Evernote is one of the oldest and most feature-packed note-taking software. The app offers a ton of different ways which you can use to collect notes. You can create text-notes, voice-notes, and use Evernote’s Web Clipper tool to directly save entire articles in your notes. However, all these features have made Evernote very clunky and complex. Another big negative for Evernote is that the company doesn’t seem to be stable. Just an year back, Evernote lost its CFO, CTO, CPO, and HR head in just one month. The company is going on, but the future remains uncertain. Add that to the fact that the paid version of the app costs a hefty $4.99/month, no one can blame you for looking at Evernote alternatives. Well, if that’s the case, here are the 15 best Evernote alternatives that you can use in 2020.
Before we get started, let us discuss about Evernote’s features and drawbacks. It will help you decide whether switching from Evernote is the right decision for you or not. First we will mention Evernote’s key features and then look at some of its drawbacks.
A great place to dump your notes
Powerful organizational structure
OCR support
A handy web-clipper to save articles and web bookmarks
Document Scanning
Handwriting recognition
Not syncing across platform
Complex and takes time to learn
Bloated apps with slow response
Packed with features that most users are not going to use
Slow sync
Lacks productivity focused features
It costs a lot. The premium plan starts at $7.99/month
Comparing the features and the drawbacks, you can decide if the app is for you or not. With all that said, let’s get to our list of best Evernote alternatives. I have added quick links below. You can click on them to quickly move between the apps.
1. Notion
If you are a person who needs more features than what Evernote offers, Notion is just for you. Notion is a note-taking app which does much more than just allowing you to take notes. Notion is an all-in-one work-space which allows you to take notes, create an internal wiki of notes, collect research material from the web in form of links, text, and images, create table and databases, manage projects and tasks, and more.
That means switching from Evernote to Notion is as simple as it can get. In my opinion, Notion is one of the best Evernote alternatives on the market and you should definitely check it out.
For anyone who is looking for a note taking app which is as powerful as Evernote but doesn’t cost you anything, OneNote is the one for you. Coming from Microsoft, OneNote brings all the features that Evernote has and then some. The app allows you to easily save text-notes, voice-notes, pictures, and more.
It even has its own web clipping tool just like Evernote. However, what makes OneNote one of the best Evernote alternatives is the fact that the service is available cross-platform so no matter which device you are using, you can get OneNote working on it.
Visit: Website
If you are someone who is looking for a simple note-taking app which offers an intuitive and easy-to-navigate UI, Simplenote is the one for you. Simplenote is one of the best note-taking app which not only offers a no-nonsense interface but also brings most of the basic features that you might require from a note-taking app. You can easily create text-notes, reminders, to-do list, and more.
Supported Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux(.deb), Linux(.tar.gz), Android, iOS
Google Keep is one of the best note-taking apps in the market right now, and it also happens to be my most favorite app on the list. I love how Google Keep displays all my notes in the form of simple cards which not only makes the notes look beautiful but also makes it easy to scan through them at a glance. I also love the ability to color code my notes which makes it easier to find the exact note that I am looking for.
My most favorite feature of Google Keep is that it makes it really easy to set reminders, create lists, and more. The app also has a web companion which works exactly like Evernote’s web clipper and allows users to save web-articles directly inside the app. Other features include the ability to share notes, add pictures, take hand-written notes, and more.
While Evernote has a note sharing feature, it is not as robust as many other options out there. If your main problem with Evernote is that it doesn’t efficiently allow you to share notes with your team members then you should try out Noetjoy. Notejoy is an incredible note-taking application which takes note sharing to the next level.
In the app, all your notes are arranged in libraries. You have a personal library where you can save all your private notes. Then there are shared libraries which contain notes you have shared with other users.
Price: Free, $4/month for individual users, $8-$12/month/user for teams
If you are one of those few people who has surpassed the limits of Evernote, and even it cannot fulfill all your needs, DEVONthink 3 is just for you. In fact, calling DEVONthink a note-taking app will be undermining its full potential as it’s not only a note-taking app, it’s also a full-blown document management system that can handle PDFs, links, and more. The app even has a built-in browser which lets you open the links inside the app itself.
