The Best Note-Taking Apps We’ve Tested for 2025

Even as a free app, OneNote stands out. It has every feature you could want, from organizational structure to cross-platform syncing, voice notes, and OCR. It also comes with the best web clipping tool we’ve seen. OneNote is the first application most people should consider when looking for a note-taking app. It’s a no-brainer if you subscribe to any Microsoft 365 plan.

People who don’t want to pay: Oftentimes, free apps lack significant features compared with paid services, but Microsoft OneNote is an exception. The only major things you give up by not paying are the ability to store files locally on Windows and additional storage space.

Most people: Note-taking is a personal activity, so no single app will work for everyone; however, Microsoft OneNote is flexible enough to suit practically anyone. It offers apps for every major operating system, features an intuitive design, and boasts a plethora of features.

The open-source Joplin is as close to a perfect note-taking app as you can get if you’re looking for something relatively simple. It’s completely free and stores your notes locally on your computer if you choose—though you can also pay to use Joplin’s cloud storage. Notes you take in Joplin are yours in the same way that notes you take in a paper notebook are. This approach, until recently, had a downside: a lack of collaboration tools. That’s changed, as Joplin now offers notebook sharing for those willing to pay a fee.

People who love simplicity: Joplin is as simple as it gets for a note-taking app. If you just want a quick way to jot something down, the app is tough to beat.

The privacy-conscious: Many note-taking apps focus on cloud storage, but the privacy-respecting Joplin gives you complete ownership of your notes by storing them locally on your device by default.

Evernote once dominated the note-taking space, but no longer. It’s still a powerful note-taking platform, however, thanks to its AI-enabled plain language search tool, OCR features, and support for voice notes. Moreover, Evernote’s collaboration features are fairly deep, and its interface now has less clutter than before. Just note that the free version is limited, and the paid plans are relatively expensive for the features they offer.

Legacy Evernote users: Since Evernote used to be so dominant in the note-taking world, you might already have a ton of notes on Evernote. If you don’t want to deal with exporting your notes and are willing to pay for Evernote, it remains extremely functional.

People who want focused AI tools: AI tools in Evernote can paraphrase, proofread, summarize, or translate text you highlight. The AI can also help you come up with the title, introduction, or conclusion for the note you are currently working on

Obsidian is the most flexible note-taking app we tested. It offers hundreds of extensive customization options, themes, and user-built plug-ins, allowing you to make it look and act exactly the way you want. It also stores files locally, with an optional subscription to enable syncing. 

Note-takers on a budget: Obsidian is entirely free for personal use, and you need to pay only if you want to save to cloud storage or publish your notes online.

Power users: Appropriate for power users, Obsidian offers rich customization options, plug-ins galore, and the ability to connect notes in a network-like structure.

Bear is a beautiful note-taking app for iPads, iPhones, and Macs. Although it seems simple, it has some advanced features, such as OCR (for images and PDF files) and a web clipper (which allows you to save content from web pages). The free version is fairly basic, but the paid version costs a reasonable $2.99 per month.

Apple Notes users: If you’re looking for a beefier version of Apple Notes, check out Bear. The app is exclusive to Apple devices, and iCloud is your only option for cloud storage with it.

Fans of the Apple aesthetic: Bear’s interface mirrors that of Apple’s first-party apps, opting for a simple, sleek aesthetic. It won’t look out of place among all the other programs you use on your Apple devices.

A lot of note-taking apps pile on features. Not Simplenote. This application embodies the “do one thing well” mantra. With Simplenote, you write text notes, sync them to other devices, and that’s basically it. Simplenote is completely free and has apps for every major platform, including Linux.

Seekers of simplicity: Simplenote is ideal if you don’t need to attach files to your notes or use other advanced features. It’s also easy to get started with, as it doesn’t have a significant learning curve.

The subscription-averse: Simplenote doesn’t just have a free version alongside subscription plans; it’s entirely free. You can’t pay extra for premium features because they don’t exist.

Built by a two-person team, UpNote feels every bit as polished as the best note-taking apps from huge corporations—all without the need for an ongoing subscription. This app has some downsides, primarily related to the size of files you can upload and a few missing features, but UpNote is an otherwise worthy choice. We also like that it automatically converts most Markdown code into the rich text format.

Bargain hunters: UpNote is a top app to consider if you prioritize value above all else. It charges just $1.99 per month for its premium subscription, and a lifetime license is available for $39.99.

Rich Text converts: If you are trying to transition away from using Markdown formatting, UpNote automatically converts most Markdown code into the rich text format. We like how seamless and unobtrusive this feature works.