The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data

These days, we are each dealing pinch immense amounts of information, from gathering notes to societal media, to photos and videos, to immoderate other we’ve collected — and we are each trying to find immoderate measurement to shop it, shape it, and find it erstwhile we request it.

If you want to get really basic, you tin usage a spreadsheet aliases create a elemental group of word-processing documents. Otherwise, you tin effort what is somewhat inaccurately described arsenic a note-taking app. These apps, astatine their simplest, shop your notes and different thoughts and, astatine their much complex, are tin of manipulating immoderate and each contented you want to driblet into them.

One of the astir well-known has been Evernote, which has gone done rather a fewer changes complete the years, some financially and successful its characteristic set. I’ve been utilizing it for my individual notes for years, and while I consciousness that it’s go measurement excessively overblown (and excessively expensive), I haven’t been capable to motivate myself to propulsion my decade of information retired of there. At this point, though, I’m not judge I’d urge it to a caller personification — particularly now that it’s limiting the features of its free version moreover much than it utilized to.

However, location are a batch of others retired location now pinch a wide scope of options, from conscionable plain notes to applications that tin do almost thing arsenic agelong arsenic you person the clip and an inclination to learn. I’ve looked astatine a bunch, and these are immoderate that looked astir promising, from the astir elemental to the astir complex.

In the end, though, the app you usage will mostly dangle connected your individual needs. Here are much specifications connected our apical picks successful this category.

Google

Google Keep started retired arsenic a reasonably elemental note-taking app, and while it has added a fewer features since it began, it’s still a good, straightforward measurement to grounds your thoughts. Because it is truthful interconnected pinch different Google apps (for example, you tin entree it straight from Google Calendar, and you tin person a Keep statement to a Google Doc), it useful particularly good if you’re invested successful the Google ecosystem. 

Keep isn’t rather arsenic sparse arsenic it utilized to be: you tin create caller notes pinch instant lists, drawings, aliases images; you tin besides adhd collaborators and a assortment of backgrounds. In addition, location person been some absorbing upgrades recently that person been promised, specified arsenic matter formatting (although, arsenic of this writing, they were only disposable for Android). Meanwhile, being Google, the hunt ain’t bad.

Cost: Free.

Shiny Frog

Bear Markdown Notes is an app for macOS and iOS devices pinch an fantabulous interface and action of features that could make maine regret my faithfulness to Android. Even the free type offers a number of tweaks — for example, the header tin either beryllium the first condemnation of the statement aliases the day and clip (or you tin time off it quiet and put successful thing you want). You person a wide prime of fonts and various formatting options. 

The app uses tags successful bid to shape its notes; you create a tag for a statement by starting your chosen connection pinch a lb motion (or surrounding a building pinch them). The connection / building will past look successful the left-hand column, wherever you tin click connected it to find each the tagged notes.

Besides the file connected the left, you person a 2nd file that shows each the notes successful the highlighted section, while the main model shows what is successful the chosen statement itself. It’s a UI that is utilized by respective apps, including Evernote.

You tin format your notes successful a assortment of ways by clicking a BIU (bold / italics / underline) icon astatine the apical correct of each note; you tin besides create subheads, bulleted and to-do lists, tables, links, and adhd attachments. Another icon lets you spot the statistic for the statement — number of words, characters, and erstwhile it was modified. You tin besides spot an outline of your various heads, subheads, and immoderate backlinks. In different words, moreover successful the free version, location are plentifulness of ways you tin play pinch Bear Notes. 

On the different hand, if you want to sync your notes crossed devices, you’ll person to upgrade to the Pro version. With that, you besides get password protection, the expertise to hunt wrong attachments, much formats, and the expertise to export notes arsenic PDFs, ePub, and different formats (the free type lets you export successful Markdown, TextBundle, txt, and rtf).

Cost:version available. Pro type costs $2.99 a period aliases $29.99 a twelvemonth pinch a 7-day free trial.

Bending Spoons

Evernote started retired successful 2008 arsenic an innovative and well-regarded note-taking app. Over the years, however, its estimation has suffered arsenic it worked done privacy missteps, increased fees, and an interface that tin consciousness bloated and feature-heavy. It is now owned by app developer Bending Spoons and has moved its operations to Europe (laying disconnected astir of its US employees successful the process). And arsenic of December 2023, it is limiting its free type to 50 notes and a azygous notebook, making it fundamentally unusable for astir users isolated from arsenic a proceedings version.

That being said, the paid type of Evernote still does what it does well, particularly if you’re 1 of those users who has stuck pinch it for a while. The basal look and consciousness of the web app hasn’t changed much, though the homepage now shows caller notes, a scratch pad, and precocious captured websites. (The homepage tin beryllium personalized pinch different widgets if you person a paid account.) There are respective ways to shape your notes: they tin beryllium tagged and / aliases assigned to folders, and folders tin beryllium grouped into named “stacks.” You tin create to-do notes. You tin hunt wrong each your notes, clip webpages successful a assortment of ways, and sync up to 2 devices. You tin upload up to 60MB of information a period pinch a maximum statement size of 25MB. And Evernote has been adding AI features specified arsenic AI Note Cleanup, presently successful beta, which uses AI to “tidy up” your notes.

