About Notesnook
Notesnook is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app designed as a privacy-first alternative to Evernote and Notion. It uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 encryption to ensure zero-knowledge privacy, available across all major platforms with automatic cross-device sync.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- True end-to-end encryption means even developers cannot access your data
- Fully open-source clients and server enabling independent security audits
- Cross-platform availability with seamless automatic sync
- Affordable pricing with Pro at $69.99/yr — cheaper than most competitors
- Modern, clean interface with attractive themes and intuitive design
- Strong organizational tools with filtering, grouping, notebooks, and bidirectional linking
Cons
- Limited third-party integrations compared to Evernote or Notion
- No collaboration features — focused on individual use only
- No premade note templates for common workflows
- Small 3-person team means slower feature development
- Some previously free features moved behind paid tiers in recent updates
Key Features
End-to-End Encryption
Zero-knowledge encryption using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 ensures only you can read your notes
Cross-Platform Sync
Automatic synchronization across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and web browsers
Rich Text Editor
Full-featured editor supporting markdown, checklists, tables, images, and attachments
Note Vault
Lock sensitive notes behind an additional password layer for extra security
Bidirectional Note Linking
Link notes together for wiki-style knowledge navigation
Web Clipper
Save content from the web directly into your encrypted notebook
Notebooks & Tags
Organize notes with nested notebooks, tags, colors, and favorites
Open Source
100% open-source clients and self-hostable sync server under AGPLv3 license
Offline Mode
Full offline access with sync when connectivity is restored
Pricing
- 50MB/mo uploads
- 50 tags and notebooks
- 100 note versions
- Vault access
- All export formats
- 1GB/mo uploads
- 500 tags and notebooks
- 1,000 note versions
- App lock
- 10GB/mo uploads
- 1GB file size
- Unlimited tags/notebooks/versions
- Sync controls
- 25GB/mo uploads
- 5GB file size
- Unlimited everything
- Supports ongoing development
Best For
Privacy-Focused Personal Notes
Keep a private, encrypted journal or personal knowledge base without corporate surveillance
Journalist Source Protection
Protect sensitive notes, sources, and story drafts from unauthorized access
Legal & Healthcare Documentation
Store confidential client or patient notes with strong encryption compliance
Secure Academic Research
Organize study notes and research findings with privacy and cross-device access
Evernote/Notion Migration
Familiar note-taking experience with end-to-end encryption for privacy-conscious users
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