All alternatives › Apple Notes

Indie alternatives to Apple Notes

6 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Apple Notes does, 6 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

The alternatives

1. Simplenote

Free, minimal notes app that syncs everywhere

A lightweight plain-text and Markdown notes app from Automattic that syncs notes across all devices. For people who want fast, simple notes without clutter.

Free · Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗

2. Bear

Markdown note-taking app for Apple devices

Bear is a fast, minimalist Markdown notes app with tags, nested organization and iCloud sync for Mac, iPhone and iPad users.

Free plan · Mac, iOS · Website ↗

3. Craft

Beautiful documents and notes app with easy sharing

A document and note-taking app with block-based editing, nested pages, daily notes and one-click web sharing. Aimed at individuals and small teams who care about design.

Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, iOS · Website ↗

4. Drafts

Quick text capture app with automation actions

Drafts opens to a blank page for capturing text instantly, then lets you send it to other apps or process it with customizable actions and scripts.

Free plan · Mac, iOS · Website ↗

5. Standard Notes

End-to-end encrypted notes app

A note-taking app that encrypts all notes end to end and syncs them across devices, with extra editors for Markdown, code and spreadsheets. For privacy-conscious note takers.

Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗

6. Tot

Tiny scratchpad with seven colored dots for quick notes

Tot by The Iconfactory is a small text collection app that lives in the Mac menu bar and on iOS, with seven notes for scraps of text.

Free plan · Mac, iOS · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Apple Notes?

Yes. 6 of the 6 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Simplenote, Bear, Craft, Drafts and 2 more.

Is there an open-source alternative to Apple Notes?

Standard Notes is open source.

Which Apple Notes alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On Windows: Simplenote, Craft and Standard Notes. On Linux: Simplenote and Standard Notes. On Android: Simplenote and Standard Notes. On the web: Simplenote, Craft and Standard Notes.

What makes these alternatives to Apple Notes “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Apple Notes.

Related

• Alternatives to Evernote · 10
• Alternatives to LastPass · 10
• Alternatives to Apple Mail · 6
• Alternatives to OneNote · 5
• Alternatives to Spark · 5
• Alternatives to Google Docs · 4
• Alternatives to Google Keep · 3
• Alternatives to Time Machine · 3

Browse: Notes & Knowledge · Mac Utilities · Security & Privacy

Made one? List your product, it's free.