Automatic data syncing is great, until it leaves a personal note on your desktop for everyone to see. Offline note-taking apps are the way to go if you want to keep your notes private, and these apps sync them only when you decide.
Obsidian is one of the most powerful note-taking and data management apps you’ll ever come across. It’s built around the idea of connecting thoughts, which you can see happen literally in the app’s graph view. Once you get up to enough notes and start using smart ways to link them, your notes’ graph view will look straight out of a sci-fi movie.
What makes Obsidian truly offline-first is that it stores everything as plain Markdown files on your computer. These are text files that can be opened by a text editor as simple as Notepad, to something more complicated like Microsoft Word. This data storage method ensures your notes aren’t locked into a specific app and can be accessed for as long as computers can read Markdown files.
While the Obsidian app is available on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android, it doesn’t sync any data between devices by default. That’s a feature you’ll have to pay $4 per month for, so unless you really want to share notes between devices, they remain on the device they were written on.
Another cost-effective way of manually syncing your Obsidian notes is to put your vault folder into Dropbox, Google Drive, or any other cloud service you prefer and sync it to other devices.
The only catch with Obsidian is that it can be a little difficult to get the hang of initially, especially if you’re new to Markdown. Whether or not Obsidian is worth the learning curve for note-taking falls on you.
Like Obsidian, Joplin is also an offline-first note-taking app that doesn’t sync your notes between devices by default. The app is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, with a terminal app available for command-line interfaces as well. However, a big difference between the two is that Joplin is open-source and completely free to use.
Apart from that, Joplin can do just about everything Obsidian can. You can make notes with images, videos, PDFs, audio files, and even save entire web pages or screenshots as notes. It also supports math expressions and diagrams within the app. Additionally, there is customization support with plugins, custom themes, and multiple text editors with support for Rich Text or Markdown.
Should you choose to sync your notes, you can use practically any cloud storage service or host your own server if needed. It also uses end-to-end encryption to secure your notes so no one else can access them.
Joplin’s approach to note editing is also rather different. The writing interface is divided into two panes—one showing the raw Markdown you’re writing and the other showing the formatted result. I find this behavior annoying, as I’ve been using Markdown for a while. However, if you’re new to Markdown, being able to look at the Markdown syntax and its formatted result can help you get acquainted with it quickly.
Logseq takes a unique approach to note-taking that you won’t see in a lot of other apps. Instead of using pages and paragraphs to contain notes, everything in Logseq is designed around blocks—individual bullet points that can be linked, referenced, and connected across your entire note database.
Similar to Obsidian, Logseq is also committed to fully offline storage. All your notes are saved as Markdown files and stored locally on your computer. You maintain complete control of your data, and if you want, the option to sync notes between devices can be used with almost every major cloud service provider in addition to Logseq’s own sync service.
The app is supposed to be a permanent idea dump where you jot down your thoughts and eventually connect them to form full ideas. There’s a built-in whiteboard, task management, flashcards, and PDF annotations, all while supporting over 150 plugins to extend functionality. You also get over 30 themes to customize the look and feel of the app.
Another feature Logseq borrows from Obsidian is the visual connection between your nodes. It’s not as polished as Obsidian’s graph view, but it works on the same idea, giving you a birds’-eye view of all your connected thoughts and ideas.
Logseq does this while being open-source and completely free to use. You can currently download it on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS devices.
Android
NeutriNote is one of the simplest note-taking Android apps you’ll ever come across. The app’s built for storing your thoughts in plain text that you can search easily later. To this purpose, it saves everything as UTF-8 text files. This means you can open your notes on any operating system with just about every app that can read a text file.
The rather plain interface is also on purpose and is intended to make the app compact and fast, even on older Android devices. Above all, the app is best known for its search feature, which can find any piece of text almost instantly—regardless of how many notes you have. If you’re like me and are constantly jotting down quick notes throughout the day, you’ll greatly appreciate the speed and low friction between you and the note-taking process.
It also supports Markdown and LaTeX for mathematical notation, so don’t think you won’t be able to make more complicated or better formatted notes here. There’s in-note Python support, inter-note linking, PDF/HTML exports, and customizable themes with color temperature and OLED support as well.
Cross-device syncing isn’t a feature out of the box for the app. However, you can download add-ons to use your cloud storage service of choice to sync notes between devices.
The app does all this with minimal impact on your battery and memory use. It’s also open-source and completely free with no lock-in or in-app ads. However, installing the app can be a bit of a hassle.
At the time of writing, the Google Play Store page for neutriNote isn’t available. This means you’ll have to download the app via F-Droid, a free and open-source third-party Android app marketplace. Alternatively, you can also sideload an APK file from the official GitHub repository releases.
macOS/iOS
Bear is easily the most visually pleasing note-taking app on this list. It supports multiple languages and comes with a minimal interface that stays out of your way while providing all the tools necessary to make your notes without friction. You can work with text, photos, tables, and to-do lists on the same page and format notes with simple Markdown.
The app is only available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad so unless you’re using an Apple device, you’re out of luck. For those who do, the app has a Pro tier for $2.99 per month or $29.99 annually that lets you sync your notes with iCloud. Notes are also encrypted for an extra layer of protection, and the app supports Apple’s Advanced Data Protection program.
The free version is limited to local access, document scanning, three free themes, one app icon, and export options in the form of TXT, Markdown, TextBundle, and RTF files. If you decide to go for the Pro tier, you can search inside PDFs and images, get over 28 themes, 15 app icons, and more export options.
Apart from that, Bear is a simple, straightforward note-taking app with some handy features that’ll help you track your life efficiently. There’s also Apple Pencil support, should you want to scribble notes or make drawings instead of typing.
With every app striving to be web-based and synced all around, finding offline-first note-taking apps can be a task. These apps will keep your notes secure, and if you want, keep them on all the devices you need.
