Joplin vs Quillpad
We give Joplin a 3.6 GPA and Quillpad a 3.0, out of 4.0. Joplin grades higher on features and platforms. Quillpad grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Joplin
Open source Markdown notes with sync through a service you choose
Quillpad
Open-source Android notes app with Markdown and task lists
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAJoplinExcellent | 3.0GPAQuillpadVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe apps are free and open source, and you can sync them through storage you already have. If you'd rather not, Joplin Cloud Basic is 2.40€ a month billed yearly (28.69€) for 2 GB. Students and teachers get 50% off. | AFree and open source, under GNU GPL v3.0 on F-Droid, and the project says it will never show ads. With no paid tier at all, there's nothing to set against the $5.99 a month that's typical here. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe desktop, mobile and terminal apps are all free and open source, and sync works through your own Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV or S3. Joplin Cloud is optional. Only the browser web app, publishing and shared notebooks need it. | AThe whole app is free from F-Droid, Google Play or GitHub, with no in-app purchases listed. Every feature is in from the start. |
| Features | AMarkdown or rich text, notebooks, tags and full-text search on every platform. Notes hold images, PDFs, audio, maths and diagrams. There's a web clipper, optional end-to-end encryption, plugins and themes, and Evernote exports import with their attachments. | BMarkdown notes, task lists, reminders, notebooks, tags, voice recordings and file attachments, plus pinning, archiving, hidden notes and search. Solid basics. But Nextcloud sync is labelled experimental, and moving in from Google Keep or Notally means running separate conversion scripts. |
| Ease of use | C4.1 from about 480 App Store ratings, under our line for a B. You pick and connect a sync service yourself. Encryption is off until you enable it on one device first, and a forgotten encryption password can't be recovered. | BIt's Android only, so there's no App Store rating on record and a B is our ceiling. Install it and write. The only setup is sync, if you want it: a folder of Markdown files or a Nextcloud server with the Notes app installed. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, plus a terminal app and clippers for Chrome and Firefox. It syncs through Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV or S3, and there's an extension API. The web app comes only with Joplin Cloud. | DAndroid only, on Android 7.0 or newer. There's no iPhone, desktop or web version and no hosted sync service. Nextcloud is the one integration, and file sync writes plain Markdown files other apps can read. |
| Best for | free, open source notes synced your own way | free Markdown notes and checklists on Android |
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: Joplin and Quillpad. How we grade
Where they differ
- Joplin starts at 2.40€ per month, billed yearly at 28.69€ (Joplin Cloud Basic). Quillpad is free.
- Only Joplin lists a web app.
- Only Joplin lists Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS apps.
- Only Joplin lists a browser extension.
- Joplin is self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Joplin also covers web clipper.
- Quillpad also covers tasks.
At a glance
| Joplin | Quillpad | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | 2.40€ per month, billed yearly at 28.69€ (Joplin Cloud Basic) | Free |
| Free plan | The Joplin apps are free and open source, and can sync through your own Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV or S3 storage. Joplin Cloud is an optional paid service. | The whole app is free and open source, and the project says it will never show ads. F-Droid lists the license as GNU GPL v3.0 only. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of the paid plans; cancel during the trial and you are not charged. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Laurent Cozic | Quillpad |
| Price read from | joplinapp.org | quillpad.github.io |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Joplin
- People who want open source notes synced through their own storage
- Privacy-minded users who want end-to-end encrypted sync
- Leaving Evernote: its export files import with formatting and attachments
- Markdown writers who work across Windows, macOS, Linux and mobile
Quillpad
- Android users who want a free notes app with no ads
- People who self-host Nextcloud and want their notes on it
- Keeping Markdown notes, checklists and reminders in one app
Worth knowing
Joplin
- End-to-end encryption is not on by default, and a forgotten encryption password cannot be recovered.
- Joplin Cloud and Joplin Server Business prices are listed in euros.
