Free Microsoft OneNote Alternatives
The best free alternative to Microsoft OneNote is Obsidian. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Joplin or NoteLedge. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Microsoft OneNote and many of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Microsoft OneNote are Standard Notes, Evernote, Xournal++ and Zettlr.
Microsoft OneNote alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools but may also be Todo List Managers or Task Management Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Microsoft OneNote.Obsidian
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Project Management Tool
32 Obsidian alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
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.
- - Obsidian is the most popular Windows, Android, Mac & iPhone alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- - Obsidian is the most popular free alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
Obsidian Features
Opinions about Obsidian as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
Joplin
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
22 Joplin alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Cloudron
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Termux
- Firefox
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.
- - Joplin is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
- - Joplin is the most popular Open Source alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
Joplin Features
Comments about Joplin as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
dasonicSame 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.
13pretty and very clear user interface
11Martin Ligabueit doesn't have pen input support
5ThunderFoxOnenote 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.
1thepisuIt's simple enough when you need to write small notes or to-do quickly, with a clean interface, but it's also powerful with cloud sync, cross platform (Linux included), and support formatting, images and attachments.
1NoteLedge
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
12 NoteLedge alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- iPad
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!.
NoteLedge Features
Comments about NoteLedge as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
Harry RyanWith this app you can organize everything including your daily activity or special event.
-1Standard Notes
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
29 Standard Notes alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- F-Droid
Standard Notes is a simple and private notes app. It allows you to write and sync your notes across all your devices, iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, MacOS, and web browser.
- - Standard Notes is the most popular Web-based alternative to Microsoft OneNote.
Standard Notes Features
Comments about Standard Notes as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
Encrypted, very lightweight and not owned by Microsoft.
0AnipeVery, VERY BASIC, its open source and free but its basic and the features it offers are paid compared to one note's free model
2k71Good for those options to store online or sync between devices. Devices: Windows app, web-browser, android app...
I prefer this one than SimpleNote, in any case, to share between devices nowadays i recommend telegram or protectedtext. For text, Onenote. I didnt like turtl, joplin or elephant.
0Don't have sections or pages, just notes.
0The free version is only plain text editing - can't even paste images or use bold and italics. There simply aren't enough features in the free one to determine whether I like it enough to pay for premium.
5Evernote
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
30 Evernote alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- Android Tablet
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Android Wear
- Kindle Fire
Evernote is a cross-platform, freemium app designed for note taking, organizing, and archiving.
Evernote Features
Comments about Evernote as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
Britly NovusEvernote is clunky, overwhelming, and slow. It has a lot of cool features that used to be relatively unique, but it's grown stagnant. Also the mobile version is pretty buggy.
6Easy to use, and easy to search.
-1The possibility of inserting sections is missing.
12k71I dont use it for writing text (much better OneNote), i just use it for saving webpages or text from webpages. I think it´s quite slow, and somehow i dont like that much. Also, I dont trust neither expect any privacy with Microsoft, but it´s the best option i have to store the webpages.
0frankzhangEvernote's handwriting is seriously lacking. Especially on the android platform.
1Xournal++
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Digital Painting Tool
42 Xournal++ alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- Self-Hosted
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.
Xournal++ Features
Comments about Xournal++ as a Alternative to Microsoft OneNote
Nearly similar interface. Lightweight, open source with latex support and voice notes. Flexible layout which was missing in xournal.
1violoncelloWith 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
2In the version available for Chromebooks, the option for typed text is not working.
0BachoSevenCross-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!
0komp12321It is full open source, Supports handwriting (stylus) Allows to create annotations on PDF-s (OneNote doesn't)
0Zettlr
Is this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
- File Organizer
144 Zettlr alternatives- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Zettlr is a one-stop publication workbench that combines many writing features and collects them in one application. It aims at speeding up your workflow and help you write without any interruptions.
Zettlr Features