Joplin vs VNote

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

VNote

• People who want Markdown notes as plain files with no account
• Vi users and others who work mostly from the keyboard
• Keeping a notebook under Git version control
• Large, deeply nested personal knowledge bases

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.

VNote

• Desktop only: packages exist for Windows, Linux and macOS, and the docs list no iOS, Android or web version.
• The docs say VNote is for single-user note-taking, with no real-time collaboration and no managed, account-based cloud service.
• VNote does not update itself. It only checks for a newer release, and each new version is downloaded and installed by hand.
• Tags, attachments, the recycle bin and Git sync work only in bundled notebooks, not in raw notebooks that browse an existing folder.

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.

VNote

Notebooks as plain folders

A notebook is one directory of plain text files, mostly Markdown, with folders nested to any depth. There is no database, so notes can be copied, backed up or edited with other tools.

Markdown editor with live preview

In-place and side-by-side live preview, syntax highlighting and an interactive outline, with math rendered by MathJax and diagrams by PlantUML, Graphviz and Mermaid.

Built-in Git sync

A bundled notebook can clone, commit, fetch and push to a Git remote from inside the app, on demand or at a set interval, with a dialog for resolving conflicts.

Mind maps and PDF annotation

Mind maps are their own note type, edited on a node canvas. PDFs open in a built-in viewer with highlight, drawing and text-box tools, and the comments are saved beside the file.

Vi mode and keyboard control

Vi mode gives modal editing, and tabs, window splits, configurable shortcuts and a fuzzy search-and-jump entry box cover the rest from the keyboard.

Export to Markdown, HTML and PDF

Notes, folders or whole notebooks export to Markdown, HTML or PDF, and a custom command such as Pandoc reaches formats like docx and epub.

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.

VNote

• VNote$0

  The full app for Windows 10 or newer, Linux (as an AppImage) and macOS 10.15 or newer, plus a separate reduced build for Windows 7.

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.

VNote

No public discounts listed.