- On Joplin Cloud Basic you can join a shared notebook but not share your own; that and Email to Note need Pro.
- The browser-based web app and Joplin Cloud AI (beta) are available only with a Joplin Cloud subscription.
Quillpad
- Android only: the downloads are F-Droid, Google Play and GitHub, and F-Droid lists Android 7.0 or newer as the requirement.
- Nextcloud sync is labeled experimental and needs the Nextcloud Notes app installed on the server.
- There is no hosted sync service: notes stay on the device unless file-system or Nextcloud sync is set up.
- Moving in from Notally or Google Keep relies on separate conversion scripts linked from the README.
Key features
Joplin
- Markdown notes and to-dos
- Notes and to-dos are written in Markdown or a rich text editor, organized into notebooks with tags, and found through full-text search on every platform.
- Multimedia, math and diagrams
- Notes can hold images, videos, PDFs and audio files, and math expressions and diagrams are created inside the app.
- Sync through a service you choose
- Notes synchronize through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, S3 or the local file system, and switching from one service to another is supported.
- End-to-end encryption
- Synchronized notes can be end-to-end encrypted so that the sync service cannot read them. It is off by default and has to be enabled on one device first.
- Web clipper
- Browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox save web pages and screenshots as notes.
- Plugins, themes and publishing
- Plugins, custom themes and an extension API change how the app works. With Joplin Cloud, a note can be published to a URL and notebooks shared for collaboration.
Quillpad
- Markdown notes
- Notes are written with Markdown support and can be pinned to the top of the list, archived when they are no longer needed, and found through search.
- Task lists and reminders
- A note can be a task list, and reminders can be set on notes for events that should not be missed.
- Notebooks and tags
- Related notes are grouped into notebooks, and tags can be added to notes as a second way to organize them.
- Voice recordings and attachments
- Voice recordings and other files can be attached to a note so related material stays in one place.
- Hidden notes
- Notes can be hidden from the main list so they are not shown to other people looking at the device.
- File, Nextcloud and zip backup
- Notes can sync to the file system as Markdown files in a local or cloud folder, sync with Nextcloud, or be backed up to a zip file and restored later.
Plans
Joplin
Joplin appFree
The open source desktop, mobile and terminal apps, with sync through third-party storage and optional end-to-end encryption.
Joplin Cloud Basic2.99€
per month, or 28.69€ per year (2.40€ / month)
2 GB of storage and 10 MB per note or attachment, with note publishing, the web app and Joplin Cloud AI (beta). Can join shared notebooks only.
Joplin Cloud Pro5.99€
per month, or 57.48€ per year (4.79€ / month)
30 GB of storage and 200 MB per note or attachment, plus sharing notebooks, Email to Note and a custom publishing banner.
Joplin Cloud Pro 100 GB9.99€
per month, or 95.88€ per year (7.99€ / month)
Everything in Pro with 100 GB of storage space.
Joplin Cloud Teams7.99€
per user / month, or 80.28€ per user / year; minimum 2 users
50 GB of storage, with multi-user management, consolidated billing, share permissions and priority support.
Joplin Server Business3.33€
per user / month for 2-10 users, billed annually (40.00€)
Self-hosted server with source code available and no storage or attachment limits. 2.92€ per user for 11-50 users, 2.50€ beyond that.
Quillpad
Quillpad$0
The full app from F-Droid, Google Play or the GitHub releases page, with no paid tier or in-app purchases listed.
Ways to pay less
Joplin
- Annual discount
Roughly 16% to 20% lower price when paying yearly
Basic works out to 2.40€ a month on yearly billing against 2.99€ monthly, Pro to 4.79€ against 5.99€, and Teams to 6.69€ per user against 7.99€.
- Education
50% Education Discount for students and teachers
Students and teachers who write in from a school or university email address get 50% off Joplin Cloud for a year, renewable for as long as they remain in education.
Quillpad
No public discounts listed.
