I tried 7 top Evernote alternatives to find the best for 2025

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably had that moment with Evernote. The one where it takes just a few too many seconds to open, a bug eats some of your text, or you see the new subscription price and just think, "Seriously?!" After using it daily for years, I finally hit my breaking point. The constant price hikes and sluggish performance just weren’t worth it anymore.

But the thought of moving years of notes, ideas, and digital scraps is daunting. Where do you even begin? I decided to just dive in headfirst and test the most talked-about Evernote alternatives out there.

This isn’t just another generic list. I spent weeks actually moving my workflow into each of these apps to see what broke, what shined, and what was genuinely an upgrade. I looked at everything from simple note-takers for quick thoughts to all-in-one workspaces for massive projects. I even stumbled upon an AI-powered tool that completely changes how a team uses its shared knowledge. Here’s the real story on what I found.

What are Evernote alternatives?

At their core, Evernote alternatives are apps that help you capture, organize, and find your digital stuff. For a long time, Evernote was the undisputed king of the "digital filing cabinet," letting you dump everything from recipes to meeting notes into one place.

But the game has changed a lot since then. Today’s alternatives have branched out to solve different problems. Some are laser-focused on giving you a clean, distraction-free writing space. Others have grown into powerful project management tools. And a new wave is using AI not just to store your information, but to make it instantly useful when you need it.

What to look for in the best Evernote alternatives

I picked the apps on this list based on the most common complaints I’ve heard from people ditching Evernote. It’s not just about finding a new app; it’s about finding one that actually solves the problems the old one created.

• Speed and ease of use: A good replacement has to be fast. It should open instantly and let you jot down a thought without getting bogged down in clunky menus. No more staring at a loading screen while your brilliant idea evaporates.

• Organization and search: You need to be able to find things later. Whether it’s through folders, tags, or a killer search function, getting to the right note shouldn’t feel like an archaeological dig.

• Syncing across devices: Your notes have to be where you are, period. Reliable syncing between your computer, phone, and tablet is non-negotiable.

• AI and smarts: The best tools are getting smarter. They use AI to help you find information just by asking a question, summarize long documents, and connect scattered ideas into clear answers.

• Fair pricing: The price has to make sense. You want straightforward, transparent pricing without the crazy subscription hikes that send you looking for articles like this one.

Comparison of the top Evernote alternatives in 2025

Here’s a quick side-by-side look at how the top contenders measure up.

Tool	Best For	Key Feature	AI Capability	Pricing Model
eesel AI	Teams unifying their knowledge	AI Chat over all company docs	Advanced	Subscription
Microsoft OneNote	A powerful free option	Freeform digital notebook	Basic (via Copilot)	Freemium
Notion	All-in-one team workspaces	Customizable databases	Add-on	Freemium
Obsidian	Building a personal knowledge graph	Local-first & note linking	Community Plugins	Free (Sync is paid)
Joplin	Open-source & privacy	End-to-end encryption	Community Plugins	Free (Sync is paid)
UpNote	Simplicity and affordability	Fast, clean interface	None	Freemium/Lifetime
Bear	Apple users who love design	Elegant Markdown editor	None	Subscription

The 7 best Evernote alternatives for every need

After weeks of real-world testing, here are the 7 best Evernote alternatives that are actually worth your time.

1. eesel AI

Okay, I’ll be upfront: eesel AI is the odd one out on this list. It’s not really for your personal grocery lists or daily journal. But if your team used Evernote as a shared knowledge base, a sort of "second brain" for the company, then this is the upgrade you’ve been waiting for.

While Evernote just holds onto information, eesel AI actually puts it to work. Instead of your team digging through old notebooks to find an answer, they can just ask a question in Slack or MS Teams. eesel AI finds the answer instantly by searching across all your company’s knowledge, whether it’s in Google Docs, Confluence, old support tickets, or even your exported Evernote files.

What it really solves is the constant "hey, where did we document that?" problem. It pulls all your scattered information into one trustworthy source. Unlike other enterprise AI tools that take months to set up, you can get an AI Internal Chat assistant running in minutes with its one-click integrations.

eesel AI's chatbot provides instant answers within Slack, making it one of the top Evernote alternatives for team knowledge.::

Pros:

• Brings knowledge together from all your company apps (wikis, docs, chat tools) into one searchable AI.

• Gives instant, accurate answers through an internal chatbot right in Slack or Microsoft Teams.

• The setup is incredibly simple and self-serve, no need to sit through demos or sales calls just to get started.

