Open Source Zim Alternatives
The best open source alternative to Zim is Joplin. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try Standard Notes or CherryTree. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Zim and loads of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Zim are Simplenote, Zettlr, TiddlyWiki and Turtl.
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.- Free Personal • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Google Chrome
- 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 vs Zim opinions
LordMaxIT's not so similar to Zim Desktop, it's really near to evernote/nixnote It can be a good replacement too
andgregorikJoplin 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.
- Freemium • Open Source
- 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, including your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web browser.
Standard Notes vs Zim opinions
soulrainZim is a wiki-type encyclopedia software. Standard notes is just a basic notes app.
A hierarchical note taking application, featuring rich text and syntax highlighting, storing data in a single xml or sqlite file.
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.
bekircelikwysiwyg , 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.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- Kindle Fire
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 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).
Free and free of problems. Just simple.
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.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- BSD
- Self-Hosted
- Xfce
- RemoteStorage
TiddlyWiki is a single html file with all the characteristics of a wiki - including all of the functionality (including editing, saving, tagging and searching) and the style sheet.
TiddlyWiki vs Zim opinions
The single html file of TW is unbelievably simple and platform agnostic. File can be opened in any browser. There TW will open, edit, etc. Works just as well on a phone. File can be hosted/sync'd on DropBox or similar so you don't even need to download/upload (in the usual sense). Very smooth interface to boot. Robust support community constantly adding plugins.
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
Whether it's bookmarks or passwords, files or shopping lists...Turtl organizes it all and makes it easy to find later. Sync across your devices. Leave nothing behind.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Cloudron
- Firefox
Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note taking application.
- Freemium • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Android Tablet
- Self-Hosted
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
TagSpaces is an offline, open source, document manager with tagging support.
Text editor - Notes, ToDo & Bookmarks. Markdown and todo.txt support.