Best Free Note-Taking Apps 2026: 9 Options Compared
Best free Note-Taking Apps compared: Notion, Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq and 5 more, with free-plan limits, platforms and prices from official pages checked October 23, 2026.
•4 min read•Notes & Knowledge
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Wikis, projects and notes together | Docs only |
| 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 | Linked notes you own | Docs only |
| Joplin | Free (open-source note app; Joplin Cloud is the paid sync option) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Terminal | Open-source notebooks | Docs only |
| Logseq | Free (open-source outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed) | Windows, macOS, Linux, Web, iOS | Outline-style thinking | Docs only |
| AppFlowy | Free (Personal plan with 1 workspace owner, 100 MB of storage, 7 MB uploads and 7-day version history); paid from $12 per member/month, billed annually ($16 billed monthly, Pro) | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted | A self-hostable Notion-style workspace | 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 | Docs and whiteboards in one app | 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 | Freeform pages and handwriting | Docs only |
| Google Keep | Free | Web, Android, iOS | Quick capture and lists | Docs only |
| Evernote | Free (50 notes, 1 notebook, 5 spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 synced device, 1 GB storage) | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Light use only | Docs only |
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Good fit if
- You want notes linked and stored as files (Obsidian is the pick)
- You want a team wiki and tasks (Notion is the pick)
- You want encrypted open-source notes (Joplin is the pick)
- You want a Notion-style tool you can self-host (AppFlowy is the pick)
- You jot down shopping lists and reminders (Google Keep is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You need paid-tier features, uptime guarantees or support that these free plans leave out
Note apps differ more in philosophy than in features. Notion treats notes as pages in a database and is strong for wikis and planning, but its free plan limits larger workspaces and files to 5 MB. Obsidian stores plain files on your machine with no limit on the core app, and charges only for sync. Joplin and Logseq are open source under AGPL, with Joplin focused on notebooks and encrypted sync and Logseq on outlines and daily pages. AppFlowy and AFFiNE are open-source alternatives to Notion; AFFiNE offers local workspaces for free. OneNote is free and good for freeform pages and handwriting. Google Keep is a quick scratchpad for lists and short notes. Evernote's free plan is tight, with 50 notes and 1 notebook. The trade-off is lock-in against convenience. Hosted tools are the easiest to start and the hardest to leave, while local-file apps give you control but make sync and sharing your job. Before committing, check that you can export to Markdown or plain files, because that decides how painful a move will be later. For most people a simple rule works: use Keep or OneNote for quick capture, and choose Obsidian or Notion once you have notes you want to link.
Notion
Free for individuals with unlimited pages and blocks; workspaces of two or more are limited, with 5 MB files and 7-day page history. Plus is $10 a month.
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: Wikis, projects and notes together.
Compare: Notion alternatives
Obsidian
Core app is free with no limits including commercial use; notes are local Markdown files. Sync is $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: Linked notes you own.
Compare: Obsidian alternatives
Joplin
AGPL-3.0 notebooks on every platform with end-to-end encrypted sync through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive and others.
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: Open-source notebooks.
Logseq
AGPL-3.0 outliner and knowledge base with no paid plan listed; built around daily journal pages and backlinks.
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: Outline-style thinking.
AppFlowy
AGPL-3.0 on Windows, macOS, Linux and mobile, self-hostable. Free Personal plan has 100 MB storage and 7 MB uploads; Pro is $12 a member a month.
Price: Free (Personal plan with 1 workspace owner, 100 MB of storage, 7 MB uploads and 7-day version history); paid from $12 per member/month, billed annually ($16 billed monthly, Pro) (AppFlowy pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Self-hosted. AGPL-3.0 (open source).
Project activity: 77.8k GitHub stars · latest release 0.14.11 (Oct 26, 2026) · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Best for: A self-hostable Notion-style workspace.
AFFiNE
MIT-licensed with local workspaces; Cloud Basic has 10 GB storage, up to 3 members and 10 MB files. Pro is $6.75 a month.
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: Docs and whiteboards in one app.
OneNote
Free per Microsoft, with notebooks on web, Windows, macOS and mobile. Storage limits are not stated on the page.
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).
Platforms and license: Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Freeform pages and handwriting.
Compare: OneNote alternatives
Google Keep
Free Google app for notes, lists, photos, drawings and audio, syncing across devices. The page lists no limits.
Price: Free (Google Keep pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Web, Android, iOS. Proprietary.
Best for: Quick capture and lists.
Compare: Google Keep alternatives
Evernote
Free plan allows 50 notes, 1 notebook, 20 tags and 1 GB storage on a single synced device.
Price: Free (50 notes, 1 notebook, 5 spaces, 20 tags, 200 attachments, 1 synced device, 1 GB storage) (Evernote pricing, checked 2026-10-23).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Light use only.
Compare: Evernote alternatives
Which one to pick
- You want notes linked and stored as files: Obsidian
- You want a team wiki and tasks: Notion
- You want encrypted open-source notes: Joplin
- You want a Notion-style tool you can self-host: AppFlowy
- You jot down shopping lists and reminders: Google Keep
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Notion, Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, AppFlowy, AFFiNE, OneNote, Google Keep, Evernote: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you commit.
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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, license and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-23: Notion, Obsidian, Joplin, Logseq, AppFlowy, AFFiNE, OneNote, Google Keep, Evernote. 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.