6 Better Evernote Alternatives For Taking Notes

Evernote has long been a favorite with office workers and students, thanks to built-in note-taking and task management features, along with a generous free plan that allowed note sharing across platforms. Unfortunately, Evernote has a poor free plan, device and upload limits, and has suffered numerous data breaches in recent years.

While Evernote is certainly one of the most well-known productivity apps, it isn’t the only option for users who need to stay organized. If you’re tired of Evernote, you have other options, so here are six of the better Evernote alternatives for you to consider.

Google Keep

If you’re looking for a quick and free Evernote alternative for note-taking abilities, start with Google Keep, free for all Google account users. While it can easily replace Evernote as a location to store quick thoughts and ideas, it does lack some of Evernote’s premium features.

That doesn’t mean Google Keep isn’t a good alternative, however. With Android and iOS apps and a Chrome extension, you can access, edit and add new notes to your Keep storage across multiple platforms. You can also access Keep from within Google Docs apps like Slides, letting you import images and text notes with ease.

You can also collaborate on notes with Google Keep, allowing you to share your ideas with other users. If you want to use Google Keep to organize your life, you can set reminders, alerting you with the contents of your note when needed.

Google Keep has no storage limit, allowing you to save as many notes as you like.

Microsoft OneNote

Unlike Google Keep’s simplistic, post-it note style approach, Microsoft OneNote is a more serious competitor to Evernote. OneNote is free to use, with desktop and Windows 10 UWP apps available.

OneNote separates your thoughts into individual notebooks, where you can save images, text, links, and more. The Web Clipper extension for Chrome lets you save information from the web, while mobile apps allow you to take pictures in the real world, with OCR features that convert images to text in your OneNote notebooks.

OneNote works well with other Office apps, allowing you to insert Excel formulae into a OneNote notebook, for instance. You can also integrate other services, like IFTTT for automation, with OneNote.

If OneNote is for you, you can take advantage of Microsoft’s Evernote to OneNote convertor to move your existing notes across.

Simplenote

Services like Evernote and OneNote focus on bringing together all forms of note-taking, including images and video content. The aptly-named Simplenote has turned this approach on its head, offering a much simpler Evernote alternative.

Simplenote is text-only—that means no images or video. That might not appeal to everybody, but the service also offers collaboration with other users, as well as the ability to publish your notes publicly on the web. You can revert changes to your notes, as well as format them using Markdown.

Simplenote is available on all major platforms including Windows, macOS, and Linux. Mobile support is included, too, with apps for Android and iOS. There’s also a web-based service, allowing you to access your Simplenote notes on the web.

As we’ve mentioned, this isn’t a service for everyone, but with cross-platform support and easy-to-use collaboration features, Simplenote could be the Evernote alternative you’re looking for.

Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is one of the more appealing cross-platform Evernote alternative. With Android and iOS apps, and support on all major operating systems, Zoho Notebook can be easily customized to suit your needs the most.

You can format your notebooks with appealing front covers, use a Google Keep-like card system with color-coded categories to organize your notes, as well as take advantage of a powerful tagging system to be able to easily search through your notes.

Zoho Notebook offers increased security, with Touch ID support on iOS, as well as passcodes on other devices. Like Simplenote, Zoho Notebook allows you to revert notes back to an older version, should you need to.

You can also integrate Zoho Notebook with other services like Zapier and Gmail, as well as with other Zoho products.

Dropbox Paper

As you might expect from one of the biggest cloud service providers, Dropbox Paper is a cross-platform service that can almost do it all. It has more advanced formatting features than some of its competitors, with the ability to create notes that contain tables and images.

You can import content from other sources, like YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram. Collaboration with other users is encouraged, too, with options to allow other users to view and edit your Dropbox Paper notes. It offers all of this in a very simple-to-use interface, with your other Dropbox content easily accessible in the left-hand menu.

Dropbox Paper documents can be designed to suit your needs. For instance, if you’re organizing a project, you could insert a timeline into your notes. You can also code in Dropbox, with Dropbox Paper automatically converting the formatting to match your chosen programming language.

You’ll need a Dropbox account to be able to use Dropbox Paper, as it uses your Dropbox storage allowance to store your notes. Free Dropbox Paper users can take advantage of 2GB of storage, but you can upgrade if you need more.

Apple Notes

While this is a macOS and iOS only option, Apple Notes is a good contender to be the best Evernote alternative for Apple device owners. It’s a core app, so you should be able to find it on your Apple devices automatically.

Simple is the name of the Apple Notes game, with basic formatting options for text, as well as the ability to sort information into tables. You can also use Notes to store images, as well as scan documents or sketches using your iOS devices. 

Notes are stored in individual folders, but if you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can search through past notes using the search bar. If you want to secure your notes, you can add a password to prevent anyone else from reading them.

As we’ve mentioned, Apple Notes is primarily for Apple users. If you’re on Windows and Linux, you can access your Apple Notes from the iCloud website, but you’d be better served by a Windows-friendly alternative like Google Keep instead.

Improving Productivity

These Evernote alternatives are a good place to start if you’re looking to improve your overall productivity but want to leave Evernote behind. Services like OneNote and Dropbox Paper can help you stay organized, keeping your thoughts and ideas in one place. 

You can go even further, with productivity apps for mobile to keep working while you’re on the move. If you’re spending too much time browsing the web, consider using some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity to stay focused, too.