Zim Alternatives
Zim is described as '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"' and is a very popular Note-taking tool in the education & reference category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Zim for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, Android and iPhone. The best alternative is Obsidian. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Joplin or NoteLedge. Other great apps like Zim are Notion, Standard Notes, Microsoft OneNote and Google Keep.
Zim 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 Zim.Obsidian
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
167 alternatives to Obsidian- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Snapcraft
- Flathub
Powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.
Obsidian Features
Obsidian vs Zim opinions
mbartoliProprietary, meaning: Do you ultimately trust the vendor with your (potentially) most personal information. If not, stick with Zim.
0Joplin
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
590 alternatives to Joplin- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Self-Hosted
- AppImageHub
- Snapcraft
- Google Chrome
- Flathub
- Homebrew
- Chocolatey
- Termux
- Firefox
- Cloudron
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 Features
Joplin vs Zim opinions
mbartoliSadly, Joplin's Notes are proprietary: You cannot easily access your files with a third party tool (like a text editor). Zim (and other tools) keep your files readable and writeable in plaintext.
0LordMaxIT's not so similar to Zim Desktop, it's really near to evernote/nixnote It can be a good replacement too
1andgregorikJoplin caters to a somewhat different user base: more simplistic, quicker, requires way less IT/wiki savvy just to operate daily. It also has pitch perfect syncing which is not Zim's cup of tea. Still, the moving parts are similar, and it can work as an alternative.
2Notion
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free Personal • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
428 alternatives to Notion- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
With so many tools, it's hard to keep everyone on the same page. Notion is a new tool that unifies them all.
Notion Features
Notion vs Zim opinions
Android Client, Markdown, Built-in trello-like board
0dimaneiaglovNotion is also a wiki and also cross-platform in the sense that it is a web application. It has some features that Zim doesn't, e.g. multi-column layouts.
1NoteLedge
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
- Task Management Tool
361 alternatives to NoteLedge- 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
NoteLedge vs Zim opinions
durhambellAs soulrain already said, Zim is a wiki/PIM. Noteledge is a notebook/PIM. They are not the same thing at all.
0soulrainZim is a wiki; noteledge, while complex, is unsuited for a wiki.
1Standard Notes
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
466 alternatives to Standard Notes- 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 Features
Standard Notes vs Zim opinions
soulrainZim is a wiki-type encyclopedia software. Standard notes is just a basic notes app.
1Microsoft OneNote
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Freemium • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
469 alternatives to Microsoft OneNote- Mac
- Windows
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Windows S
- Windows Phone
- iPad
- Apple Watch
- Android Wear
- Kindle Fire
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, syncing between multiple computers and devices via Windows...
Microsoft OneNote Features
Microsoft OneNote vs Zim opinions
mbartoliMore functional and user-friendly than Zim. However: Privacy. Ask yourself if you trust Microsoft with your data. If yes, that's ok. Personally however, I'd recommend using open source, self-hosted alternatives like Zim.
0LesterCovaxSync'd across OneDrive, has web, desktop, and mobile clients. There are certainly alternatives, but it gets the job done while enabling a good degree of logical organization.
2It supports both internal and external links and has good structure. It's also WYSIWYG.
3Google Keep
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Proprietary
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
330 alternatives to Google Keep- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Chrome OS
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- Android Wear
Google Keep has several features including color coding notes, inserting images, creating lists, geo-fencing, shareable notes, and search by color.
Google Keep Features
Google Keep vs Zim opinions
mbartoliLess useful than OneNote yet also proprietary. If you want good features, use the former. If you value privacy, use Zim, any markdown editor or any word processor in general in conjunction with Nextcloud.
0Not really an alternative. Zim is both a note taking appa AND note organizer
9Zettlr
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Text Editor
140 alternatives to Zettlr- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Zettlr is a supercharged markdown editor that combines many writing editor features and collect them in one application. It aims at speeding up your workflow and help you write without any interruptions.
Zettlr Features
Zettlr vs Zim opinions
mbartoliNative markdown editor. My new choice after retiring Zim. Good features, even clunkier interface than Zim, yet easy to learn and master.
0Simplenote
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
400 alternatives to Simplenote- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
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.
Simplenote Features
Simplenote vs Zim opinions
JohnFastmanSimplenote is much less functional than Zim (no rich-text, no attachment to notes) and although it does work on mobile, it syncs your data via web-facing servers on which your info is held unencrypted. In that respect your information is much more vulnerable to hackers and govt agencies than if you used Zim, stored the data locally and maybe - if you need - sync it with an end-to-end encrypted service like Spideroak, Tresorit or Seafile (Seafile encrypts file content, not metadata).
24Free and free of problems. Just simple.
-8CherryTree
Do you think this is a good alternative?YesNo- Free • Open Source
- Note-taking Tool
- Todo List Manager
499 alternatives to CherryTree- Windows
- Linux
- PortableApps.com
- Mac
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
CherryTree Features
CherryTree vs Zim opinions
JohnFastmanIf Zim isn't to your liking, CherryTree might be: open-source, stores data locally, supports instant search, interprets code blocks, and has more text editing features. The only thing it's not good at (yet) is attaching things by drag-n-drop. But that is in development, I hear.
10bekircelikwysiwyg , bug free, easy-to use and versatile interface, encrypted and un-encrypted mode, can import/export data from/to zim keynote html etc . Code box with syntax highlighting feature is nice. Also can import files image etc . Strictly hierarchical. More likely an outlining software.
1