What is the best cross-platform note taking app?

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76

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Here’s the Deal

The Best 3 of 72 OptionsWhy?

Best cross-platform note taking app	Price	Platforms	Collaborative
92 Simplenote	Free	Android / iOS / OSX / Windows / Linux	yes
91 Google Keep	FREE	Android / iOS / Chrome / Web / Desktop	Yes
91 Org-mode	-	-	-
85 Evernote	$0-$89.99/Y	Android / iOS / WP / OSX / Windows / WebOS	yes
85 Zim	FREE	Windows, Linux, Mac	-

See Full List

Google Keep

Top Pro

Easy to use

1-step to take a note on Android: tap 'take a note'. Web version: cursor is on the note itself. See More

Top Con

Google can access and mine your data

You have to be okay with Google analyzing and using your data in order to use Keep. See More

Boi Tien's Experience

I'd recommend GKeep because can use anywhere See More

Specs

See All

Org-mode

69 Other Options Considered

Evernote

Top Pro

Consolidates all your information

Evernote is designed to store a lot of different types of information from a lot of different sources in one place. Using the Web Clipper, native integrations, or a service such as IFTTT (If This Then That) you can use Evernote to store all your ideas, notes (both handwritten and typed), tasks, reading lists, receipts, and more. See More

Top Con

Free version limited to 2 devices

The free version has become very limited as a cloud based note taking app as there is now only sharing between two devices allowed. See More

RobustDaramulum's Experience

Over the last 10 year I have tried them all and none even approach the overall functionality of Evernote See More

Specs

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac

Top Pro

Text can be added anywhere like a whiteboard

OneNote allows you to arrange text freely on the digital paper mimicking the way it would be done with a real pen on real paper. See More

Top Con

Not available for Linux

There is no native Linux client for OneNote available, and most likely will never be created. Users can use the web based client, but a native app would be a better choice for those that use the app frequently. See More

Chris Cochrun's Experience

Love using OneNote more than any note app I've tried. Because if it's freeform whiteboard style canvas, you can basically use it for and endless amount of things. One single page can be the most powerful tool you have and with the ability to tag anything with any kind of tag you basically can search across your hierarchy into other sections or pages to find relevant notes. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows / OSX / iOS / Android / Web

Collaborative:Yes

Top Pro

Stylus and digitizer pen support

OneNote can be used on all touch capable devices via stylus or digitizer pen making for an intuitive and easy way to take notes by hand, which can often be faster or just preferred over typing. It has the best pen input out of any note taking app. See More

Top Con

Syncing issues

It tells you there are conflicts between a note on the PC and on the Android because of the timing of the synchronization but doesn't try to resolve itself. See More

menace97's Experience

Very useful and simple to use. It is one of the applications I use throughout the day for a variety of functions. See More

Top Pro

Comprehensive organization methods

Can have multiple 'tabs' at the top like in a web browser with many notes within each 'tab'. See More

Top Con

Platform dependent

Top Pro

Amazing mobile interface

Unlike other mobile apps, Quip has really innovated with the text editor on mobile. They have a great interface for formatting text that stays out of your road to maximise how much room you have to type. See More

Top Con

Missing text editing features

Does not offer text coloring, or highlighting features. See More

DynamicOkuninushi's Experience

Top Pro

Minimalistic interface

The interface has no clutter. It allows focusing on thoughts to note down. This keeps things simple and easy to understand, which can help keep everything organized in an intuitive manner. See More

Top Con

Pasted URLs are kept as-is

When you have to link to, for example, a website, you can't attach the URL of the site to a word. You have to post the full URL instead. You can't have, for example, Slant, you instead have to post http://slant.co. It's especially annoying if you have a long URL that takes up a lot of space in the document. See More

HappyFlins's Experience

I use Workflowy nearly every day. See More

Specs

Platforms:Web, Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS

WorkFlowy can send you an email with that day's activity. It's a great way to track progress. See More

Top Pro

Strong community

There are number of talented coders who help customize WorkFlowy with extensions and styles. It has an active blog and welcomes collaboration. See More

See All

Joplin

Top Pro

Live preview

Typora immediately renders what's typed on the screen in Markdown format. This helps users to have a better understanding of how their document is being formatted. See More

Top Con

Recorded notes cannot be viewed on mobile devices

Sometimes unstable, it can get stuck. No history management either. See More

Specs

Platforms:Mac OSX; Windows; Linux

Preview:WYSIWYG

License:Proprietary

Export:HTML; HTML (pure); PDF; Word; OpenOffice; RTF; Epub; LaTeX; Media Wiki; ReStructuredText; Textile; OPML

Top Pro

Open source

All code is freely available on GitHub, licensed under GPLv3. See More

Top Con

Need user account to use

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Android

Top Pro

Awesome for wikis

You can easily start writing a bunch of web pages, share it with co-workers, and choose whether to publicize or keep your contents private. It's also easy to hyperlink pages. See More

Top Con

Designed with teams in mind, and less formatting than Evernote.