Cons:

• It’s built for teams and businesses, so it’s not the right fit for individual, personal notes.

Pricing:

eesel AI has clear subscription plans without any tricky fees.

• Team Plan: $299/month ($239/month if billed annually) for up to 3 bots and 1,000 AI interactions. Includes AI Copilot and Slack integration.

• Business Plan: $799/month ($639/month if billed annually) for unlimited bots and 3,000 AI interactions. Adds the ability to train on past tickets, MS Teams integration, and AI actions.

• Custom: For enterprise needs with advanced integrations and unlimited interactions.

2. Microsoft OneNote

If you’re looking for the most feature-packed free alternative, Microsoft OneNote is it. It’s a complete no-brainer if you’re already using Microsoft apps.

OneNote is set up like a digital three-ring binder, with notebooks, sections, and pages. It feels really natural for organizing big projects or different parts of your life. The best part is its free-form canvas. You can click anywhere on a page and start typing, drawing, or dropping in a picture. It just feels less rigid than Evernote’s top-to-bottom notes.

Pros:

• It’s completely free and comes loaded with features.

• Fantastic for handwritten notes and drawing with a stylus.

• Integrates deeply with Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook and Word.

Cons:

• Syncing can sometimes be slow, a complaint I saw pop up more than a few times.

• The tagging system doesn’t feel as robust or flexible as Evernote’s.

Pricing:

OneNote is free to use with a Microsoft account, which gives you 5 GB of OneDrive storage.

• Microsoft 365 Basic: $19.99/year for 100 GB of storage.

• Microsoft 365 Personal: $99.99/year for 1 TB of storage and access to desktop Office apps.

• Microsoft 365 Family: $129.99/year for up to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage each.

3. Notion

You can’t write a list of Evernote alternatives without talking about Notion. It’s way more than a note-taking app; it’s a build-your-own-workspace where you can juggle notes, tasks, wikis, and pretty complex databases.

Its biggest strength is also its biggest challenge. The flexibility is mind-boggling, but it comes with a seriously steep learning curve. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. You can build almost any system you can dream up with its powerful databases and templates, which is incredible for project management. If you’re willing to invest the time, you can create a perfectly tailored hub for your work. For teams that use it as their central wiki, it gets even better when you connect it with a tool like eesel AI’s Notion integration, letting you find information without ever having to open the app.

Pros:

• Endlessly customizable with databases, templates, and different views.

• Great for team collaboration and creating custom workflows.

• The free plan for individuals is really generous.

Cons:

• It can feel sluggish, especially if you have large databases.

• The offline mode isn’t as reliable as Evernote’s.

• It might be total overkill if all you need is a simple place for notes.

Pricing:

• Free: For individuals, with unlimited blocks but a 5MB file upload limit.

• Plus: $10 per user/month ($8 if billed annually) for small teams, with unlimited blocks and file uploads.

• Business: $20 per user/month ($15 if billed annually) with extras like SAML SSO and private teamspaces.

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced security and controls.

4. Obsidian

Obsidian is for anyone who truly wants to build a "second brain." Think of it less like a filing cabinet and more like a web of your own thoughts. It’s built on two core ideas: your notes are plain text files stored locally on your computer (so you own your data forever), and you can link notes to each other.

This linking feature is the magic. You can see all the connections between your ideas in a cool "graph view," which helps you spot patterns you would have otherwise missed. It’s also super customizable with plugins made by the community for everything from calendars to Kanban boards. Fair warning, it can feel like "taking on a new hobby," but if you love to tinker, it’s a dream come true.

Pros:

• You have total ownership of your data since it’s just local Markdown files.

• Powerful linking and a graph view for connecting your ideas.

• Highly customizable with a huge library of community plugins.

• Free for personal use.

Cons:

• There’s a steep learning curve; it’s not an app you just pick up and go.

• Syncing notes between devices costs money or requires a complicated DIY setup.

• The mobile app isn’t as polished as some of its competitors.

Pricing:

• Personal: Free.

• Commercial: $50 per user/year for professional use.

• Optional Add-ons: Sync is $10/month ($8/month annually), and Publish is $10/month ($8/month annually).

5. Joplin

If data privacy is your number one concern, Joplin is your answer. It’s a free, open-source app that puts you completely in control. Like Obsidian, it stores notes on your device, but it offers more straightforward syncing options through services like Dropbox, OneDrive, or their own paid cloud service.

Its standout feature is support for end-to-end encryption (E2EE). This means nobody, not even the sync service you’re using, can read your notes. It has all the core features you’d expect: notebooks, tags, Markdown support, and a web clipper for saving articles. It feels comfortably familiar for any long-time Evernote user.

