Joplin vs Zettel Notes
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
Zettel Notes
Android Markdown note app built around the Zettelkasten method
Where they differ
- Joplin starts at 2.40€ per month, billed yearly at 28.69€ (Joplin Cloud Basic). Zettel Notes starts at $0.99 one-time for the cheapest paid plugin; most are $2.99 to $5.99.
- Only Joplin lists a web app.
- Only Joplin lists Windows, macOS, Linux and iOS apps.
- Only Joplin lists a browser extension.
- Joplin is open source, self-hostable and end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- Zettel Notes also covers linked notes and templates.
At a glance
| Joplin | Zettel Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | 2.40€ per month, billed yearly at 28.69€ (Joplin Cloud Basic) | $0.99 one-time for the cheapest paid plugin; most are $2.99 to $5.99 |
| 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 main app is free with no ads and includes Markdown notes, repositories, backlinks, encryption, templates and all four sync methods. The Location and Todo.txt plugins are free too. |
| 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 | dax7 (Rohit Sharma) |
| Price read from | joplinapp.org | play.google.com |
| 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
Zettel Notes
- Android users who keep notes as Markdown files in their own folders
- People following the Zettelkasten method with linked notes
- Syncing notes through a Git repository, WebDAV server or SFTP
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.
Zettel Notes
- The documentation covers an Android app only; it lists no iOS, desktop or web version.
- OCR, document scanning, speech to text, translation and AI features are separate plugin apps, priced from $0.99 to $5.99 each on Google Play.
- Sync runs through Dropbox, Git, WebDAV or SFTP that the user sets up; the developer does not run a sync service.
- With password-based encryption, notes cannot be decrypted if the password is forgotten or the app is uninstalled, which clears the salt.
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.
Zettel Notes
- Plain-text repositories
- Notes are saved as separate .md, .txt or .org files in one or more folders, called repositories, so an existing folder of notes can be opened by pointing the app at it.
- Wiki links and backlinks
- Typing [[ inserts a link to another note, and each note's information dialog lists the notes that link to it. Tags, authors and note IDs taken from file names or YAML are supported.
- Sync over Dropbox, Git, WebDAV and SFTP
- Each repository can sync with Dropbox, a Git remote, a WebDAV server such as Nextcloud, or SFTP, either manually or in the background at intervals from 15 minutes to 24 hours.
- Per-repository encryption
- A repository can be encrypted with a password, an in-app PGP key, or a key held in an external OpenPGP app. The feature list also includes an app lock.
- Note types and web capture
- Task, drawing, audio, bookmark and log notes are plain-text files with their own view. Sharing a web page from a browser converts it to Markdown and saves it as a note.
- Plugin apps
- Separate plugin apps add OCR, document scanning, speech to text, translation, Anki cards, alarms, AI chat and on-device AI actions. Most are paid; two are free.
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.
Zettel Notes
Zettel Notes$0
The full note app, which the developer says will stay free of charge and ad-free. The Location and Todo.txt plugins also cost nothing.
Latex Plugin$0.99
one-time purchase (US Google Play)
A searchable list of LaTeX symbols that inserts the code for the chosen symbol into a note.
Publish plugin$2.49
one-time purchase (US Google Play)
Publishes a Markdown note as a public page on Telegraph and returns a link to share.
$2.99 plugins$2.99
one-time purchase per plugin (US Google Play)
Alarm, Anki, Speech2Text, SpeedRead, TextUtils and Translate plugins. Each is a separate app bought on its own.
Local AI Actions$3.19
one-time purchase (US Google Play)
On-device AI actions such as summarize, rewrite and expand on selected text, with no API key or internet connection.
$5.99 plugins$5.99
one-time purchase per plugin (US Google Play)
AI Chat, Scanner, OCR and Donation plugins, each bought separately. AI Chat also needs an OpenAI API key or a compatible server.
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.
Zettel Notes
No public discounts listed.
