Evernote Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Evernote alternatives: Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, Notion and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 23, 2026.
•3 min read•Notes & Knowledge
Verdict:Evernote's free plan gives 50 notes, one notebook, one synced device and 1 GB of storage, and most people hit one of those limits before they reach the paid tiers. Leave it when the note cap blocks you, when you want files that sit on your own disk, or when you want open-source software. Obsidian is the strongest free swap, since its core app has no limits, and Sync is the only paid add-on at $4 a month billed annually. Joplin is free and open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later, and it syncs through Dropbox or OneDrive, which means no Evernote account is needed. Logseq trades notebooks for linked pages in an outliner, which works well for journals and research but feels different from Evernote's folders. Notion gives individuals unlimited pages free, but collaborative workspaces with two or more members are capped, and Plus costs $10 per member a month. AFFiNE is MIT-licensed with free local workspaces and a Cloud Basic tier of 10 GB, which fits a mixed set of pages and boards. Stay with Evernote if your notes rely on its clipper and you accept the caps.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Obsidian | Free (core app with no limits, including commercial use); paid from $4 per user/month, billed annually (Sync add-on; $5 billed monthly) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Large personal note collections | Docs only |
| Joplin | Free (open-source note app; Joplin Cloud is the paid sync option) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Terminal | Free, open-source note archives | Docs only |
| Logseq | Free (open-source outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS | Linked notes and journals | Docs only |
| Notion | Free (unlimited pages and blocks for individuals but limited for workspaces of 2 or more members, 5 MB per file, 10 guests, 7-day page history); paid from $10 per member/month (Plus; check the pricing page for the billing term) | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Shared pages and databases | Docs only |
| AFFiNE | Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted | Notes that mix pages and boards | Docs only |
| OneNote | Free (Microsoft's OneNote web page is titled 'Take notes anywhere for free'; storage limits are not stated on the page) | Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Notes | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- You hit the 50-note cap and want no limits (Obsidian is the pick)
- You want open-source software and a free archive (Joplin is the pick)
- You prefer linked notes and a daily journal (Logseq is the pick)
- You need shared pages with a team on a free tier (AFFiNE is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Evernote features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Evernote today: Free (50 notes, 1 notebook, 5 spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 synced device, 1 GB storage) (Evernote pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Why people look for Evernote alternatives
Evernote's Free plan is capped at 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 synced device, 1 GB of storage, 20 tags and 200 attachments. Starter raises that to 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 3 devices and 5 GB, and only Advanced is unlimited for notes, notebooks, devices and storage. The pricing page shows no USD prices, and paid plans come with a 7-day free trial.
Obsidian
Compared with Evernote: The core app is free with no limits, including commercial use, while Evernote's free plan allows 50 notes, 1 notebook and 1 synced device. You lose Evernote's web clipper and cloud sync, and Obsidian Sync costs $4 a month billed annually.
Price: Free (core app with no limits, including commercial use); paid from $4 per user/month, billed annually (Sync add-on; $5 billed monthly) (Obsidian pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Large personal note collections.
Joplin
Compared with Evernote: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later, with no note or notebook cap listed. Evernote's free plan limits you to 1 notebook and 1 device, and Joplin syncs through Dropbox or OneDrive instead of a paid account.
Price: Free (open-source note app; Joplin Cloud is the paid sync option) (Joplin pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Terminal. AGPL-3.0-or-later (open source).
Project activity: 56.9k GitHub stars · latest release v3.7.21 (Sep 25, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Free, open-source note archives.
Logseq
Compared with Evernote: Free and open source under AGPL-3.0, and it has no paid tier listed. It replaces Evernote's notebook structure with an outliner, so you trade folders and tags for linked pages.
Price: Free (open-source outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed) (Logseq pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 45.4k GitHub stars · latest release 2.0.2 (Oct 7, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Linked notes and journals.
Notion
Compared with Evernote: Individuals get unlimited pages free, while Evernote's free plan caps you at 50 notes and 1 GB. Notion is closed source and charges $10 per member a month on Plus, so the upgrade is a cloud-only, team-oriented choice.
Price: Free (unlimited pages and blocks for individuals but limited for workspaces of 2 or more members, 5 MB per file, 10 guests, 7-day page history); paid from $10 per member/month (Plus; check the pricing page for the billing term) (Notion pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Shared pages and databases.
AFFiNE
Compared with Evernote: Local workspaces are free, and Cloud Basic includes 10 GB and up to 3 members. Evernote's free plan has 1 GB of storage, so AFFiNE gives more space with a team-friendly cloud tier.
Price: Free (local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB of storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files); paid from $6.75 per month (Pro; the page does not name the billing term) (AFFiNE pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted. MIT (open source).
Project activity: 73.9k GitHub stars · latest release v0.27.4 (Aug 18, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: Notes that mix pages and boards.
Other popular options (paid)
OneNote
Compared with Evernote: Microsoft's page markets it as free to take notes anywhere with no storage limit stated, against Evernote Free's 50 notes, one notebook and one synced device. Evernote's own page lists no USD prices to compare.
Price: Free (Microsoft's OneNote web page is titled 'Take notes anywhere for free'; storage limits are not stated on the page) (OneNote pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Which one to pick
- You hit the 50-note cap and want no limits: Obsidian
- You want open-source software and a free archive: Joplin
- You prefer linked notes and a daily journal: Logseq
- You need shared pages with a team on a free tier: AFFiNE
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, Notion, AFFiNE: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Evernote. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Evernote, Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, Notion, AFFiNE, OneNote. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.