Alternatives to Joplin
Open source markdown notes with E2EE sync options
Joplin ranks #2 of 13 in Note-taking, with an Alt Score of 85. It is licensed under AGPL-3.0, free and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. 11 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Privacy-conscious individuals and teams who want a markdown-based note-taking and to-do app they fully control, instead of a proprietary cloud service.
Notes support markdown, images, PDFs, audio, and hand-drawn diagrams, organized into notebooks and tags with a to-do list built in. All data is end-to-end encrypted, and a browser extension lets you clip web pages directly into notes. Custom themes, a plugin/scripting API, and a choice of rich-text or markdown editor let you adapt the app to your workflow.
You write and organize notes locally on desktop (Windows/macOS/Linux), mobile (Android/iOS), or terminal, then sync encrypted data across devices via Joplin Cloud or your own storage backend (Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3, etc.).
Where Joplin stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Joplin
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Joplin compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Note-taking checklist | Joplin | Amplenote | Evernote | Standard Notes | UpNote | Notesnook |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
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| Markdown support | ||||||
| Sync between devices (native) | ||||||
| Local-first storage | ||||||
| End-to-end encryption | ||||||
| Web clipper | ||||||
| Templates | ||||||
| Tags & notebooks | ||||||
| Handwriting & stylus | ||||||
| OCR of images | ||||||
| Version history | ||||||
| Data export formats | ||||||
| Offline access |
Every fact and feature listed for Joplin is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-11
Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks.
https://github.com/laurent22/joplin -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android verified 2026-07-11
The application is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS.
https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/README.md -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
What's new in Joplin 3.6
https://joplinapp.org/news/ -
License AGPL-3.0 verified 2026-07-11
All code in this repository is licensed under the AGPL-3.0-or-later License
https://github.com/laurent22/joplin/blob/dev/LICENSE -
Markdown support Yes verified 2026-07-11
Markdown is a simple way to format text that looks great on any device.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/markdown/ -
Sync between devices (native) Partial verified 2026-07-11
Currently, synchronisation is possible with Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, S3, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive or the local filesystem.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/sync/ -
Local-first storage Yes verified 2026-07-11
offline first", which means you always have all your data on your phone or computer."
Joplin is
https://github.com/laurent22/joplin -
End-to-end encryption Yes verified 2026-07-11
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system where only the owner of the data (i.e. notes, notebooks, tags or resources) can read it.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/sync/e2ee/ -
Web clipper Yes verified 2026-07-11
The Web Clipper is a browser extension that allows you to save web pages and screenshots from your browser.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/clipper/ -
Templates Partial verified 2026-07-11
This plugin allows you to create templates in Joplin and use them to create new notes and to-dos.
https://joplinapp.org/plugins/plugin/joplin.plugin.templates/ -
Tags & notebooks Yes verified 2026-07-11
notes, notebooks, tags or resources
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/sync/e2ee/ -
OCR of images Yes verified 2026-07-11
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) involves transforming an image containing text into a format that a machine can interpret.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/ocr/ -
Version history Yes verified 2026-07-11
The Joplin applications automatically save previous versions of your notes at regular intervals.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/note_history/ -
Data export formats Yes verified 2026-07-11
Joplin is also capable of exporting to a number of other formats including HTML and PDF which can be done for single notes, notebooks or everything.
https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/import_export/ -
Offline access Yes verified 2026-07-11
offline first", which means you always have all your data on your phone or computer."
Joplin is
https://github.com/laurent22/joplin
FAQ
Yes. Amplenote, Evernote and Standard Notes have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Standard Notes, Notesnook and Simplenote — every license claim links its source.