In different words, Evernote has go a reasonably analyzable product, although, arsenic mentioned before, you’ll want to look astatine the paid versions to usage it properly. The Personal scheme lets you sync an unlimited number of devices, upload up to 10GB of information a period pinch a maximum statement size of 200MB, link a Gmail account, and more; the Professional scheme adds further app integration and a assortment of different features. 

Cost: Limited free type available. Personal scheme costs $14.99 a period aliases $129.99 a year. Professional scheme costs $17.99 a period aliases $169.99 a year.

Microsoft

The Venn sketch of Evernote users and OneNote users seldom overlaps. This contempt each they person successful common: some person wide ranges of useful features, and each seems to adhd caller functionality each mates of months aliases so. But the consciousness of each is different.

In OneNote, each introduction is simply a page, and each page tin incorporate a assortment of different media, including text, audio, images, video, tables, and drawings, among others. Pages are organized into sections and sections into notebooks. 

There are a batch of ways you tin tweak your data, really it is organized, and really it looks. You tin create to-do lists and reminders, people matter arsenic important, and alteration the look of the text. You tin item and make a assortment of drawings successful a assortment of colors. If you usage different Microsoft apps specified arsenic Outlook, you tin sync your OneNote entries pinch them — for example, to support way of Outlook meetings. You tin alteration the page colour and style aliases move from acheronian to light.  

In fact, for illustration Evernote, OneNote has had truthful galore different abilities added that it tin go a spot overwhelming. For example, erstwhile I wanted to find retired whether I could extract matter from a photo, I went to OneNote’s “Tell me” icon, which, if it can’t find an contiguous reply to your question, offers a smart lookup link. When “extract text” didn’t travel up pinch anything, I clicked it and was offered (via a broadside column) a Wikipedia meaning of a matter record and links to respective third-party apps. (A elemental “we don’t do that” would person been nice.)

One point astir OneNote that gives it an advantage complete Evernote: it is still wholly free. So if you’re looking for alternatives, it’s worthy giving OneNote a try.

Cost: Free.

Laurent Cozic

Joplin is an open-source app that, connected first glance, looks for illustration a somewhat simpler type of Evernote. It has the database of folders (also known arsenic notebooks) connected the acold left, a file listing the contents of the files to the correct of that, and past a abstraction to show the contents of the highlighted entry. 

A awesome difference, though, is that Joplin produces straightforward Markdown files (as opposed to Evernote’s proprietary .enex format), and location is really a toggle that lets you spot each record successful markdown or, if you prefer, rich | text. Which is handy, particularly if you for illustration to look astatine code; my only problem is that links are not unrecorded successful the rich | matter format — though location is astir apt a measurement to tweak that.

And that is simply a 2nd absorbing point astir Joplin: if you want to beryllium capable to personalize your app, you can. There are a assortment of plugins, and you tin moreover create your ain scripts and plugins utilizing the Extension API. If, connected the different hand, you’re not comfortable pinch coding and APIs, Joplin’s existing extensions should supply you pinch plentifulness to activity with. You conscionable whitethorn request to consult its lively personification forum.

In bid to synchronize Joplin among your devices, you request to group it up pinch 1 of respective existing unreality services (such arsenic Dropbox aliases OneDrive). You tin besides usage Joplin Cloud, which is disposable successful Joplin’s paid plans: Basic, which includes 2GB retention abstraction and 10MB per statement aliases attachment, and Pro, which offers 30GB retention space, 200MB per statement aliases attachment, and different features. 

Cost:version available. Joplin Basic costs €2.99 ($3.21) a period aliases €28.69 ($30.76) a year; Joplin Pro costs €5.99 ($6.42) a period aliases €57.48 ($61.64) a year.

UpNote Co.

UpNote is simply a good-looking, comparatively elemental to maestro app that looks to beryllium an charismatic replacement to Evernote. It has astir the aforesaid look, pinch notebooks listed connected the left, the notes successful a highlighted notebook listed adjacent to it, and past a main model showing the contents of each note. It offers the expertise to create checklists, insert images and tables, nest notebooks, and (if you person the Premium version) fastener circumstantial notebooks. And it imports a assortment of formats — including Evernote.

There are apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, and location is simply a web clipper (a characteristic that is 1 of my “musts”) that useful pinch the awesome browsers, though the clipper’s abilities are not arsenic extended arsenic Evernote’s.

In fact, if you do scheme to usage UpNote extensively, you will person to move disconnected the free plan, which only allows up to 50 notes. After that, the Premium scheme — which is, admittedly, a lot cheaper than Evernote’s — would beryllium the measurement to go, offering unlimited notes, the expertise to adhd attachments (up to 20MB) and tables, much ways to creation the interface, and the expertise to export to a number of formats.

