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Best Evernote Alternatives for 2023

Launched 2008
168 features catalogued in the NoteApps database
$0 Basic. $7.99/month or $69.99 yearly- Personal. $9.99/month or $99.99 yearly- Professional. $14.99/month - Teams
Last new feature added January 2023

It's easy to forget, but less than 10 years ago Evernote reigned supreme among note taking apps. When it launched in 2008, its dizzying array of features set a new standard. It was the first note taking app that allowed web page content to be clipped and automatically transformed into searchable text in one's notebook ✨. Its tagging system, the envy of Onenote users at the time, made it a cinch to switch between accessing notes across different contexts (e.g., work, personal, hobby). It forged partnerships with Moleskine and ScanSnap that created new realms of possibility for note takers.

However, as the existence of this site will attest, the note taking app space is a viciously competitive ecosystem. By 2018, employees were leaking to the media that Evernote was in a death spiral. It went on to lose most of its executive team, while struggling to triage substandard mobile apps that regularly lost or duplicated note content when syncing between platforms. In 2020, Evernote sought to right the ship by dumping their legacy app and all the tech debt that had infested it over the past 12 years. As explained on their blog, "this update moves the app to a new codebase that's more stable and reliable, for fewer hang/crash errors." It was a risky move, to be sure, but as Google Trends makes clear, Evernote was out of options:

According to Google Trends, interest in Evernote fell 80% over the past five years

The jury is still out on whether this long shot reboot can survive a note taking ecosystem that has only grown more competitive with time. While Evernote maintains one of the longer feature lists among the contenders that NoteApps has catalogued, it's easy to see that the second and third-generation note taking apps have staked a big lead when it comes to providing the features that modern note takers are after.

The Can't-Go-Wrong Evernote Alternatives

For users who want a blend of Evernote's best features, our research highlights four apps that stand apart as favorite destinations for past Evernote users. Most of these apps have Evernote importers, as well as supporting most of Evernote's features.

Amplenote
Amplenote vs Evernote full comparison
200 features catalogued • Launched 2019

Better than Evernote

  • Most to-do list features among any note-taking app
  • Two-way task/calendar sync with Google/Outlook
  • Fastest app tested, even with thousands of notes

Room for Improvement

  • Fewer types of embedded content than Evernote
  • Fewer widget options on mobile
  • Limited text processing (e.g. no Font Size options)
Amplenote offers an Evernote Importer, and the richest set of to-do list features offered by any note-taking app. It's a great choice for those who need to work across all platforms with one of the fastest note-taking apps measured to date. It also offers the full set of 3rd generation note-taking app features, like backlinking, daily notes, and transcluded content previews.
Nimbus Note
Nimbus Note vs Evernote full comparison
171 features catalogued • Launched 2015

Better than Evernote

  • Very similar featureset to Evernote
  • Allows embedding Tweets/Youtube
  • Additional table features

Room for Improvement

  • Among slowest apps tested
  • Can't add attachments offline
  • No quick-open note search
Looking down the Evernote vs Nimbus Notes feature list, its striking to see how closely these two have aligned on features. The Evernote importer makes clear that past Evernote users are the primary audience that try out Nimbus Note. Its browser extension for web capture has been around almost as long as Evernote's, and has a comparable breadth of functionality.
Notion
Notion vs Evernote full comparison
185 features catalogued • Launched 2016

Better than Evernote

  • Rich table/database implementation
  • Gallery of templates to get started on projects quickly
  • Versatile collaboration/sharing tools

Room for Improvement

  • So-so mobile app ratings
  • Allows only limited Offline use
  • High barrier to entry to build out project
Notion grew to become the most successful note taking app between 2018-2020, largely by becoming a home for tired Evernote users. The features offered by Notion cover almost all of what Evernote offered, but some Notion users lament the lack of Offline Support, and load times that can become sluggish as a notebook grows.
Bear
Bear vs Evernote full comparison
119 features catalogued • Launched 2016

Better than Evernote

  • Award-winning simplicity & design
  • Great performance across platforms supported
  • Very affordable pricing (free-to-$1.50/month)

Room for Improvement

  • Only support Apple platforms
  • No table support
  • Fewer sharing features
When it launched in 2016, Bear was the first app to really give Evernote a run for its money. Heralded by the App Store for its simplicity & crisp design, it rocketed to popularity by 2018. It has a more limited set of features than Evernote, but the features it does implemented are beloved by Apple users.

🧐 Personalized Evernote alternative recommendations

Choose a platform and at least one feature group below. Results will be sorted by which note apps share the most features with Evernote, with precedence given to apps that offer a superset of the features you expect.

All Evernote Alternative Note Apps Analyzed

As of February 2023, NoteApps.info has indexed 31 note taking apps across 281 features in 17 feature domains. We prioritize new note apps and features to analyze based on the votes of our community. This lets us provide you a data-backed take on which note apps will best suit your individual tastes.

Amplenote
Launched 2019
Apple Notes
Launched 2011
Asana
Launched 2012
Bear
Launched 2016
Bundled Notes
Launched 2020
ClickUp
Launched 2017
Coda
Launched 2014
Craft
Launched 2019
GoodNotes
Launched 2011
Google Keep
Launched 2013
Joplin
Launched 2017
Logseq
Launched 2020
Mem
Launched 2019
Nimbus Note
Launched 2015
Notability
Launched 2010
Notejoy
Launched 2017
Notion
Launched 2016
Obsidian
Launched 2020
OneNote
Launched 2003
Dropbox Paper
Launched 2015
Reflect
Launched 2021
RemNote
Launched 2020
Roam Research
Launched 2019
Standard Notes
Launched 2016
Supernotes
Launched 2020
Tana
Launched 2022
Taskade
Launched 2017
Things
Launched 2009
TiddlyWiki
Launched 2004
Workflowy
Launched 2010

A general summary of each app compared to Evernote is provided from Google results below.

