The very best note-taking apps for accumulating your ideas and information

Lately, we’re all coping with big quantities of knowledge, from assembly notes to social media, to pictures and movies, to no matter else we’ve collected — and we’re all looking for some solution to retailer it, set up it, and discover it once we want it.

If you wish to get actually primary, you should use a spreadsheet or create a easy set of word-processing paperwork. In any other case, you possibly can strive what’s considerably inaccurately described as a note-taking app. These apps, at their easiest, retailer your notes and different ideas and, at their extra advanced, are able to manipulating any and all content material you wish to drop into them.

One of the crucial well-known has been Evernote, which has gone by means of fairly just a few modifications over time, each financially and in its characteristic set. I’ve been utilizing it for my private notes for years, and whereas I really feel that it’s grow to be manner too overblown (and too costly), I haven’t been in a position to encourage myself to tug my decade of knowledge out of there. At this level, although, I’m unsure I’d suggest it to a brand new consumer — particularly now that it’s limiting the options of its free model much more than it used to.

Nonetheless, there are quite a lot of others on the market now with a variety of choices, from simply plain notes to purposes that may do virtually something so long as you could have the time and an inclination to be taught. I’ve checked out a bunch, and these are some that regarded most promising, from the most straightforward to essentially the most advanced.

In the long run, although, the app you employ will largely rely in your private wants. Listed below are extra particulars on our high picks on this class.

Google Maintain began out as a reasonably easy note-taking app, and whereas it has added just a few options because it started, it’s nonetheless , simple solution to file your ideas. As a result of it’s so interconnected with different Google apps (for instance, you possibly can entry it straight from Google Calendar, and you may convert a Maintain be aware to a Google Doc), it really works particularly effectively for those who’re invested within the Google ecosystem. 

Maintain isn’t fairly as sparse because it was: you possibly can create new notes with on the spot lists, drawings, or photos; you can even add collaborators and a wide range of backgrounds. As well as, there have been some fascinating upgrades just lately which have been promised, equivalent to textual content formatting (though, as of this writing, they have been solely out there for Android). In the meantime, being Google, the search ain’t dangerous.

Bear Markdown Notes is an app for macOS and iOS units with a wonderful interface and choice of options that might make me remorse my faithfulness to Android. Even the free model gives numerous tweaks — for instance, the header can both be the primary sentence of the be aware or the date and time (or you possibly can depart it empty and put in something you need). You’ve got a large selection of fonts and numerous formatting choices. 

The app makes use of tags with a purpose to set up its notes; you create a tag for a be aware by beginning your chosen phrase with a pound signal (or surrounding a phrase with them). The phrase / phrase will then seem within the left-hand column, the place you possibly can click on on it to search out all of the tagged notes.

Moreover the column on the left, you could have a second column that exhibits all of the notes within the highlighted part, whereas the primary window exhibits what’s within the chosen be aware itself. It’s a UI that’s utilized by a number of apps, together with Evernote.

You’ll be able to format your notes in a wide range of methods by clicking a BIU (daring / italics / underline) icon on the high proper of every be aware; you can even create subheads, bulleted and to-do lists, tables, hyperlinks, and add attachments. One other icon helps you to see the statistics for the be aware — variety of phrases, characters, and when it was modified. You can even see a top level view of your numerous heads, subheads, and any backlinks. In different phrases, even within the free model, there are many methods you possibly can play with Bear Notes. 

Then again, if you wish to sync your notes throughout units, you’ll need to improve to the Professional model. With that, you additionally get password safety, the power to go looking inside attachments, extra codecs, and the power to export notes as PDFs, ePub, and different codecs (the free model helps you to export in Markdown, TextBundle, txt, and rtf).

Price: Free model out there. Professional model prices $2.99 a month or $29.99 a yr with a 7-day free trial.

Evernote began out in 2008 as an revolutionary and well-regarded note-taking app. Over time, nevertheless, its status has suffered because it labored by means of privateness missteps, elevated charges, and an interface that may really feel bloated and feature-heavy. It’s now owned by app developer Bending Spoons and has moved its operations to Europe (shedding most of its US workers within the course of). And as of December 2023, it’s limiting its free model to 50 notes and a single pocket book, making it primarily unusable for many customers besides as a trial model.

That being stated, the paid model of Evernote nonetheless does what it does effectively, particularly for those who’re a kind of customers who has caught with it for some time. The fundamental appear and feel of the net app hasn’t modified a lot, though the homepage now exhibits current notes, a scratch pad, and just lately captured web sites. (The homepage may be customized with different widgets you probably have a paid account.) There are a number of methods to prepare your notes: they are often tagged and / or assigned to folders, and folders may be grouped into named “stacks.” You’ll be able to create to-do notes. You’ll be able to search inside all of your notes, clip webpages in a wide range of methods, and sync as much as two units. You’ll be able to add as much as 60MB of knowledge a month with a most be aware dimension of 25MB. And Evernote has been including AI options equivalent to AI Observe Cleanup, at the moment in beta, which makes use of AI to “tidy up” your notes.