Supported Platform: macOS, iOS
If you are a Mac user, Keep It can serve as a good Evernote Alternative option for you. Keep It is from the guys who previously created Together 3 which was one of the most famous note-taking apps on the Mac. Their new product brings a better and more organized user interface which not only looks good but is also very intuitive.
Supported Platforms: macOS, iOS
Zoho Notebook is one of the coolest looking note taking app on this list. The app lets you easily create Notebooks which actually look like a real notebook. Inside, you can create text-notes, voice-notes, add pictures, and more.
CintaNotes is a very good Evernote alternative for Windows users. It is a lightweight, fast, and simple note-taking software which makes it really easy to save notes to your device. The app allows you to clip information from almost anywhere. Any information that you can copy can be clipped to CintaNotes. Just, select the information and hit Ctrl+F12.
Supported Platform: Windows
Roam Research is a new player in the town, and it’s taking the note-taking industry by the storm. Normal note-taking apps depend on a system of folders and tags for organizing your notes. While Roam Research has support for tagging, the main USP of Roam is that it lets you create links between notes.
Some people are visual thinkers, and they need a different note-taking experience. For them, I suggest Milanote. Milanote is kind of an endless whiteboard where you can add notes, columns, photos, links, and more. You can create multiple boards and even nest boards inside other boards. The app is really good and responsive, and I love the clean look and feel of it. I find it perfect for doing creative work like story-boarding and planning a novel. But you can also use it for things like managing tasks and even entire teams.
Pricing: Free, $9.99/month
Bear is another great note-taking app for people who don’t like to confine their notes inside a folder. Instead of using folders, Bear uses tags. And since a note can have multiple tags, it can exist in multiple locations. Bear also allows you to link notes to other notes, thereby allowing you to create wiki-style notes.
If you want a simple note-taking app without the bells and whistles that come with an app like Evernote, Bear is the right app for you. One thing to mind here is that Bear is only available for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, and Mac).
If you want an app that is as powerful as Evernote, try out Turtl. Just like Evernote, you can use Turtl to save all kinds of files and information. You can save notes, images, bookmarks, passwords, files, shopping lists, and anything else that you can think of.
Price: Free, premium plans start at $3/month
Dropbox is one of the best if not the best cloud storage provider on the market. It’s features like selective sync and robust sync-engine that never fails always keep it at the top of the chain. And if you are already a Dropbox subscriber, I urge you to give a chance to its other service; Dropbox Paper.
Unlike Evernote, Quip is a fully-featured documents manager app that you can use to create notes, write long-form content, and collaborate with team-members. In Quip, not only you can create a word document, but also sheets, and presentation.
Q. Is there something better than Evernote?
No one note-taking app can be the best. It depends on your requirement and your note-taking skills. For some, Evernote is the best option, for others, it might be Notion or Roam Research or One Note. So, yes, Evernote is not the best note-taking app and I have given you ample options to choose from.
If it works for you then absolutely yes. You have to realize these are all tools that you can use to get work done. If Evernote can help you in that direction, it’s worth paying for. If not, look for other options on this list.
Evernote had a rocky patch for a few years now, but it now seems to be in the right hands. And I am confident the app is here to stay. But if you are still not sure, we have mentioned all the best options that you can use as Evernote alternatives.
If you consider features and cross-platform availability, then yes, Evernote is better than Apple Notes. Then again Apple Notes is clutter-free and easy-to-use, and can easily meet the demands of most users.
Q. What is wrong with Evernote?
Evernote lost its CFO, CTO, CPO, and HR head in just one month and the company was not stable for a while. Also, many people find Evernote to be too complex and think it has become bloated with nonessential features.
No. Evernote is an independent, privately held company headquartered in Redwood City, California. It only uses Google Cloud Services for hosting your data. This is nothing new.
