recording
2. Drag and Drop
3. Web Clipper
4. Sync on many devices
5. Handwritten Notes
6. Multi-choice brushes
7. Portable
8. Video Import
9. Cloud Sync
10. Tag based
11. Better formatting
12. Stickers
Show all NaN NoteLedge features ▾
NoteLedge VS Microsoft OneNote
Is NoteLedge a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about NoteLedge as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

Harry Ryan
With this app you can organize everything including your daily activity or special event.
Positive comment •Jun 19, 2019
-1
- Almost everyone thinks NoteLedge is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- NoteLedge is Freemium and ProprietaryMicrosoft OneNote is also Freemium and Proprietary

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sNotes – Students Notes
Students Notes is a note-taking app designed for online learners to overcome information overload, organization, and memorization challenges.
32 sNotes – Students Notes alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application type
- Note-taking Tool
Platforms
- Online
Top sNotes – Students Notes Features
1. Knowledge base
2. Note organization
3. Hierarchical Structure
4. Handwritten Notes
5. No registration required
6. Works Offline
7. No Tracking
8. Full-Text Search
9. Ad-free
10. Privacy focused
11. Lightweight
Show all NaN sNotes – Students Notes features ▾
sNotes – Students Notes VS Microsoft OneNote
Is this a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about sNotes – Students Notes as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

dida_james
The ability to organize knowledge with snotes and easily save snotes files for later access and review significantly enhances its usability. This makes snotes a strong competitor to OneNote.
Positive comment •Mar 26, 2024
4
ceka-feyam
A Real alternative to OneNote, especially for study purposes.
Positive comment •Mar 6, 2024
2
- Almost everyone thinks sNotes – Students Notes is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- sNotes – Students Notes is the most popular Web-based alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- sNotes – Students Notes is Free and ProprietaryMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary
- sNotes – Students Notes is Privacy focused and LightweightMicrosoft OneNote is not according to our users

Joplin
Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, can be copied, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor.
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 Microsoft OneNote
Is Joplin a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about Joplin as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

dasonic
Same structure as Onenote, supports images, looks modern.

Doesn't have all the same features (like drawing on the screen) but also has its own unique features Onenote doesn't have.

Also runs on Linux, which is the biggest plus for me.
Top positive comment •Mar 7, 2020
13
Guest
pretty and very clear user interface
Top positive comment •Apr 1, 2019
11
Martin Ligabue
it doesn't have pen input support
Top negative comment •Oct 15, 2021
6
Nuncio Bitis
it doesn't do diagrams, and the plain text files it creates are given obscure names so you can't find them.
Negative comment •Jul 17, 2024
0
ThunderFox
Onenote allows you to write or draw wherever you want on the screen while Joplin is limited. It makes sense, as Joplin stores everything in plain markdown documents, but it's something severely lacking in all of the Onenote alternatives I've seen.
Negative comment •Sep 29, 2022
1
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5 of 13 comments
- Most users think Joplin is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- Joplin is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- Joplin is the most popular Open Source alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- Joplin is Freemium and Open SourceMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary
- Joplin is Privacy focusedMicrosoft OneNote is not according to our users

Zim
Zim brings the concept of a wiki to your desktop. Store information, link pages and edit with WYSISYG markup or directly typing some lightweight markup syntax and see it previewed as-you-type. Creating a new page is easy by either clicking on the "Create new note"...
287 Zim alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- Flatpak
+1
Top Zim Features
1. Works Offline
2. Plain text file
3. Wiki-like interface
4. Hierarchical Structure
5. Cross-Platform
6. WYSIWYG Support
7. Portable
8. Ad-free
9. Full-Text Search
10. Dark Mode
11. Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
12. Spell Checking
Show all NaN Zim features ▾
Zim VS Microsoft OneNote
Is Zim a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about Zim as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

LordMax
Wonderful. Every file is a .txt file, so you're in total control.
Top positive comment •May 6, 2018
18
axcqhsbsadoukciozt
You are better of using a cellulose notepad rather than OneNote which siphons all your data unencrypted to "the cloud"
Top positive comment •Jul 3, 2023
0
Guest
Zim is more like simplenote, or a desktop wiki. It is missing most of the functionality of onenote.
Top negative comment •Sep 28, 2018
19
k71
It´s like Windows Notepad, but you can make trees of notes (subnotes), it´s easy, quick, and recognize links to show them as links. Not synchronized between devices. Local, No stored in the web. No password needed.

I like it, but stop using it as I started using OneNote for almost everything.