In different phrases, Evernote has grow to be a reasonably advanced product, though, as talked about earlier than, you’ll wish to have a look at the paid variations to make use of it correctly. The Private plan helps you to sync a limiteless variety of units, add as much as 10GB of knowledge a month with a most be aware dimension of 200MB, join a Gmail account, and extra; the Skilled plan provides extra app integration and a wide range of different options. 

Price: Restricted free model out there. Private plan prices $14.99 a month or $129.99 a yr. Skilled plan prices $17.99 a month or $169.99 a yr.

The Venn diagram of Evernote customers and OneNote customers seldom overlaps. This regardless of all they’ve in widespread: each have extensive ranges of helpful options, and every appears so as to add new performance each couple of months or so. However the really feel of every is completely different.

In OneNote, every entry is a web page, and every web page can comprise a wide range of completely different media, together with textual content, audio, photos, video, tables, and drawings, amongst others. Pages are organized into sections and sections into notebooks. 

There are quite a lot of methods you possibly can tweak your information, how it’s organized, and the way it seems to be. You’ll be able to create to-do lists and reminders, mark textual content as essential, and alter the look of the textual content. You’ll be able to spotlight and make a wide range of drawings in a wide range of colours. In the event you use different Microsoft apps equivalent to Outlook, you possibly can sync your OneNote entries with them — for instance, to maintain monitor of Outlook conferences. You’ll be able to change the web page coloration and elegance or change from darkish to mild.  

The truth is, like Evernote, OneNote has had so many alternative talents added that it could possibly grow to be a bit overwhelming. For instance, after I wished to search out out whether or not I may extract textual content from a photograph, I went to OneNote’s “Inform me” icon, which, if it could possibly’t discover an instantaneous reply to your query, gives a sensible lookup hyperlink. When “extract textual content” didn’t give you something, I clicked it and was provided (by way of a facet column) a Wikipedia definition of a textual content file and hyperlinks to a number of third-party apps. (A easy “we don’t do this” would have been good.)

One factor about OneNote that offers it a bonus over Evernote: it’s nonetheless fully free. So for those who’re searching for options, it’s value giving OneNote a strive.

Joplin is an open-source app that, on first look, seems to be like a considerably less complicated model of Evernote. It has the checklist of folders (also called notebooks) on the far left, a column itemizing the contents of the folder to the precise of that, after which an area to point out the contents of the highlighted entry. 

A serious distinction, although, is that Joplin produces simple Markdown information (versus Evernote’s proprietary .enex format), and there’s really a toggle that allows you to see every file in markdown or, for those who choose, wealthy textual content. Which is useful, particularly for those who like to take a look at code; my solely downside is that hyperlinks aren’t stay within the wealthy textual content format — though there’s most likely a solution to tweak that.

And that could be a second fascinating factor about Joplin: in order for you to have the ability to personalize your app, you possibly can. There are a selection of plugins, and you may even create your individual scripts and plugins utilizing the Extension API. If, alternatively, you’re not comfy with coding and APIs, Joplin’s current extensions ought to give you a lot to work with. You simply might must seek the advice of its energetic consumer discussion board.

As a way to synchronize Joplin amongst your units, you might want to set it up with one in all a number of current cloud providers (equivalent to Dropbox or OneDrive). You can even use Joplin Cloud, which is obtainable in Joplin’s paid plans: Primary, which incorporates 2GB space for storing and 10MB per be aware or attachment, and Professional, which gives 30GB space for storing, 200MB per be aware or attachment, and different options. 

Price: Free model out there. Joplin Primary prices €2.99 ($3.21) a month or €28.69 ($30.76) a yr; Joplin Professional prices €5.99 ($6.42) a month or €57.48 ($61.64) a yr.

UpNote is a handsome, comparatively easy to grasp app that appears to be a sexy different to Evernote. It has roughly the identical look, with notebooks listed on the left, the notes in a highlighted pocket book listed subsequent to it, after which a foremost window exhibiting the contents of every be aware. It gives the power to create checklists, insert photos and tables, nest notebooks, and (you probably have the Premium model) lock particular notebooks. And it imports a wide range of codecs — together with Evernote.

There are apps for macOS, Home windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, and there’s a net clipper (a characteristic that’s one in all my “musts”) that works with the most important browsers, though the clipper’s talents aren’t as intensive as Evernote’s.

The truth is, for those who do plan to make use of UpNote extensively, you’ll have to transfer off the free plan, which solely permits as much as 50 notes. After that, the Premium plan — which is, admittedly, a lot cheaper than Evernote’s — could be the way in which to go, providing limitless notes, the power so as to add attachments (as much as 20MB) and tables, extra methods to design the interface, and the power to export to numerous codecs.

Price: Free model out there, restricted to 50 notes. Professional model prices $1.99 a month or $39.99 for a lifetime subscription.

If there’s one solution to describe Notion, it will be bold. You can begin with a number of various kinds of codecs — a desk, a board, a timeline, a calendar, a listing, a created template, or simply an empty web page. In the event you’re a person, you possibly can create a limiteless variety of pages, share your information with numerous apps, together with Slack and GitHub, and share your content material with as much as 10 “visitors” without cost. The truth is, for most individuals, free can be fairly ample. There are some limitations — for instance, file uploads are restricted to 5MB — however not sufficient to essentially rely. A Plus model provides limitless uploads and a few extra group options.

