# Marknote

> KDE's rich text note-taking app that saves notes as Markdown files

Marknote is a free, open-source note-taking app from the KDE community. Notes are written in a rich text editor and saved as Markdown files in a folder on disk, grouped into notebooks that each get their own icon and accent color. Version 1.5 added a raw Markdown source mode and wiki-style links between notes, and version 1.6 added subfolders and note search from the command bar.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** KDE (since 2024)
- **Website:** https://apps.kde.org/marknote/
- **Runs on:** Linux, Windows, macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Marknote is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** Free, open-source software from KDE under the GPL-2.0-or-later license. The app page lists no paid edition; KDE takes donations.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marknote | $0 | The full app for Linux through distribution packages, Flathub or the Snap Store. Windows and macOS builds are nightly installers that KDE labels unstable. |

Read from https://apps.kde.org/marknote/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Marknote before buying.

## Key features

- **Rich text editor backed by Markdown:** Notes are formatted in a WYSIWYG editor with bold, italic, underline and strikethrough text, headings, lists, checkboxes, images and tables, and stored as Markdown files.
- **Notebooks:** Notes are grouped into notebooks, each with its own icon and accent color and a count of the notes inside. Notes move between notebooks by drag and drop.
- **Source mode:** Since version 1.5 a source mode shows the raw Markdown in place of the rich text view. Version 1.5.1 added syntax highlighting to it.
- **Links between notes:** Wiki-style links, added in version 1.5, connect one note to another and can look up notes in other notebooks.
- **Search and command bar:** Version 1.5 added full-text search and replace, and since version 1.6 the command bar searches for notes across all notebooks. A KRunner plugin opens notes from the Plasma desktop.
- **Sketches and export:** A quick sketch dialog adds drawings to a note, and notes can be exported to formats including PDF, HTML and ODT.

## Good for

- Linux and KDE Plasma users who want a simple notes app
- People who want notes kept as Markdown files in a local folder
- Writers who prefer a formatted editor to raw Markdown syntax

## Worth knowing

- Stable packages are for Linux; the Windows and macOS builds on the KDE page are nightly installers described as unstable and meant for testing.
- The KDE app page lists Linux, Windows and macOS only, and mentions no Android or iOS app and no built-in sync between devices.
- Subfolders, added in version 1.6.0, cannot yet be created inside Marknote; they have to be made in a file manager.
- The Snap Store's stable channel shows version 1.3.0, last updated in April 2025, while Flathub carries 1.6.0.

## Works with

KRunner

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

## Alternatives

- [QOwnNotes](https://toolgpa.com/tools/qownnotes): Open-source Markdown notes app with Nextcloud and ownCloud support. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marknote-vs-qownnotes)
- [Joplin](https://toolgpa.com/tools/joplin): Open source Markdown notes with sync through a service you choose. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/joplin-vs-marknote)
- [VNote](https://toolgpa.com/tools/vnote): Free desktop Markdown note-taking app with plain-file notebooks. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marknote-vs-vnote)
- [Zim](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zim): Desktop wiki that keeps linked pages as plain text files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marknote-vs-zim)
- [Obsidian](https://toolgpa.com/tools/obsidian): Markdown note-taking app that keeps your files on your device. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marknote-vs-obsidian)

## Sources

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

- https://apps.kde.org/marknote/
- https://apps.kde.org/platforms/windows/
- https://apps.kde.org/platforms/macos/
- https://blogs.kde.org/2024/03/29/marknote-finally-released/
- https://blogs.kde.org/2026/03/13/marknote-1.5/
- https://carlschwan.eu/2026/05/30/marknote-1.6.0/
- https://invent.kde.org/office/marknote/-/raw/master/README.md
- https://flathub.org/en/apps/org.kde.marknote
- https://snapcraft.io/marknote

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/marknote
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).