Apps I´ve tried and in order of preference: onenote, cinta notes, evernote, zim, standard notes, Simple notes, turtl, joplin, elephant.
Positive comment •Sep 24, 2022
0
RemovedUser
I like Zim as it stores information in an open source and flat file format directly using the computer file system. So you can the software as a kind of file explorer with the difference that you have a note associated with each folder of your computer. From my point of view, it is really structuring my numeric environment. After discovering it, I would not return to OneNote and other kinds of note taking apps I tried.
Positive comment •Mar 24, 2021
0
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5 of 11 comments
- Most users think Zim is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- Zim is Free and Open SourceMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary

Xournal++
Xournal++ (a fork of Xournal) is a handwriting Notetaking software with PDF annotation support. Written in C++ with platform independent GTK, supporting Linux, e.g. Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, Suse, macOS and Windows 10. Supports Pen input like Wacom Tablets.
48 Xournal++ alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Digital Painting Tool
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
+1
Top Xournal++ Features
1. Handwritten Notes
2. PDF annotation
3. Support for styluses
4. Handwriting
5. Export to PDF
6. Works Offline
7. LaTeX Math
8. Pen Support
9. Pressure Sensitivity
10. Multi layer drawing
11. Freehand Writing
12. Audio with notes
Show all NaN Xournal++ features ▾
Xournal++ VS Microsoft OneNote
Is Xournal++ a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about Xournal++ as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

violoncello
With Xournal++ you own your notes and can save them wherever you want - you are not forced to store them somewhere in the cloud as it's the case with OneNote
Top positive comment •Dec 31, 2020
2
Guest
Nearly similar interface. Lightweight, open source with latex support and voice notes. Flexible layout which was missing in xournal.
Top positive comment •Aug 26, 2021
1
Guest
In the version available for Chromebooks, the option for typed text is not working.
Top negative comment •May 19, 2022
0
BachoSeven
Cross-platform and well supporting stylus pens, Xournalpp implements most if not all funcionalities of OneNote, including recording audio alongside pen strokes. Plus, it's free and open source!
Positive comment •Nov 2, 2020
1
komp12321
It is full open source, Supports handwriting (stylus) Allows to create annotations on PDF-s (OneNote doesn't)
Positive comment •Jun 13, 2020
1
Show more comments
5 of 7 comments
- Almost everyone thinks Xournal++ is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- Xournal++ is Free and Open SourceMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary

Notion
Notion is a versatile tool that streamlines collaboration and organization within teams. It is similar to Google Docs, allowing team members to access and contribute to content in real-time.
85 Notion alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Application types
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
+9
Top Notion Features
1. Database Management Tool
2. Support for MarkDown
3. Wiki
4. Custom templates
5. Team Collaboration
6. Visual bookmarks
7. Relational Database
8. Knowledge Base structuring
9. Data export/import
10. Project Management
11. Kanban Board
12. Real time collaboration
Show all NaN Notion features ▾
Notion VS Microsoft OneNote
Is Notion a good alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Comments about Notion as an Alternative to Microsoft OneNote

raphaelaguiar
Better visualization and flexible organization. Keeps your information in a multi-hierarchical wiki, not in notes,
Top positive comment •Jul 28, 2017
3
Leo T
Notion is better for vizualisation and is free, but the huge drawback is the desktop application. It is an embedded browser (Chrome actually), so its RAM and CPU usages are far behind OneNote : around 1% CPU average for Notion, vs OneNote with 0% average ; 300Mb RAM usage, vs 60Mb for OneNote. This impacts directly user experience and battery life, and also loading times. OneNote is loading quasi instantly, and Notion is taking 5s to load.
Top positive comment •Sep 23, 2022
0
Guest
Biggest feature of Onenote is drawing & typing everywhere, which Notion doesn't support. Notion is good to store highly structured data, while Onenote is more like a digital paper.
Top negative comment •Mar 25, 2020
9
rongmu
Notion is aesthetic, powerful and highly flexible. You can mix different types of contents within one page. Markdown formatting for texts. Sub-pages for wiki-like or hierarchical organization. Databases for a of lot data; a database comes with multiple possible views and you can choose the one that best suits your data.
Positive comment •Jul 15, 2019
-1
Guest
infinite nesting, cross platform, powerful edting and embed tools
Positive comment •Jul 5, 2019
0
- Almost everyone thinks Notion is a great Microsoft OneNote alternative.
- Notion is the most popular SaaS alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- Notion is Free Personal and ProprietaryMicrosoft OneNote is Freemium and Proprietary