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Indie alternatives to Evernote
10 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Evernote does, 9 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.
At a glance
| Product | Price | Open source | Self-host | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplenote | Free | – | – | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Trilium Notes | Free | Yes | Yes | Mac, Windows, Linux, Self-hosted |
| Amplenote | Free plan | – | – | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Bear | Free plan | – | – | Mac, iOS |
| Joplin | Free plan | Yes | Yes | Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension |
| Notesnook | Free plan | Yes | – | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Standard Notes | Free plan | Yes | – | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Supernotes | Free plan | – | – | Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| UpNote | Free plan | – | – | Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android |
| DEVONthink | Paid | – | – | Mac, iOS |
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. Trilium Notes
Hierarchical note-taking app for large personal knowledge bases
An open-source, self-hostable note-taking app for building large hierarchical knowledge bases, with note cloning, scripting, encryption and sync. For power users who want full control.
Free · Mac, Windows, Linux, Self-hosted · Website ↗
7. 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 ↗
8. Supernotes
Collaborative notecard-based note-taking app
A note-taking app built around small notecards that can be nested, linked and shared with collaborators. Suited to students and teams who prefer bite-sized notes.
Free plan · Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android · Website ↗
10. DEVONthink
Document and research database for the Mac
DEVONthink stores and organizes documents, PDFs, notes, emails and web archives in searchable databases, with AI-assisted classification for researchers and professionals.
Paid · Mac, iOS · Website ↗
Questions
Is there a free alternative to Evernote?
Yes. 9 of the 10 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Simplenote, Trilium Notes, Amplenote, Bear and 5 more.
Is there an open-source alternative to Evernote?
Trilium Notes, Joplin, Notesnook and Standard Notes are open source.
Can I self-host an alternative to Evernote?
Yes: Trilium Notes and Joplin can run on your own server.
Which Evernote alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?
On Windows: Simplenote, Trilium Notes, Amplenote and 5 more. On Linux: Simplenote, Trilium Notes, Amplenote and 5 more. On iPhone and iPad: Simplenote, Amplenote, Bear and 6 more. On Android: Simplenote, Amplenote, Joplin and 4 more. On the web: Simplenote, Amplenote, Notesnook and 3 more. As a browser extension: Joplin.
What makes these alternatives to Evernote “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 Evernote.
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