Pros:

• Free, open-source, and privacy-focused with E2EE.

• Works on every platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android).

• You decide where your data is synced.

• Has a solid web clipper for saving web pages.

Cons:

• The user interface is functional but doesn’t feel as polished as paid apps.

• Collaboration features are pretty limited compared to Evernote or Notion.

Pricing:

The Joplin app is completely free.

• Joplin Cloud: This is an optional service for easy syncing. The Basic plan starts at €2.99/month, Pro is €5.99/month, and Teams is €7.99/month.

6. UpNote

UpNote feels like the antidote to Evernote’s bloat. It’s a beautifully designed app that is fast, lightweight, and just a pleasure to use. It opens instantly and syncs reliably across all platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android).

It has a clean, organized interface with notebooks and tags, a focus mode to help you write without distractions, and full Markdown support for quick formatting. While it doesn’t have Evernote’s powerhouse features like searching for text in images or advanced integrations, it absolutely nails the core note-taking experience. For a lot of people, that’s all they really need. Best of all, you can get a lifetime subscription for a ridiculously low price, which is a huge relief for anyone tired of endless monthly fees.

Pros:

• A beautiful, fast, and clean user interface.

• Available on all major platforms with rock-solid syncing.

• Incredibly affordable, with a lifetime purchase option.

• Supports Markdown and has a handy focus mode.

Cons:

• Lacks advanced features like searching text in images (OCR) and document scanning.

• The web clipper is more basic than Evernote’s.

• There are no collaboration or note-sharing features.

Pricing:

• Free: Up to 50 notes.

• Premium: $0.99/month or a one-time purchase of around $39.99 for unlimited notes and all features.

7. Bear

Bear is an elegant, writing-focused note-taking app made exclusively for the Apple ecosystem. If you live on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad and appreciate great design, this is the app for you. Its interface is minimal and beautiful, making it a wonderful place to just sit and write.

It uses a tag-based system for organization, which is super flexible. You can create nested tags (like #work/projects/q4) to build a hierarchy without being locked into rigid folders. It also has a fantastic Markdown editor that formats your text as you type, so it always looks clean. It’s not trying to be an "everything bucket" like Evernote; it’s a refined tool for writing and thinking.

Pros:

• Stunning, minimalist design and a great writing experience.

• Fast, responsive, and syncs seamlessly across Apple devices via iCloud.

• Flexible organization with its nested tags system.

Cons:

• It’s only available on Apple devices.

• You need a subscription for core features like syncing.

• No traditional folders, which might be a deal-breaker for some.

Pricing:

• Free: Limited features, no syncing.

• Bear Pro: $2.99/month or $29.99/year unlocks syncing, advanced export options, and a variety of themes.

This video explores some of the best Evernote alternatives available in 2025, highlighting their key features.

How to choose the best Evernote alternative for you

With so many options, the "best" one really comes down to what you need. Here’s a quick cheat sheet:

• If you just want a simple, fast place for personal notes: Go with UpNote for its amazing value and cross-platform support, or Bear if you’re all-in on Apple.

• If you want a powerful free option: Microsoft OneNote is your best bet, no question.

• If you want to build a connected web of personal knowledge: Obsidian is the tool for you, as long as you’re up for the learning curve.

• If you used Evernote as a shared knowledge hub for your team: This is your chance to upgrade your whole workflow. Instead of just getting another digital filing cabinet, you can switch to an intelligent system. eesel AI connects to all your knowledge sources (not just notes) and gives your team instant answers, turning your scattered information into a real, usable asset.

The future of Evernote alternatives is intelligent, not just organized

The world of note-taking has moved on. While there are plenty of great Evernote alternatives for just capturing information, the real change is happening in how we use that information.

The problem has always been that knowledge gets trapped. It’s stuck in an old Evernote notebook, scattered across dozens of Google Docs, or buried deep in Slack threads. Finding what you need is still a manual, time-consuming chore.

This is where a tool like eesel AI really changes the game. It represents a shift from passive storage to active intelligence. It connects to your team’s collective brain, all those documents, wikis, and conversations, and puts that knowledge to work, ready to answer any question in seconds.

This infographic shows how eesel AI unifies knowledge from various sources, making it a powerful choice among Evernote alternatives for businesses.::

Ready to stop searching and start knowing? Connect your knowledge sources to eesel AI for free and build an AI assistant for your team in under five minutes.