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Indie alternatives to OneNote

5 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what OneNote does, 5 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Trilium Notes	Free	Yes	Yes	Mac, Windows, Linux, Self-hosted
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
UpNote	Free plan	–	–	Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android

The alternatives

1. 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 ↗

2. Joplin

Open-source note-taking app with end-to-end encrypted sync

Joplin is an open-source Markdown notes and to-do app with notebooks, a web clipper and sync via Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud or WebDAV.

Free plan · Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension · Website ↗

3. Notesnook

Private, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app

Notesnook is an open-source notes app that encrypts all notes end to end, with notebooks, tags, reminders and sync across devices.

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

4. 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 ↗

5. UpNote

Clean, simple note-taking app that syncs everywhere

UpNote is a cross-platform notes app with notebooks, tags, rich text and Markdown support, offered as a simpler alternative to heavier note apps.

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

Questions

Is there a free alternative to OneNote?

Yes. 5 of the 5 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Trilium Notes, Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes and 1 more.

Is there an open-source alternative to OneNote?

Trilium Notes, Joplin, Notesnook and Standard Notes are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to OneNote?

Yes: Trilium Notes and Joplin can run on your own server.

Which OneNote alternatives work on Mac, Windows, iPhone or Android?

On iPhone and iPad: Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes and 1 more. On Android: Joplin, Notesnook, Standard Notes and 1 more. On the web: Notesnook, Standard Notes and UpNote. As a browser extension: Joplin.

What makes these alternatives to OneNote “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 OneNote.

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