Evernote vs Notesnook
We give Evernote a 3.2 GPA and Notesnook a 4.0, out of 4.0. Notesnook grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Evernote
Note-taking app with web clipping, tasks, calendar and AI search
Notesnook
Open source, end-to-end encrypted notes on every platform
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAEvernoteVery good | 4.0GPANotesnookExcellent | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $99 a year, about $8.25 a month, or $14.99 paid monthly. That's the dear end of a category that typically starts at $5.99, and it still stops at 1,000 notes and 3 devices. Unlimited everything is Advanced, at $249.99 a year. | AEssential is $1.99 a month or $19.99 a year on the US App Store, a third of the $5.99 this category typically starts at. Pro is $6.99. Paid plans mainly buy storage, so plenty of people will never need one. Students get Pro for $19.99 a year. |
| Free plan and trial | BThere is a free plan, but it's small: 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 GB of storage and sync on a single device. So it's your phone or your laptop, not both. Paid plans have a 7-day trial. | AFree forever, no card: unlimited encrypted notes on unlimited devices. Most people could stay here. The caps are 50 MB of attachments a month, 10 MB a file, 50 notebooks, 50 tags and 10 active reminders. |
| Features | AA Web Clipper for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, document scanning, and search that takes Boolean and location queries or finds related notes by meaning. Add tasks with reminders, Google and Microsoft calendars, an AI assistant, meeting transcripts and shared notes edited in real time. | AEnd-to-end encryption on everything, an editor with tables, task lists, code, maths and attachments, notes that link to each other, a vault behind a second password, reminders, a web clipper and publishing a note as a web page. |
| Ease of use | B4.4 from about 78,000 App Store ratings. Reviews going back several years report crashes, freezes or unsaved edits in the iPhone and iPad app, sometimes after a big update. | A4.7 from about 670 App Store ratings. The encryption happens without you doing anything, and the free plan needs no card. The plans take a minute to compare, as they differ mostly in storage numbers. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android and a browser clipper, with Google Drive, Gmail, Slack and Outlook connected. An MCP connector lets Claude and ChatGPT work with your notes. No Linux app, though. | AWindows, Mac, Linux, Android, iPhone and the web, plus a clipper for Chrome and Firefox. An inbox API lets Zapier, IFTTT or your own script drop notes in, encrypted with your key. |
| Best for | a searchable archive of clippings, scans and notes | private, encrypted notes that are free to keep |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Evernote and Notesnook. How we grade
Where they differ
- Evernote starts at $99 per year (about $8.25 a month), or $14.99 billed monthly. Notesnook starts at $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Essential).
- Only Notesnook lists a Linux app.
- Notesnook is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Evernote also covers templates, tasks and calendar.
- Notesnook also covers Markdown and linked notes.
At a glance
| Evernote | Notesnook | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per year (about $8.25 a month), or $14.99 billed monthly | $1.99 per month, or $19.99 per year (Essential) |
| Free plan | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 5 spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 GB of storage, 1 connected external calendar and sync on 1 device. | Free forever, no card: unlimited encrypted notes on unlimited devices, with 50 MB of attachment storage a month, 10 MB per file, 50 notebooks, 50 tags and 10 active reminders. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of paid plans; Evernote Enterprise can be tried free for 14 days. | 14-day free trial on monthly and yearly plans; a payment method is required. The 5-year plan has no trial. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Bending Spoons | Streetwriters (Private) Ltd. |
| Price read from | frontdeskreview.com (not the vendor's own page) | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Evernote
- People who save web pages, scans and documents and need to search across them
- Keeping notes, tasks and calendar events in a single app
- Teams that want shared notes with central administration and single sign-on
Notesnook
- People who want notes the provider cannot read
- Unlimited notes across many devices on a free plan
- Users who want open source clients and sync server
- Students and educators, who can get Pro for $19.99 a year
Worth knowing
Evernote
- The Free plan is limited to 50 notes, 1 notebook and sync on a single device.
- Starter is capped at 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 5 GB of storage and 3 synced devices.
- There is no Linux app; the desktop apps are for Mac and Windows only.
- In-note encryption is offered only in the Mac and Windows apps, and AI Cleanup only on mobile.