How the most popular note taking apps compare to Evernote generally

Want to dig beyond personalized note app recommendations? Here's how the rest of the field compares to Evernote as of 2023. All note apps are sorted alphabetically.

Amplenote logo
Amplenote

Amplenote's creators have mentioned that Evernote was their main note taking app of choice before building Amplenote. The two apps share tagging system, and the visual layout of Amplenote is more similar to "classic Evernote" than any other app.

Unlike Evernote, Amplenote supports robust tasks (including recurring tasks and scheduling tasks to calendar), modern backlinking/transclusion, and security/encryption features Evernote lacks.

Apple Notes logo
Apple Notes

Guiding Tech provides a nicely detailed rundown at https://www.guidingtech.com/apple-notes-vs-ever....

Their conclusion is that "Apple Notes offer better OS integration, and it is free to use. Evernote is feature-rich, offers better organization and the web clipper is the best in business."

Asana logo
Asana

In their comparison at https://www.slant.co/versus/10/2121/~asana_vs_e..., Slant.co states "When comparing Asana vs Evernote, the Slant community recommends Asana for most people. In the question "What are the best cross-platform task apps?" Asana is ranked 12th while Evernote is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Asana is it's "fantastic mechanisms for dealing with team collaboration"

Bear logo
Bear

One of the all-time classic showdowns, which most of the internet will claim that Bear wins hands down, unless you really need Evernote's web clipper. A particularly helpful review with lots of screenshots at https://usefyi.com/bear-vs-evernote summarizes the difference by saying "Ultimately, though, Evernote just doesn’t feel as satisfying to use as Bear does."

Coda logo
Coda

There aren't a lot of resources on the internet that directly compare these two apps, since their use case tends to be quite different. Coda is a much different product than Evernote in that it focuses on teams, collaborative writing, and spreadsheets. Evernote is a tool better suited for individual use, but the polish advantage that Coda has over Evernote is easy to notice & appreciate.

Joplin logo
Joplin

SlashGear provides an ad-light comparison of the two here https://www.slashgear.com/evernote-open-source-.... Their conclusion is "Joplin is pretty much like the power user note-taking application. While on the surface it’s as easy to use as Evernote, providing nearly all the same features or even more, it requires the user to set things up a bit beforehand or at least decide on certain matters, like which sync backend to use. At least it doesn’t require you to host your own server, though that option is at least available for those who can afford it."

Nimbus Note logo
Nimbus Note

Nimbus has created a dedicated page to list out the advantages they hold over Evernote, check it out here https://nimbusweb.me/nimbusnote-vs-evernote.php. They note advantages in pricing, templates, and "super documents." They even provide an entire feature comparison table for those possessing of ample time and curiosity https://nimbusweb.me/nimbusnote-vs-evernote-com...

Notejoy logo
Notejoy

NoteJoy has created a page dedicated to listing their advantages over Evernote, you can review it for yourself here https://notejoy.com/resources/notejoy-vs-evernote. They summarize the difference as "Why settle for Evernote? Notejoy provides modern, collaborative notes for individuals and teams." They also make mention that NoteJoy is "not just beautiful—it's also fast and powerful" and "Cross-platform without limits"

Notion logo
Notion

The Sweet Setup compares the two apps in detail here https://thesweetsetup.com/should-i-move-from-ev..., concluding that switching from Evernote to Notion is advisable in several different scenarios.

Obsidian logo
Obsidian

Zylstra offers a robust comparison of why a user would want to move to Obsidian from Evernote https://www.zylstra.org/blog/2020/07/getting-to.... They state "It’s all in markdown, so easy to use on mobile with a different client if I sync it through Nextcloud. I added the same notes I previously added to WP and EN in Obsidian, to experience differences and commonalities. In comparison with the other notes tools I tried a key difference is that I left this app open since I started it up this morning. A key difference with WP and EN is that I want to add notes to this tool."

OneNote logo
OneNote

Zapier produced some great content in 2018 comparing the two: https://zapier.com/blog/evernote-vs-onenote. Fortunately, since neither app evolves quickly at this point in their life cycle, it remains relevant. They point to Onenote's pricing advantage (free), and how Onenote's tags "can go anywhere."

They conclude, "OneNote is better for people who are in the market for a completely free note-taking app, appreciate more flexibility in their note formatting (along with a bit of color in their interface and iconography), and perhaps most importantly, want an app that works closely with other apps and services from Microsoft."

Roam Research logo
Roam Research

Evernote enthusiast Francesco D'Alessio takes a look at Roam in this article, comparing it favorably to the heyday of Evernote in the (paywalled) Medium article https://francescod.medium.com/roam-is-evernote-.... He concludes that it is "potentially a better Evernote replacement than Notion," high praise given the public consensus as of 2020 that Notion is the most robust note taking app among all comers.

Standard Notes logo
Standard Notes

Standard Notes directly addresses the question of how they compare to Evernote in a help page https://standardnotes.org/help/9/is-standard-no.... Their assessment? "Standard Notes makes an excellent secure Evernote alternative if you're looking for something easy to use and available on every platform. We are built on principles of simplicity, and make sure we don't add features needlessly. With that said, there are many things you'll find on Evernote that you won't find here."

Supernotes logo
Supernotes

The Evernote Enthusiast behind the @KeepProductive Youtube channel provides the following 14 minute video summarizing the advantages of SuperNotes compared to Evernote https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGalun8pLfY

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