Cost / License
- Free
- Open Source (MIT)
Application types
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Flathub




Zettlr is described as 'Comprehensive writing tool for notes, citations, and drafting with privacy-first features and multi-language support, perfect for diverse writing tasks' and is a very popular Note-taking tool in the office & productivity category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Zettlr for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, Web-based and iPhone apps. The best Zettlr alternative is Obsidian, which is free. Other great apps like Zettlr are Joplin, Logseq, Notesnook and AppFlowy.




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.




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.




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.




Mark Text is better than almost every other Markdown editor out there because it runs on all major platforms but mostly because it is a true single-pane WYSIWYG editor. No two-panes. You edit directly in your preview text.


Lightweight, self-hosted app for managing personal checklists and notes with drag and drop, progress bars, Kanban boards, Markdown WYSIWYG editor, file-based data, user management, sharing options, themes, open source, and API access.




DeepNotes is an open source, end-to-end encrypted visual note-taking app with deep page navigation and live collaboration. Create mind maps, diagrams, kanban boards, among others. Infinite nesting of infinite canvases.




Tailored for extensive writing, this tool offers flexible structure and organization, integrates project outlines, supports various formats, and allows reorganization through drag and drop, ensuring research materials are within reach for efficient work.




Workspace fusing browsing, file management, and AI with local-first data; offers note-taking, applet creation, offline media storage, YouTube and PDF interaction, customizable AI-powered notes, citation tools, split views, sidebar navigation, and privacy features.




Reor is an AI-powered desktop note-taking app: it automatically links related ideas, answers questions on your notes and provides semantic search. Everything is stored locally and you can edit your notes with an Obsidian-like markdown editor.

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.



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

It utilises the full power of VSCode and is overall more pleasant to use


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




Too barebones for my taste. Makes it harder to have a nested notes structure (aka personal wiki). No folder pane, no table of contents. Might however be a useful option for single notes or distraction-free "just write" cases.