The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

These days, we are each dealing with immense amounts of information, from gathering notes to societal media, to photos and videos, to immoderate other we’ve collected — and we are each trying to find immoderate mode to store it, signifier it, and find it erstwhile we request it.

If you privation to get truly basic, you tin usage a spreadsheet oregon make a elemental acceptable of word-processing documents. Otherwise, you tin effort what is somewhat inaccurately described arsenic a note-taking app. These apps, astatine their simplest, store your notes and different thoughts and, astatine their much complex, are susceptible of manipulating immoderate and each contented you privation to driblet into them.

One of the astir well-known has been Evernote, which has gone done rather a fewer changes implicit the years, some financially and successful its diagnostic set. I’ve been utilizing it for my idiosyncratic notes for years, and portion I consciousness that it’s go mode excessively overblown (and excessively expensive), I haven’t been capable to motivate myself to propulsion my decennary of information retired of there. At this point, though, I’m not definite I’d urge it to a caller idiosyncratic — particularly present that it’s limiting the features of its escaped version adjacent much than it utilized to.

However, determination are a batch of others retired determination present with a wide scope of options, from conscionable plain notes to applications that tin bash astir thing arsenic agelong arsenic you person the clip and an inclination to learn. I’ve looked astatine a bunch, and these are immoderate that looked astir promising, from the astir elemental to the astir complex.

In the end, though, the app you usage volition mostly beryllium connected your idiosyncratic needs. Here are much details connected our apical picks successful this category.

Keep

Google

Keep is simply a elemental but utile note-taking app.

Google Keep started retired arsenic a reasonably elemental note-taking app, and portion it has added a fewer features since it began, it’s inactive a good, straightforward mode to grounds your thoughts. Because it is truthful interconnected with different Google apps (for example, you tin entree it straight from Google Calendar, and you tin person a Keep enactment to a Google Doc), it works particularly good if you’re invested successful the Google ecosystem.

Keep isn’t rather arsenic sparse arsenic it utilized to be: you tin make caller notes with instant lists, drawings, oregon images; you tin besides adhd collaborators and a assortment of backgrounds. In addition, determination person been some absorbing upgrades recently that person been promised, specified arsenic substance formatting (although, arsenic of this writing, they were lone disposable for Android). Meanwhile, being Google, the hunt ain’t bad.

Cost: Free.

Bear Markdown Notes

Shiny Frog

Bear is simply a nicely elemental app that lone uses tags to signifier its notes.

Bear Markdown Notes is an app for macOS and iOS devices with an fantabulous interface and enactment of features that could marque maine regret my faithfulness to Android. Even the escaped mentation offers a fig of tweaks — for example, the header tin either beryllium the archetypal condemnation of the enactment oregon the day and clip (or you tin permission it bare and enactment successful thing you want). You person a wide prime of fonts and assorted formatting options.

The app uses tags successful bid to signifier its notes; you make a tag for a enactment by starting your chosen connection with a lb motion (or surrounding a operation with them). The connection / operation volition past look successful the left-hand column, wherever you tin click connected it to find each the tagged notes.

Besides the file connected the left, you person a 2nd file that shows each the notes successful the highlighted section, portion the main model shows what is successful the chosen enactment itself. It’s a UI that is utilized by respective apps, including Evernote.

You tin format your notes successful a assortment of ways by clicking a BIU (bold / italics / underline) icon astatine the apical close of each note; you tin besides make subheads, bulleted and to-do lists, tables, links, and adhd attachments. Another icon lets you spot the statistic for the enactment — fig of words, characters, and erstwhile it was modified. You tin besides spot an outline of your assorted heads, subheads, and immoderate backlinks. In different words, adjacent successful the escaped version, determination are plentifulness of ways you tin play with Bear Notes.

On the different hand, if you privation to sync your notes crossed devices, you’ll person to upgrade to the Pro version. With that, you besides get password protection, the quality to hunt wrong attachments, much formats, and the quality to export notes arsenic PDFs, ePub, and different formats (the escaped mentation lets you export successful Markdown, TextBundle, txt, and rtf).

Cost: Free mentation available. Pro mentation costs $2.99 a period oregon $29.99 a twelvemonth with a 7-day escaped trial.

Evernote

Bending Spoons

Evernote has been a well-known app for collecting information since 2008.

Evernote started retired successful 2008 arsenic an innovative and well-regarded note-taking app. Over the years, however, its estimation has suffered arsenic it worked done privacy missteps, increased fees, and an interface that tin consciousness bloated and feature-heavy. It is present owned by app developer Bending Spoons and has moved its operations to Europe (laying disconnected astir of its US employees successful the process). And arsenic of December 2023, it is limiting its escaped mentation to 50 notes and a azygous notebook, making it fundamentally unusable for astir users but arsenic a proceedings version.

