Evernote's free tier has shrunk over the years, limiting you to two devices, and Microsoft OneNote's future depends on staying inside the Microsoft ecosystem. If you want a note-taking app that stays free indefinitely, stores your notes in an open format, and does not quietly nudge you towards a subscription, a handful of open-source options are worth a proper look.
Key takeaway: Joplin and Standard Notes both offer genuinely unlimited free note-taking with encrypted sync, and neither locks your notes into a proprietary format you can't export.
Joplin: the closest thing to a free OneNote
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Notes are written in Markdown, which keeps formatting simple and portable, and it supports notebooks, tags, to-do checkboxes, and attaching files and images directly into notes. Sync is free and unlimited if you're willing to connect your own storage, such as a free Dropbox, OneDrive or Nextcloud account; Joplin's own paid Joplin Cloud sync is optional, not required.
- Download Joplin from joplinapp.org and install it on your main device.
- Open Options > Synchronisation and choose a storage target you already have, such as Dropbox or a WebDAV server.
- Install Joplin on your phone and point it at the same sync target to keep notes in step across devices.
- Enable end-to-end encryption in the synchronisation settings if you want your notes unreadable to the storage provider itself.
Standard Notes: simplicity and strong encryption
Standard Notes takes a different approach, prioritising a distraction-free plain-text editor and end-to-end encryption by default, even on the free tier. Its free plan is more limited than Joplin's for rich formatting and file attachments — those live behind a paid subscription — but for anyone who mainly wants secure, searchable text notes without frills, it is dependable and fast.
Notion's free tier as a middle ground
Notion offers a generous free tier for personal use, blending notes, databases and light project tracking in one app. It is more visually flexible than Joplin or Standard Notes, but notes are stored on Notion's servers with no end-to-end encryption, and heavier customisation can feel like overkill if you just want quick notes.
Tip: Export a backup of your notes regularly, in Markdown or JSON depending on the app, so you always hold an offline copy independent of any sync service.
Migrating away from OneNote or Evernote
Both Joplin and Notion can import Evernote's .enex export format, carrying over notebooks, tags and attachments in one go. OneNote is trickier: Microsoft doesn't offer a clean bulk export, so the most reliable route is copying notebook sections across manually, or using a third-party converter tool, checking the source carefully before trusting it with your notes.
Before you start: Only download note-taking apps from their official websites or from the Microsoft Store, Google Play or Apple App Store. Third-party download sites sometimes bundle unrelated software with the installer.
| App | Format | Sync | Encryption on free tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin | Markdown | Bring your own cloud storage | Optional, user-enabled |
| Standard Notes | Plain text | Standard Notes' own servers | Yes, by default |
| Notion | Rich blocks | Notion's own servers | No |
Frequently asked questions
- Can I keep using these apps forever without ever paying?
- Yes. Joplin and Standard Notes both have sustainable free tiers that are not designed to expire or force an upgrade for basic note-taking.
- Is Markdown difficult to learn?
- No. It's a handful of simple symbols for bold, headings and lists, and most apps show you a formatted preview as you type, so you rarely need to memorise the syntax.
- What happens to my notes if I stop using the app?
- Both Joplin and Standard Notes let you export your entire note library in open formats, so you're never stuck if you decide to switch again later.