Notesnook
- The free plan allows 50 MB of attachment uploads a month and 10 MB per file, and caps notebooks and tags at 50 each.
- Paid tiers mainly raise storage and limits: Essential gives 1 GB a month, Pro 10 GB and Believer 25 GB.
- Prices on notesnook.com are localized by country and shown with tax; the dollar prices here come from the US App Store listing.
- The 5-year plan is prepaid and does not include the 14-day trial.
Key features
Evernote
- Web Clipper and document scanning
- A browser extension for Chrome, Firefox and Safari saves web pages into notes, and paper documents can be scanned in alongside them.
- Advanced and semantic search
- Search supports Boolean, geographic and filtered queries, and semantic search surfaces related notes based on their content.
- Tasks and calendar
- Tasks take due dates, reminders and assignees. Google and Microsoft calendars can be connected: 1 on the Free plan and 5 on paid plans.
- AI Assistant
- A chat assistant searches, organizes and enriches notes, with monthly and per-chat usage limits. AI Edit writes, summarizes, tidies and translates notes.
- AI Transcribe
- Records meetings and conversations, then produces a transcript and summary inside a note.
- Collaboration and MCP
- Shared notes support real-time editing, comments and task assignment. An MCP connector lets Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible AI tools use your notes.
Notesnook
- End-to-end encryption
- Everything is encrypted on the device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 before it syncs, so the servers hold only data they cannot read.
- Rich editor
- The editor handles tables, task lists, outlines, code blocks, maths formulas, images and file attachments, with Markdown support.
- Vault and app lock
- The app can require a fingerprint, PIN or password to open, and a vault puts selected notes behind a second password.
- Linked notes
- Notes link to one another, and each note lists both the notes it points to and the notes that reference it.
- Web clipper and published notes
- An open source clipper for Chrome and Firefox saves pages or selections into notes. A single note can be published as a web page, optionally behind a password.
- Reminders and Inbox API
- Reminders can be set on any note and fire from the device. An inbox API lets Zapier, IFTTT or your own script add notes, encrypted with your key.
Plans
Evernote
Free$0
50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 GB of storage and sync on 1 device.
Starter$99
per year ($14.99 if billed monthly)
1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 10 spaces, 5 GB of storage, 5 external calendars and sync across 3 devices.
Advanced$249.99
per year ($24.99 if billed monthly)
Unlimited notes, notebooks, spaces, storage and synced devices, subject to safeguard limits against abuse.
Enterprise (Flexible, Unlimited)Custom
Team plans with centralized account administration, user activity logs and single sign-on. Pricing is by quote.
Notesnook
Free$0
Unlimited notes and devices, 50 MB of attachment storage a month, 10 MB file size, 50 notebooks, 50 tags and 100 versions per note.
Essential$1.99
per month, or $19.99 per year (US App Store prices)
1 GB of storage a month, 100 MB file size, 500 notebooks and tags, 50 active reminders and 1,000 versions per note.
Pro$6.99
per month, or $69.99 per year (US App Store prices)
10 GB of storage a month, 1 GB file size and unlimited notebooks, tags, colors and reminders. Also sold as a prepaid 5-year plan.
Believer$8.99
per month, or $89.99 per year (US App Store prices)
25 GB of storage a month and 5 GB file size, with every limit removed. Also sold as a prepaid 5-year plan.
Ways to pay less
Evernote
- Education
40% off Evernote Advanced for students
Eligible college students who are not already paying subscribers get 40% off a one-year Evernote Advanced subscription, with student status verified through UNiDAYS.
Notesnook
- Annual discount
Two months free with yearly billing
The pricing page labels yearly billing as 2 months free. On the US App Store, Essential is $19.99 a year against $1.99 a month, and Pro is $69.99 against $6.99.
- Education
Pro for $19.99 a year for students and educators
Students and educators can apply with an EDU email address or an official document to get Notesnook Pro for 19.99 USD per year. It lasts one year and can be reclaimed.
- Other savings
Prepaid 5-year plans for Pro and Believer
Pro and Believer can be paid for five years at a time, at a lower monthly rate than the standard yearly price shown on the pricing page.
