Evernote vs Standard Notes

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

Standard Notes

• Private notes that the provider cannot read
• Keeping sensitive records and documents alongside notes
• People who want open source apps and the option to self-host
• Small groups: Professional can be shared with up to 5 accounts

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.

Standard Notes

• The free plan is limited to plain-text notes; Markdown, rich text, spreadsheets and folders need Productivity at $90 per year.
• The pricing page lists yearly prices only, and there is no free trial; refunds are offered within 14 days (Productivity) or 90 days (Professional).
• Encrypted file storage comes only with Professional, and files cannot be viewed or downloaded after a subscription expires.
• When a subscription lapses, notes in the paid editors become read-only until switched back to plain text.

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.

Standard Notes

End-to-end encryption

Notes, tags and other data are encrypted on the device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before syncing, so the server stores only data it cannot read.

Note types

A note is plain text on the free plan. A subscription adds Super notes for Markdown, rich text, checklists and code, plus spreadsheets and an authenticator for 2FA codes.

Sync and offline access

Notes sync across unlimited devices on the web, desktop and mobile, and an offline copy stays available without an internet connection.

Revision history and backups

Daily encrypted email backups come with every plan. Note history covers the current session on the free plan, 1 year on Productivity and is unlimited on Professional.

Encrypted file storage

Professional includes 100 GB of encrypted storage for photos, videos and documents, with no file size limit (tested up to 2 GB) and offline file access.

Web Clipper and folders

Paid plans add a Chrome and Firefox extension that clips a full page, an article or a selection into a note, and nested folders built from tags.

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.

Standard Notes

• StandardFree

  Plain-text notes with end-to-end encryption, unlimited device sync, offline access, tags and daily encrypted email backups.

• Productivity$90

  per year

  Adds the Super note type for Markdown and rich text, spreadsheets, Daily Notebooks, folders, the Web Clipper, an authenticator and 1-year revision history.

• Professional$120

  per year

  Adds 100 GB of encrypted file storage, subscription sharing with up to 5 accounts, maximum revision history and hardware security key support.

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.

Standard Notes

• Education

  30% student discount

  Students get 30% off any plan, except offline subscriptions, by emailing the support team from a student email address.

• Other savings

  Help for people who cannot afford a plan

  Standard Notes invites anyone facing economic difficulty to email support with their circumstances so a plan that works for them can be arranged.

• Other savings

  Discounted offline subscription for self-hosting

  Offline subscriptions, which unlock the paid features on a self-hosted server, are sold at what the vendor calls a steep discount from the hosted plans.