KeyNote NF vs RightNote
We give KeyNote NF and RightNote the same GPA: 3.0 out of 4.0. KeyNote NF grades higher on the free plan. RightNote grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RightNote
Windows note organizer with pages, trees and several note types
Free plan · from $29.95 one-time
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAKeyNote NFVery good | 3.0GPARightNoteVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Donations are voluntary and don't unlock anything, so the price really is nothing. | AStandard is $29.95 once and Professional is $59.95 once, each with 12 months of updates. Both come in under a year of the $5.99 a month that's typical here, and the software keeps working after the updates stop. A further year of Professional updates is $34.95. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe full Windows program is free from the project's GitHub releases. There's no paid edition and nothing held back. | BThe freeware version is free for personal and commercial use, with rich text, code and memo notes, live search, tags and AES note protection. But it has no spell checker, no images or tables in the editor, and no spreadsheet or attachment notes. The paid versions get a 30-day trial. |
| Features | BTabbed notes with multi-level trees, encryption for a whole file or just chosen notes and images, Find All with highlighted excerpts, tags on notes and bits of text, folding, alarms and PDF export. Solid for a local notebook. The built-in backup only keeps 9 recent copies, and no sync is listed. | APages that each hold a tree of notes, with rich text, code with syntax highlighting, spreadsheets, attachments, outlines, task lists and journals as note types. Search highlights results as you type, and Professional reads inside attached PDF, Word and Excel files. A hotkey clips text from other programs. |
| Ease of use | BDownload the setup program, run it and start a file. There's a fair bit to it, mind, from text folding to alarms. It isn't on the App Store, so there's no rating on record, and a B is as high as we go. | BNo store rating to go on, so a B is our ceiling. It's a normal Windows install, and there's a portable build that runs from a USB stick. The homework is working out which of the three versions has the note types you want. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only. The project lists Windows as its platform and no other build is offered. No Mac, Linux, phone or web version, and the listing shows no integrations. | DWindows only. To see notes on a phone, Mac or browser you sync selected notes to Evernote and read them there, and that's limited to the Professional version. It also imports and exports Excel files. |
| Best for | a free tree notebook on Windows with encryption | filing notes in deep trees on a Windows PC |
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: KeyNote NF and RightNote. How we grade
Where they differ
- KeyNote NF is free. RightNote starts at $29.95 one-time purchase (Standard license).
- KeyNote NF is open source, according to its own site.
- RightNote can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- RightNote also covers daily notes, tasks and spreadsheets.
In commonFree planWindowsLocal-firstNotes
At a glance
| KeyNote NF | RightNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $29.95 one-time purchase (Standard license) |
| Free plan | Free software with code under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Donations are voluntary and do not unlock anything. | Freeware version: rich text, source code, memo and link notes, live search, tags, note encryption and a portable build, free for personal and commercial use. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day fully functional trial of the paid versions |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Daniel Prado Velasco | Bauerapps |
| Price read from | github.com | bauerapps.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
KeyNote NF
- Windows users who want a free, open-source tree notebook
- Long-time KeyNote users who need Unicode and newer features
- Keeping selected notes encrypted inside an otherwise open file
RightNote
- Windows users who file notes in deep, multi-level trees
- Evernote users who want their notes arranged in a tree
- Keeping spreadsheets, code and text notes in one notebook
Worth knowing
KeyNote NF
- Windows only: the project's SourceForge page lists Windows as its platform, and no other build is offered.
- The built-in backup keeps at most 9 recent copies made on saving, so the author advises keeping separate backups of .knt files.
- Its .knt format extends the old one: saving such a file in the original KeyNote 1.6.5 loses alarms and checked-node information.
RightNote
- Windows only; reaching notes from a phone, Mac or browser relies on Evernote Sync, which is limited to the Professional version.
- A license includes 12 months of updates. The software keeps working afterward, but more updates need an upgrade license ($34.95 for Professional).
- The freeware version has no spell checker, spreadsheet or attachment notes, or the Rich view editor with images and tables.
- Journal, outline and task list notes, multi-notebook search and saved web pages need Professional at $59.95.
Key features
KeyNote NF
- Tabbed notes with trees
- A file holds tabbed notes with a rich text editor and multi-level trees of nodes, and linked nodes can share the content of the same note.
- Encryption
- A file can be encrypted as a whole, or stay unencrypted while selected notes and images are encrypted, with a lock-on-opening option.
- Find All and tree filtering
- Find All shows excerpts with the matched words highlighted, can be limited to a node and its subtree or to node names, and combines with tree filtering.
- Tags and text folding
- Tags apply to notes and to fragments of text for filtering, searching and exporting, and blocks of text can be folded down to a short excerpt.
- Image management
- Handles GIF, PNG, JPG, TIF, BMP, WMF, EMF and ICO images, stored inside the file or externally in a zip or folder, with a built-in viewer.
- Checkboxes, alarms and export
- Tree nodes can show checkboxes, carry alarms and be hidden once checked, and notes export to a printer or PDF with a table of contents.
RightNote
- Pages and note trees
- A notebook holds any number of pages and each page has its own hierarchical tree of notes. Folder notes tag their child notes automatically.
- Several note types
- A note can be rich text, a plain memo, source code with syntax highlighting or a file link. Paid versions add spreadsheet, attachment, outline and task list notes.
- Live full-text search
- Results appear highlighted as you type. Professional searches every notebook at once and indexes attached and linked PDF, Word and Excel files.
- Evernote Sync
- Professional syncs selected notes with Evernote, including images, checkboxes and attachments, so they can be reached from phones, Macs and browsers.
- Note protection
- The content of selected notes, trees or whole notebooks can be protected with AES encryption.
- Clipping and portable use
- A global hotkey clips text from other applications, a screen capture tool saves clips into notes, and a portable build runs from a USB stick.
Plans
KeyNote NF
KeyNote NF$0
The full Windows program, downloaded from the project's GitHub releases with a setup program.
RightNote
Freeware$0
Rich text, source code, memo and link notes with live search, tagging, AES note protection and screen capture.
Standard$29.95
one-time, single license with 12 months of updates
Adds the Rich view editor with images and tables, a spell checker, spreadsheet and attachment notes, Excel import and export, and note links.
Professional$59.95
one-time, single license with 12 months of updates
Adds Evernote Sync, search across all notebooks, indexed attachments, saved web pages, and journal, outline and task list notes.
Ways to pay less
KeyNote NF
No public discounts listed.
RightNote
- Lifetime license
Professional Lifetime upgrades license
A $139.95 license gives lifetime upgrades for RightNote Professional instead of 12 months. It requires an earlier purchase of a Pro license.