Evernote may be more individual-oriented and has more formatting and such options available, but whether that affects you is down to personal preference. Try both and see which you prefer. See More

Rohim Chou's Experience

Amazing. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows, macOS, iOS, Web, Android

Top Con

Only one layer of folder

Compared to Evernote, we only have one layer of folder available. See More

Top Pro

Great for developers

Boostnote is great for developers looking to take programming notes with code snippets and such. See More

Hao Jiang's Experience

I started to use it yesterday, it was kinda troublesome to migrate from evernote but the experience on Boostnote is good. It's cross-platform and support markdown which is the most important thing for me. See More

Specs

Platforms:Windows/MacOS/Linux

Top Con

Major limitations for free users

Free users are not able to share their notes via direct URL, they cannot sync notes over devices, and they have to deal with ads at the bottom of every note. See More

Top Pro

Clean, user-friendly, stylish interface

Mobisle Notes does not overwhelm the user with options like due-dates and prioritization like other apps do. It doesn't clutter the screen with buttons that are never used. The basic interface is just a plain and simple notepad. Android lacks a default notepad app. Of all the basic notepad apps on Android, Mobisle Notes is the most beautiful, and the perfect fill-in for anyone looking for something similar to the iPhone's default notepad app. See More

Specs

Platforms:iOS; Android

Top Pro

Checklists

The most common use for a notepad app is as a quick checklist. Mobisle Notes lets you switch to checklist mode with a button press, so you can easily mark things as done, rather than having to delete all the text. See More

See All

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score 149 · Accepted Answer

Simplenote

Top Pro

Geared towards fast usage

Unlike alternatives (such as Evernote) that are laden with features, Simplenote is fast to use and sync. Reviews from the Verge, Lifehacker, and a variety of other sources all describe using the Simplenote apps as very fast. While it may not be as feature-rich as other apps, the responsiveness of the app and simple interface keep it easy to use while never slowing down the user when they need to quickly take a note. See More

Top Con

Search is limited to one tag

There seems to be no way to find notes that have both tag X and tag Y. This isn't a big deal until you have a large library of notes, and want to cross-search for two things at the same time to vastly narrow down your search. See More

ReveredPhilomelus's Experience

CON: Single level only. Can't set up hierarchy of notes. All done by tags See More

Specs

Platforms:Android / iOS / OSX / Windows / Linux

Collaborative:yes

API:No

Top Pro

"Time machine" style revision control on the notes

Each edit of a note is saved in order to allow the user to go back to a previous version of a document. This way, if mistakes are made or something is deleted, you can go back to the previous version without any hassle. See More

Top Con

Limited ways to reorder notes

What is the best cross-platform note taking app?

The Best 3 of 72 OptionsWhy?

Simplenote

My Recommendation for Simplenote

My Recommendation for Simplenote

Geared towards fast usage

Search is limited to one tag

"Time machine" style revision control on the notes

Limited ways to reorder notes

Very simple and clean interface

No support for file attachments

Works offline

No 32-bit version

Markdown support via web interface

No note encryption at rest

Wide range of great clients with great sync

No widgets on Android

Desktop app is open source

No reminders

Linux client available

No way to import notes from anywhere

Can export your data

The search function doesn't see tags

Collaborative features

No way to bulk-apply a tag

Excellent iOS app

No notification when changes made on a shared note

Open Source

Save-to-disk feature is poor

Excellent desktop client in the form of nvAlt

No integrated social media sharing

Lack of color impacts usability

Google Keep

My Recommendation for Google Keep

My Recommendation for Google Keep

Easy to use

Google can access and mine your data

Super fast to use

No text formatting

Unlimited and seamless sync across all Google connected devices, from mobile to desktop

Messy if you have lots of notes

Works as a great bookmarking tool as links added can optionally include a preview image

Organization is limited to just multiple tags for notes

Automatic saving

Google account required

Can share and collaboratively edit any item including lists

No notifications when tasks are added to shared lists

Notes can be grouped via labels

Not free/libre

Notes can be color-coded

Can be taken down some day

Notes can include photo and audio attachments

Not distributed

Supports drawing or writing notes by hand

No dedicated app for windows, linux, mac (except unofficial)

Useful Android home screen widget

No ability to undo changes

Really well implemented speech-to-text

Synchronization bugs

Includes character recognition for text in images

Does not offer themes

Both location- and time-based reminders

Does not integrate with Google Calendar or Tasks

Drag and drop sorting

Not good at all for longer notes

Cross platform

No integrated social media sharing

Archives finished tasks

Cannot share groups of notes (e.g., labels)

Notes can be grouped via labels

Scrolling through notes is horrible

Slow to save the updates

Sharing within team doesn't work that well

Too simplistic of an approach

Can be difficult to discover the features

There is a label limit up to 50

Delay between to-do entries

No API

Notes get lost/deleted and can NOT be recovered

No BlackBerry 10 app