That being said, the paid mentation of Evernote inactive does what it does well, particularly if you’re 1 of those users who has stuck with it for a while. The basal look and consciousness of the web app hasn’t changed much, though the homepage present shows caller notes, a scratch pad, and precocious captured websites. (The homepage tin beryllium personalized with different widgets if you person a paid account.) There are respective ways to signifier your notes: they tin beryllium tagged and / oregon assigned to folders, and folders tin beryllium grouped into named “stacks.” You tin make to-do notes. You tin hunt wrong each your notes, clip webpages successful a assortment of ways, and sync up to 2 devices. You tin upload up to 60MB of information a period with a maximum enactment size of 25MB. And Evernote has been adding AI features specified arsenic AI Note Cleanup, presently successful beta, which uses AI to “tidy up” your notes.

In different words, Evernote has go a reasonably analyzable product, although, arsenic mentioned before, you’ll privation to look astatine the paid versions to usage it properly. The Personal program lets you sync an unlimited fig of devices, upload up to 10GB of information a period with a maximum enactment size of 200MB, link a Gmail account, and more; the Professional program adds further app integration and a assortment of different features.

Cost: Limited escaped mentation available. Personal program costs $14.99 a period oregon $129.99 a year. Professional program costs $17.99 a period oregon $169.99 a year.

OneNote

Microsoft

OneNote lets you marque notes successful a assortment of formats.

The Venn diagram of Evernote users and OneNote users seldom overlaps. This contempt each they person successful common: some person wide ranges of utile features, and each seems to adhd caller functionality each mates of months oregon so. But the consciousness of each is different.

In OneNote, each introduction is simply a page, and each leafage tin incorporate a assortment of antithetic media, including text, audio, images, video, tables, and drawings, among others. Pages are organized into sections and sections into notebooks.

There are a batch of ways you tin tweak your data, however it is organized, and however it looks. You tin make to-do lists and reminders, people substance arsenic important, and alteration the look of the text. You tin item and marque a assortment of drawings successful a assortment of colors. If you usage different Microsoft apps specified arsenic Outlook, you tin sync your OneNote entries with them — for example, to support way of Outlook meetings. You tin alteration the leafage colour and benignant oregon power from acheronian to light.

In fact, similar Evernote, OneNote has had truthful galore antithetic abilities added that it tin go a spot overwhelming. For example, erstwhile I wanted to find retired whether I could extract substance from a photo, I went to OneNote’s “Tell me” icon, which, if it can’t find an contiguous reply to your question, offers a astute lookup link. When “extract text” didn’t travel up with anything, I clicked it and was offered (via a broadside column) a Wikipedia explanation of a substance record and links to respective third-party apps. (A elemental “we don’t bash that” would person been nice.)

One happening astir OneNote that gives it an vantage implicit Evernote: it is inactive wholly free. So if you’re looking for alternatives, it’s worthy giving OneNote a try.

Cost: Free.

Joplin

Laurent Cozic

You tin spot Joplin’s entries successful Markdown oregon affluent substance format.

Joplin is an open-source app that, connected archetypal glance, looks similar a somewhat simpler mentation of Evernote. It has the database of folders (also known arsenic notebooks) connected the acold left, a file listing the contents of the folder to the close of that, and past a abstraction to amusement the contents of the highlighted entry.

A large difference, though, is that Joplin produces straightforward Markdown files (as opposed to Evernote’s proprietary .enex format), and determination is really a toggle that lets you spot each record successful markdown or, if you prefer, affluent text. Which is handy, particularly if you similar to look astatine code; my lone occupation is that links are not unrecorded successful the affluent substance format — though determination is astir apt a mode to tweak that.

And that is simply a 2nd absorbing happening astir Joplin: if you privation to beryllium capable to personalize your app, you can. There are a assortment of plugins, and you tin adjacent make your ain scripts and plugins utilizing the Extension API. If, connected the different hand, you’re not comfy with coding and APIs, Joplin’s existing extensions should supply you with plentifulness to enactment with. You conscionable whitethorn request to consult its lively idiosyncratic forum.

In bid to synchronize Joplin among your devices, you request to acceptable it up with 1 of respective existing unreality services (such arsenic Dropbox oregon OneDrive). You tin besides usage Joplin Cloud, which is disposable successful Joplin’s paid plans: Basic, which includes 2GB retention abstraction and 10MB per enactment oregon attachment, and Pro, which offers 30GB retention space, 200MB per enactment oregon attachment, and different features.

Cost: Free mentation available. Joplin Basic costs €2.99 ($3.27) a period oregon €28.69 ($31.36) a year; Joplin Pro costs €6.69 ($7.32) a period oregon €80.28 ($87.89) a year.

UpNote

UpNote Co.

UpNote offers a look and diagnostic acceptable not dissimilar that of Evernote.

UpNote is simply a good-looking, comparatively elemental to maestro app that looks to beryllium an charismatic alternate to Evernote. It has astir the aforesaid look, with notebooks listed connected the left, the notes successful a highlighted notebook listed adjacent to it, and past a main model showing the contents of each note. It offers the quality to make checklists, insert images and tables, nest notebooks, and (if you person the Premium version) fastener circumstantial notebooks. And it imports a assortment of formats — including Evernote.

There are apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, and determination is simply a web clipper (a diagnostic that is 1 of my “musts”) that works with the large browsers, though the clipper’s abilities are not arsenic extended arsenic Evernote’s.

