No doubt, Evernote is a great note taking platform. It has been refining its user experience and it has been adding new and useful features since its launch. Still, the time has changed and some really great Evernote alternatives have arrived in the market. As note taking is becoming more and more important part of a productive person’s life, the app can really make or break things.
So, should you stick to Evernote? If not than why and what are the best apps to switch to?
Why it makes sense to switch to an Evernote alternative?
Evernote is good at taking notes and if it was the only app to do that, people would still love it as much they do today. Still, being good doesn’t help if there are reliable and better products are available and it Evernote being expensive makes its vote weaker.
Evernote is expensive
Sure, there is a free tire of the product. But if you are into serious note taking, you would want to upgrade to paid tier that costs between $4 to $10 per month. The free version is too restrictive and you can only use it on 2 devices. Also you won’t be able to save a notebook locally if you are not paying for app.
Evernote getting expensive
App has a distaracting UI
A note taking app has to be simple and straight forward. Evernote’s desktop apps might feel bloated and navigating around them can be tedious for newcomers. At moments when you want to focus on your writing, Evernote’s apps may become distracting.
It is not available for Linux
Evernote has no client for Linux and it may be a deal breaker for many users. Sure, you can use the web version but having a Dedicated app could be much better than using a Web app.
Best Evernote Alternatives
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote is probably the best alternative to Evernote as it offers almost all features and costs, well, nothing. The notes are organized in notebooks and sections; you can share the Notebooks -not individual pages – with other users. OneNote has a good web clipper, pen support and it can also search for text within images. You can also use tags to find similar things at once and there are also options to embedding YouTube videos directly into notes.
In past, Microsoft bundled OneNote with its Office Suite, but you can get it for free now. The free version included all features and there are no restrictions on the number of devices or size of notes per month.
Onenote is powerful and free, which makes it an ideal Evernote alternative
By default, OneNote stores notebooks on OneDrive, but, if you need, you can save them locally. However, Local notebooks don’t have sync support. OneNote is available for Windows, OS X, Android, iOS and Web.
Should you use OneNote?
If you are looking for an Evernote alternative but don’t want to compromise with features or quality, OneNote is your best bet.
Google Keep
Google Keep is a free note taking service that is available for Android, iOS and Web. Keep is pretty straightforward. You can add notes, list, images, audio as notes and you are supposed to use it on a web browser if you are using a desktop or laptop. Keep is really good at being simple. Google Keep lacks many advance feature that Evernote or OneNote have, but it covers the basics and you won’t have to deal with endless options.
There is no dedicated App for Desktops, but Web app works well.
One of the biggest turn-off about Keep is its lack of a dedicated app, if you are using Chrome or Chromebook it should not bother you too much, but if you want to use a dedicated app on your Laptop or desktop, you are better off looking at any other Evernote alternative.
Who is it for?
Replace Evernote with Google Keep if you take notes mostly on your mobile devices and you want a simple note taking app with essential features.
Simplenote
Simplenote is made by Auttomatic -the company that is behind WordPress. It is a really straight forward Text note solution and it supports markdown. Simplenote is extremely minimal, you can add lists, bulleted points on notes and that’s all. There is no support for adding images or writing with pen. That’s not all, you can tag notes, publish them directly on the web, you can pin notes into the top of the list and see and restore previous versions of your notes. The apps are lightweight (Windows version is almost 50MB and Android version is under 10 MB as well)
After using OneNote for 2 Years, I have switched to Simplentoe
Availability: Simplenote is the only good Simplenote alternative that has its own Linux app. Other platforms support includes Apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
Who is Simplenote for?
Simplenote is not for you if you add images regularly, However, for people who write, Simplenote is a great app. I have been using it since its release for Windows and it really helps in keeping focus at writing and its apps are really snappy. So, go with Simplenote if you want markdown and you don’t need to add images into your notes.
Read: Simplenote VS Evernote : head to head comparison
Apple Notes
Apple notes is not the most powerful note taking app on the planet, but if you use apple products it may be a great Evernote alternative for you. Feature wise, Apple Notes covers all basics. You can add images on notes, on iOS devices, you can set a passcode to protect the notes. The syncing is really good. In my past experiences, I haven’t had any syncing problem with the app.
Apple notes is completely free and all your notes are saved in iCloud for syncing.
Obviously, it is only available for macOS and iOS, and it is preinstalled so you al.
Should you go with Apple notes?
If you use iDevices and Macs exclusively and you don’t need any advance features, Apple Notes can be a great note taking app for you.
TL; DR
So, at the end, following are the best Alternatives to Evernote:
- Microsoft OneNote
- Google Keep
- Simplenote
- Apple Notes
Which one is your favorite?
Among all Evernote alternatives that we discussed in the post, which one are you switching to and why? share with us in the comments below.
