Best Note Taking Apps Compared Find the One That Fits Your Brain

Best Note Taking Apps Compared Find the One That Fits Your Brain

Meta description: Notion, Evernote, OneNote, or something else? Here’s an honest comparison of the best note taking apps to help you find your fit.

Somewhere in your digital life there’s probably abandoned notes taking up space; half finished bullet points in one app, a great idea in another, and a to do list in one that you’ll never use.

A simple truth is that the “best” note taking app depends on how your brain thinks. Some of us want to organize everything into folders, while others want to build an interconnected web of knowledge, and still others just want to toss down a thought and be done with it. Let’s help you find which fits. But first,

What kind of note taker are you?

Before diving into the comparisons, let’s identify what kind of note taker you are.

The Quick Capturer

wants to get their ideas down and out, as soon as possible, with minimal fuss.

The Structured Planner

wants things to be organized into logical sections and folders

The Deep Thinker

wants to create connections between ideas

and

the All-in-One Builder

wants notes, tasks, projects, and more, in one place.

Keep this in mind as we compare the apps.

1. Notion

Best For: Structured Planners and All-in-One Builders

Notion isn’t really a “notes app.” Its focus is on project management and planning, but it can be used as a note taker for those who want to build interconnected databases, wikis, and notes.

Pros: Extremely flexible, great for planning, excellent free tier

Cons: Steep learning curve

2. Evernote

Best For: Researchers

One of the original note taking apps, with a focus on organizing everything you save, and finding it later. Evernote also has good search tools, including for text within images.

Pros: Reliable, great content saving/searching tools

Cons: Free tier has limitations, and it has struggled to compete with newer apps

3. Microsoft OneNote

Best For: Flexible Note Takers and Microsoft Ecosystem Users

OneNote is one of the oldest digital note-taking apps out there, with a very similar feel to how you might take notes with paper notebooks, but with the ability to add digital elements easily. It works best for people who want to take notes in notebooks, categories, and pages, and use notes as part of a larger project.

Pros: Great for Microsoft 365 ecosystem, relatively free

Cons: Can be confusing

4. Google Keep

Best For: Quick Capturers

Google Keep is focused on getting your thoughts down, without getting in the way, while still letting you sync your notes across apps and easily set reminders. It’s simple and designed for speed.

Pros: Very simple, very fast, easy to use

Cons: Not for very detailed or organized note-taking

5. Obsidian

Best For: Deep Thinkers

This new app stores your notes as text files on your device (which can be organized by you!) and lets you create links between them, building a network of interconnected ideas. It focuses on helping you understand the relationships between your notes and ideas.

Pros: Flexible, powerful linking system, you own your data

Cons: Can take time to learn, and to get the most out of it

6. Apple Notes

Best For: Apple Ecosystem Users

A simple, minimalist note-taking app that offers good features for hand-writing notes and managing your notes with folders.

Pros: Great for Apple users, simple and effective

Cons: Not as powerful, and not as flexible

7. Bear

Best For: Writers

This stylish app focuses on getting out of your way, letting you write freely, with a few smart organization and tagging features.

Pros: Beautiful interface, good for focused writing

Cons: Limited to Apple devices

A quick summary:

If you’re a…

Quick Capturer Structured Planner Deep Thinker All-in-One Builder Researcher Writer

Try Google Keep, Apple Notes or other similar apps Notion Notion or OneNote Obsidian Evernote Bear

Choosing the Right Note Taking App

Now that you have a sense of what the options are, let’s explore some tips for choosing the right one.

Find the frustrations that you have with your current note-taking solution, or the one you’re considering purchasing. Is it that you lose track of things that you quickly throw in a note app? Are your notes always disorganized? Did you have a great idea but never put it anywhere? Then try an app that solves for that.

Give yourself two weeks to try a note taking app, before deciding if you like it or not.

Don’t try to supercharge your system in the first week. It should be simple enough to use and understand. If not, it’s not for you. The goal is a system that you’ll actually use, not an impressive system that you’ll leave unused.

Make sure the app syncs across devices and keeps your data safe.

Notes can contain more than just ideas – they can contain private information. Many people write down passwords as reminders, even if they just intend to remember them. It’s best to avoid putting private information in notes apps, but if you do use one, make sure it has the privacy and encryption features you want.

Final Notes

There’s no “best” note-taking app, only the best for you, based on how you want to take notes. A person who swears by Obsidian’s linking system may have trouble adjusting to Notion’s organization system and vice versa. It’s not a competition. It’s about finding a system, an app, that works for you and your needs.

Pick the one that works for you, and give it a real try before deciding its not for you. Your notes deserve it.

But what about you? What note-taking app have you found, after all this time, to be the best option? Tell us in the comments! You might help someone avoid the same note app graveyard that you’re trying to escape.