Like Evernote and different higher-end apps, Notion organizes its notes into folders — besides on this case, every be aware can act as a folder and might comprise different notes, which may comprise different notes. Notion additionally appears to be consistently including new options, equivalent to AI writing capabilities and new sorts of sharing choices.

The truth is, its lack of limitations could also be an issue for some customers. In the event you like to essentially get into the workings of a fancy app and screw round with it till it does the whole lot you need it to do — after which some — then it’s possible you’ll wish to take a look at Notion and play a bit with its options. (For instance, I at the moment use Notion to trace my numerous workflows and upcoming duties.) Nonetheless, if all you wish to do is write down your ideas with possibly just a few additional choices, you may wish to go together with one thing a bit less complicated.

Price: Free model out there. Plus model prices $12 a month or $120 a yr (each costs per consumer).

Some apps are standard, some are very talked-about — and a few even have what quantities to fan golf equipment. Obsidian is without doubt one of the latter.

This app is the sort of factor that, for those who’re into it, may have you exploring its numerous ins, outs, and add-ons for days and weeks on finish. Obsidian makes use of the Markdown format for its notes (which suggests they can be utilized on a wide range of different apps). Your notes and different media are stored domestically in a Vault (in different phrases, a foremost folder). There are methods to sync between units without cost — relying on which units you wish to sync. Or you should use one in all Obsidian’s paid plans: Customary, which helps you to use Obsidian’s service to sync the information in a single vault and retailer as much as 1GB of knowledge, and Plus, which helps you to sync as much as 10 vaults and retailer as much as 10GB of knowledge. There’s a cost as effectively if you wish to use Obsidian commercially.

As you possibly can think about, one thing this versatile is difficult to explain.

Even originally, there are a number of fascinating codecs that you simply don’t get in most different note-taking software program. Once you first open it after set up, you get a number of decisions on the left facet of the web page: a graph view, a canvas view (which helps you to create a circulate chart, pinboard, or different association), and one in all my present favorites, a day by day be aware (which is just a dated be aware however is a pleasant thought if you wish to maintain a journal). You can even create templates. And none of this takes into consideration the assorted plug-ins which have been created by its neighborhood — there have been 1,233 after I final checked.

In fact, which means that if you wish to actually reap the benefits of Obsidian, you must make investments some effort and time. However for these into tweaking their apps to go well with them fully, it is going to most likely be value it.

Price: Free. Sync Customary prices $5 a month or $48 a yr, whereas Sync Plus prices $10 a month or $96 a yr. A business use license prices $50 per individual per yr.

If Notion isn’t advanced sufficient for you, then maybe it’s best to strive Capacities, a comparatively current app that organizes your notes utilizing a networking slightly than a file / folder format. Once you create an entry (or object) in Capacities, the very first thing you must do, even earlier than you begin typing, is choose what class it belongs in: web page (in different phrases, an easy doc), assembly, individual, picture, and so forth. Solely then are you able to begin creating your entry. Every entry can hyperlink to a number of different entries; every can also be mechanically dated so you could find it from the app’s calendar. And that’s only the start — there are all kinds of the way to create and manipulate your entries. Capacities may very well be very helpful for those who discover it really works together with your pondering processes, however it may take some self-training earlier than you’re positive.

The fundamental model consists of limitless entries, affordable however restricted media uploads, and synchronization throughout units, amongst different options. A Professional model offers entry to AI options and limitless media uploads, amongst different options.

Price: Free for primary options; the Professional model prices $11.99 a month or $119.88 a yr.

There are quite a lot of note-taking apps on the market, and whereas not all made our “better of” checklist, there are others that may fit your wants, so I assumed I’d point out them right here.

• Notes is Apple’s model of Google Maintain (or Maintain is Google’s model of Apple Notes). It’s a free, built-in, easy solution to take notes, save pictures, scan paperwork, and make sketches, offered you might be utilizing an Apple machine.
• Simplenote is a text-only app that provides simple note-taking for anybody who simply needs to, effectively, take notes.
• Workflowy is a web based app that makes use of a top level view format and is definitely extra versatile than it seems to be at first.
• Anytype, which continues to be in beta, is a fancy and privacy-aware app that, like Obsidian, may very well be supreme for many who actually like to research the way to personalize their purposes.
• Craft is an fascinating app that provides a wide range of templates and is comparatively straightforward to get used to. The free Starter model may be very restricted, however you get 14 days to check out the extra full Plus model, which prices $10 a month or $96 a yr.
• Zoho Pocket book is a free app that organizes your notes by dividing them into separate notebooks; every pocket book can even comprise audio information, pictures, or different attachments.

Correction, November sixteenth, 2023, 4:25PM ET: This text initially acknowledged that Obsidian is open-source software program. It’s not. We remorse the error.

Replace November sixth, 2024: This text was initially printed on November sixteenth, 2023, and has been up to date since so as to add UpNote and Capacities, summarize a number of apps on the backside of the article, and replace the pricing.