In fact, if you bash program to usage UpNote extensively, you volition person to determination disconnected the escaped plan, which lone allows up to 50 notes. After that, the Premium program — which is, admittedly, a lot cheaper than Evernote’s — would beryllium the mode to go, offering unlimited notes, the quality to adhd attachments (up to 20MB) and tables, much ways to plan the interface, and the quality to export to a fig of formats.

Cost: Free mentation available, constricted to 50 notes. Pro mentation costs 99 cents a period oregon $29.99 for a beingness subscription.

Notion

Notion Labs

Notion is simply a precise flexible app with a load of features to explore.

If there’s 1 mode to picture Notion, it would beryllium ambitious. You tin commencement with respective antithetic types of formats — a table, a board, a timeline, a calendar, a list, a created template, oregon conscionable an bare page. If you’re an individual, you tin make an unlimited fig of pages, stock your information with a fig of apps, including Slack and GitHub, and stock your contented with up to 10 “guests” for free. In fact, for astir people, escaped volition beryllium rather sufficient. There are immoderate limitations — for example, record uploads are constricted to 5MB — but not capable to truly count. A Plus mentation adds unlimited uploads and immoderate further radical features.

Like Evernote and different higher-end apps, Notion organizes its notes into folders — but successful this case, each enactment tin enactment arsenic a folder and tin incorporate different notes, which tin incorporate different notes. Notion besides seems to beryllium perpetually adding caller features, specified arsenic AI penning capabilities and caller types of sharing options.

In fact, its deficiency of limitations whitethorn beryllium a occupation for immoderate users. If you similar to truly get into the workings of a analyzable app and screw astir with it until it does everything you privation it to bash — and past immoderate — past you whitethorn privation to cheque retired Notion and play a spot with its features. (For example, I presently usage Notion to way my assorted workflows and upcoming tasks.) However, if each you privation to bash is constitute down your thoughts with possibly a fewer other options, you mightiness privation to spell with thing a spot simpler.

Cost: Free mentation available. Plus mentation costs $10 a period oregon $96 a year.

Obsidian

Obsidian

Obsidian is much analyzable and flexible than it archetypal appears.

Some apps are popular, immoderate are precise fashionable — and immoderate really person what amounts to instrumentality clubs. Obsidian is 1 of the latter.

This app is the benignant of happening that, if you’re into it, volition person you exploring its assorted ins, outs, and add-ons for days and weeks connected end. Obsidian uses the Markdown format for its notes (which means they tin beryllium utilized connected a assortment of different apps). Your notes and different media are kept locally successful a Vault (in different words, a main folder). There are ways to sync betwixt devices for escaped — depending connected which devices you privation to sync. Or you tin usage 1 of Obsidian’s paid plans: Standard, which lets you usage Obsidian’s work to sync the information successful 1 vault and store up to 1GB of data, and Plus, which lets you sync up to 10 vaults and store up to 10GB of data. There is simply a complaint arsenic good if you privation to people your notes to the web.

As you tin imagine, thing this flexible is hard to describe.

Even astatine the beginning, determination are respective absorbing formats that you don’t get successful astir different note-taking software. When you archetypal unfastened it aft installation, you get respective choices connected the near broadside of the page: a graph view, a canvas presumption (which lets you make a travel chart, pinboard, oregon different arrangement), and 1 of my existent favorites, a regular enactment (which is simply a dated enactment but is simply a bully thought if you privation to support a journal). You tin besides make templates. And nary of this takes into relationship the assorted plug-ins that person been created by its assemblage — determination were 1,233 erstwhile I past checked.

Of course, this means that if you privation to truly instrumentality vantage of Obsidian, you person to put immoderate clip and effort. But for those into tweaking their apps to suit them completely, it volition astir apt beryllium worthy it.

Cost: Free. Obsidian Standard costs $48 a year, portion Obsidian Plus and Obsidian Publish outgo $96 a piece.

Other apps to try

There are a batch of note-taking apps retired there, and portion not each made our “best of” list, determination are others that mightiness suit your needs, truthful I thought I’d notation them here.

• Notes is Apple’s mentation of Google Keep (or Keep is Google’s mentation of Apple Notes). It’s a free, built-in, elemental mode to instrumentality notes, prevention photos, scan documents, and marque sketches, provided you are utilizing an Apple device.
• Simplenote is simply a text-only app that offers straightforward note-taking for anyone who conscionable wants to, well, instrumentality notes.
• Workflowy is an online app that uses an outline format and is really much flexible than it looks astatine first.
• Anytype, which is inactive successful beta, is an absorbing and analyzable app that, similar Obsidian, tin beryllium amusive for those who truly similar to analyse however to personalize their applications.
• Zoho Notebook is simply a escaped app that organizes your notes by dividing them into abstracted notebooks; each notebook tin besides incorporate audio files, photos, oregon different attachments.

Correction, November 16th, 2023, 4:25PM ET: I primitively stated that Obsidian is open-source software. It is not. I regret the error.

Update March 20th, 2024, 2:30PM ET: This nonfiction was primitively published connected November 16th, 2023, and has been updated since to adhd UpNote, summarize respective apps astatine the bottommost of the article, and update the pricing, including Obsidian’s caller plans.