# Beaver Notes

> Open-source, local-first Markdown notes app for desktop

Beaver Notes is a free, MIT-licensed notes app for Windows, macOS and Linux that keeps notes on your own device with no account. It offers Markdown editing, labels, links between notes, password-locked notes, file attachments and drawings, and it syncs by pointing at a folder in a cloud or sync service you choose. A version 5 rewrite that brings mobile into the same app is in beta.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** Beaver Notes
- **Website:** https://beavernotes.com
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Beaver Notes is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license, with no account and no monthly fee. The project says it will stay free and takes donations.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Beaver Notes | $0 | The full desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, as installers or through Scoop, Homebrew, Flatpak and the AUR. |

Read from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Beaver-Notes/Beaver-Notes/main/README.md on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Beaver Notes before buying.

## Key features

- **Local Markdown notes:** Notes are stored on your device and written in Markdown, with LaTeX equations, code blocks and Mermaid diagrams. No account or server is involved.
- **Note linking and labels:** Notes can link to one another, and labels typed with a # sort and filter them. Home and Archive views show notes as cards that can be bookmarked.
- **Command Prompt:** A command palette, available on every page, searches notes by title, content or label and runs commands such as opening settings.
- **Locked notes:** A note can be locked with a password, which encrypts its content until the password is entered again.
- **Files, audio and drawings:** PDFs, presentations, images and audio can be placed inside notes, and sketches or handwritten sections can be inserted as drawings.
- **Sync through your own storage:** Sync works by choosing a folder inside a service such as Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud or Syncthing, with an auto-sync option or manual sync buttons.

## Good for

- People who want notes kept on their own device with no account
- Windows, Mac and Linux users looking for an MIT-licensed notes app
- Markdown note-takers who want math, diagrams and file attachments

## Worth knowing

- The stable release, 4.4.0, covers Windows, macOS and Linux only; the site says a mobile app is in the works and takes beta sign-ups.
- There is no hosted sync yet: you pick a folder in your own cloud or sync service. A hosted option, BeaverSync, is announced for later this year.
- Version 5 is a rewrite still in beta; real-time collaboration, version history, backlinks and plugins are planned for it.
- The docs say auto sync does not work on Linux folders mounted through GVFS.

## Works with

Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Syncthing

**Tags:** Open source, Local-first, Works offline, Notes, Markdown, Linked notes, Keyboard-first

## Alternatives

- [Joplin](https://toolgpa.com/tools/joplin): Open source Markdown notes with sync through a service you choose. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beaver-notes-vs-joplin)
- [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beaver-notes-vs-obsidian)
- [Notesnook](https://toolgpa.com/tools/notesnook): Open source, end-to-end encrypted notes on every platform. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beaver-notes-vs-notesnook)
- [Logseq](https://toolgpa.com/tools/logseq): Open-source outliner for linked notes stored as local files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beaver-notes-vs-logseq)
- [Tangent Notes](https://toolgpa.com/tools/tangent-notes): Open-source Markdown notes app that maps the path between notes. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/beaver-notes-vs-tangent-notes)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Beaver-Notes/Beaver-Notes/main/README.md
- https://beavernotes.com/
- https://beavernotes.com/#/Download
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/User/Install/
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/User/Sync/
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/User/Lock-Noted/
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/User/Labels/
- https://docs.beavernotes.com/User/Navigate-Interface/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/beaver-notes
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).