Etherpad is a highly customizable Open Source online editor providing collaborative editing in really real-time.
Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source
Application types
Platforms
- Online
- Self-Hosted
- Sandstorm
- Cloudron

The best Note-taking alternative to Microsoft Word is Etherpad, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Microsoft Word and many of them are Note-taking Tools so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Note-taking Tool alternatives to Microsoft Word are Walling, Story Architect (STARC), Dropbox Paper and Quoll Writer.
Etherpad is a highly customizable Open Source online editor providing collaborative editing in really real-time.

Working on a project, researching a topic or writing an article? Walling makes it easy to break down your ideas, refine them and visually organize them.




A smooth yet powerful writing experience for devoted authors. With only wanted features and native workflow it runs faster than all your previous apps combined.




Dropbox Paper is more than a doc—it’s a workspace that brings creation and coordination together in one place.




Focus on your words not the interface. Quoll Writer is a writing application that helps you focus on your words. Clean and uncluttered. Feature rich. Features are where you would expect them to be.



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.




Integrates documents and notes for unified knowledge management, autolinks concepts, provides always-on search, public web sharing, real-time collaboration, drag & drop external files, unifies multiple tools for collective team workflows and efficient content creation.



Switch between typing and voice to take notes with ease, supporting 40 languages. Real-time transcription captures paragraphs and emoticons while ensuring clear punctuation. Pro upgrade offers cloud storage and multiple note management options.






Gingko Writer is a text editor that uses a tree-like structure to help you organize and visualize your thoughts, making it easier to outline, draft, and refine complex texts.



Lattics is an all-in one knowledge management tool. It offers most of the things in Obsidian, Scrivener and Zotero together.




Campfire provides a one-stop-shop for novelists: organizational and writing tools (Campfire Write), a hub of writing resources (Campfire Learn), & a writing and reading platform for building an audience and sharing your work (Campfire Explore).








It has a WYSIWYG editor similar to MS Word and its online.