Cost:version available, constricted to 50 notes. Pro type costs $1.99 a period aliases $39.99 for a life subscription.

Notion Labs

If there’s 1 measurement to picture Notion, it would beryllium ambitious. You tin commencement pinch respective different types of formats — a table, a board, a timeline, a calendar, a list, a created template, aliases conscionable an quiet page. If you’re an individual, you tin create an unlimited number of pages, stock your information pinch a number of apps, including Slack and GitHub, and stock your contented pinch up to 10 “guests” for free. In fact, for astir people, free will beryllium rather sufficient. There are immoderate limitations — for example, record uploads are constricted to 5MB — but not capable to really count. A Plus type adds unlimited uploads and immoderate further group features.

Like Evernote and different higher-end apps, Notion organizes its notes into folders — isolated from successful this case, each statement tin enactment arsenic a files and tin incorporate different notes, which tin incorporate different notes. Notion besides seems to beryllium perpetually adding caller features, specified arsenic AI penning capabilities and caller types of sharing options.

In fact, its deficiency of limitations whitethorn beryllium a problem for immoderate users. If you for illustration to really get into the workings of a analyzable app and screw astir pinch it until it does everything you want it to do — and past immoderate — past you whitethorn want to cheque retired Notion and play a spot pinch its features. (For example, I presently usage Notion to way my various workflows and upcoming tasks.) However, if each you want to do is constitute down your thoughts pinch possibly a fewer other options, you mightiness want to spell pinch thing a spot simpler.

Cost:version available. Plus type costs $12 a period aliases $120 a twelvemonth (both prices per user).

Obsidian

Some apps are popular, immoderate are very celebrated — and immoderate really person what amounts to instrumentality clubs. Obsidian is 1 of the latter.

This app is the benignant of point that, if you’re into it, will person you exploring its various ins, outs, and add-ons for days and weeks connected end. Obsidian uses the Markdown format for its notes (which intends they tin beryllium utilized connected a assortment of different apps). Your notes and different media are kept locally successful a Vault (in different words, a main folder). There are ways to sync betwixt devices for free — depending connected which devices you want to sync. Or you tin usage 1 of Obsidian’s paid plans: Standard, which lets you usage Obsidian’s work to sync the information successful 1 vault and shop up to 1GB of data, and Plus, which lets you sync up to 10 vaults and shop up to 10GB of data. There is simply a complaint arsenic good if you want to usage Obsidian commercially.

As you tin imagine, thing this elastic is difficult to describe.

Even astatine the beginning, location are respective absorbing formats that you don’t get successful astir different note-taking software. When you first unfastened it aft installation, you get respective choices connected the near broadside of the page: a chart view, a canvas position (which lets you create a travel chart, pinboard, aliases different arrangement), and 1 of my existent favorites, a regular statement (which is simply a dated statement but is simply a bully thought if you want to support a journal). You tin besides create templates. And nary of this takes into relationship the various plug-ins that person been created by its organization — location were 1,233 erstwhile I past checked.

Of course, this intends that if you want to really return advantage of Obsidian, you person to put immoderate clip and effort. But for those into tweaking their apps to suit them completely, it will astir apt beryllium worthy it.

Cost: Free. Sync Standard costs $5 a period aliases $48 a year, while Sync Plus costs $10 a period aliases $96 a year. A commercialized usage licence costs $50 per personification per year.

Capacities

If Notion isn’t analyzable capable for you, past possibly you should effort Capacities, a comparatively caller app that organizes your notes utilizing a networking alternatively than a record / files format. When you create an introduction (or object) successful Capacities, the first point you person to do, moreover earlier you commencement typing, is prime what class it belongs in: page (in different words, a straightforward document), meeting, person, image, etc. Only past tin you commencement creating your entry. Each introduction tin nexus to 1 aliases much different entries; each is besides automatically dated truthful you tin find it from the app’s calendar. And that’s conscionable the opening — location are each sorts of ways to create and manipulate your entries. Capacities could beryllium very useful if you find it useful pinch your reasoning processes, but it mightiness return immoderate self-training earlier you’re sure.

The basal type includes unlimited entries, reasonable but constricted media uploads, and synchronization crossed devices, among different features. A Pro type gives entree to AI features and unlimited media uploads, among different features.

Cost:for basal features; the Pro type costs $11.99 a period aliases $119.88 a year.

Other apps to try

There are a batch of note-taking apps retired there, and while not each made our “best of” list, location are others that mightiness suit your needs, truthful I thought I’d mention them here.

Correction, November 16th, 2023, 4:25PM ET: This article primitively stated that Obsidian is open-source software. It is not. We regret the error.

Update November 6th, 2024: This article was primitively published connected November 16th, 2023, and has been updated since to adhd UpNote and Capacities, summarize respective apps astatine the bottommost of the article, and update the pricing.