When comparing Evernote vs LastPass, the Slant community recommends Evernote for most people. In the question“What are the best power user tools for macOS?” Evernote is ranked 28th while LastPass is ranked 50th. The most important reason people chose Evernote is:
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.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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.
Pro Powerful features for organising your notes
Evernote is designed to make it easy to keep your notes well organized, which aids in quickly finding/browsing old information. You can put notes into a single notebook and use search to access old notes, or if you're so inclined, organize notes extensively with hierarchical notebooks and tags.
Pro Can include images, and snippets from the web or a whole webpage via web clipper
With one click you can clip part or all of any webpage, including text, images, and links. Especially for those who use Google Chrome, this web clipper is a very rich add-on. The “simplified article” mode strips all graphical overhead from the page before adding the information to Evernote. It's also possible to add highlighting, tags, etc. before storing the note.
Pro Has OCR functionality to convert images to searchable text
A really cool and handy Evernote feature is the ability to automatically scan images for text.
Pro "Reminders" are a great way to combine your to-dos and notes
One of the note types is a "reminder," which can act as a to-do list. You can add all the usual formatting to reminders, including audio. Evernote will provide alerts when they are due and house them in a special location within the app.
Pro Easy to use
Evernote is easy to dive into because it doesn’t overwhelm you with advanced functionality from the start. As you get more accustomed to the app, you might want to delve deeper to see what benefits the more advanced features will offer.
Pro Native and offline-capable apps on pretty much every platform
Evernote has apps for Windows 7 and 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Mac, Android, iOS (both iPhone and iPad), Blackberry, and Windows Phone. It also has a fully functional web app and chrome plug-in. No matter what device or platform you're on, you will pretty much always be able to access Evernote.
Pro Multipurpose
In addition to general note taking and to-do list management, Evernote lets you search through scanned documents, handwritten text, and images; collaborate with others through shared notebooks; record audio notes; and more.
Pro Trustworthy to store data in the long term
With many utility tools being constantly shut down by their creators, it's really important to consider the long-term risks of picking a home for all your notes. Evernote is a $1 billion company with a track record of exceptional security and goals of becoming a "100 year old" company.
Pro Powerful note formatting
Evernote has an extensive range of formatting options and note types. You can create checklists, reminder alerts, audio notes, or add images and attachments. It also has an awesome speech-to-text feature if you prefer to dictate aloud.
Pro Great selection for integrating with other apps
The Evernote app center page is nicely organized and has good quality integration of apps that can improve your productivity.
Pro Focused, uncluttered user interface
Evernote has a very clean and intuitive interface that's simple to understand at a glance.
Pro Evernote is synchronized
Pro Premium allows search in attached files and documents
With a premium account you are able to search through PDFs and Office Docs.
Pro Innovative hacks
To save emails, just forward them to your Evernote email address generated on account creation. It is of course one of many such hacks.
Pro Flexible image manipulation
Permits photos that are taken, to be processed when in automatic mode and saved as a photo, black and white document, colour document, post it note or business card. The automated mode is also good at cropping the document effectively.
Pro Best web clipper
Can clip to the web from desktop or mobile, using simplified format or original formatting. Very quick and flexible, and enables you to highlight, take notes, tag, etc.
Pro Can choose from a few themes
You can pick from a green theme, light, or dark theme. All are very clear and visually appealing.
Pro Effective with pictures or snapshot of boards
Take a picture of your white board/paper board and you have it instantly in evernote everywhere, ready for additional notes and classification
Scannable friend app is rather efficient to keep hand written note as well.
Pro Skitch integration
If you're on iOS and have Skitch installed, you can quickly annotate your notes using Skitch.
Pro Has conflict management and undo
Allows undo/redo when editing (i.e. all changes are finalized upon saving). If conflicts between synchronized versions arise, both copies are saved in Evernote.
Pro Automatic cloud backup and cross-device sync
LastPass keeps an encrypted copy of all passwords locally as well as an encrypted copy on their servers. That way, passwords can be accessed locally while offline, or through their server while online from any machine.
Pro Multifactor authentication
LastPass offers multiple multifactor authentication options, including Google Authenticator, Grid Multifactor Authentication, Microsoft Authenticator App, Toopher Authentication, Duo Security Authentication, Transakt Authentication, Sesame Multifactor Authentication, Smart Card Authentication and Yubikey Multifactor Authentication.
Pro All encryption and decryption is done locally
All the encryption and decryption is done by the client (JS/App) so even LastPass doesn't have access to passwords.
Pro Seamless autofill and password generator via plugins for all popular browsers
All common browsers, including Opera, have plugins that allow automatically filling in forms and generating passwords. All form fill information syncs across all platforms, devices and browsers. Password generator can be adjusted to use or exclude certain characters and patterns.
Pro Automatic security monitoring
LastPass will check for re-used and unsafe passwords.
Pro Fingerprint verification
Some fingerprint readers, like TouchID on iOS, Samsung, Sony Xperia, or LG Mobile devices, can be set up to be used to access LastPass instead of a master password.
Pro Allows sharing passwords with one person or a group of people
LastPass allows sharing login data for a site with another user of LastPass without exposing the password. Great for allowing friends, family or coworkers access a site.
Pro Clean and intuitive UI
Since version 3.0 the LastPass interface is clean and easy to navigate on all platforms.
Pro Offers multiple export options
LastPass can dump the whole database as a .csv file or an encrypted file that can then be decrypted using LastPass Pocket as well as separately export Wi-Fi passwords and autofill information. Additional export options are available on a per-browser basis.
Pro Works with portable versions of Chrome and Firefox
Firefox 2+ on Windows, Mac & Linux as well as Chrome 4+ on Windows and Linux support a portable version of LastPass. Great for securely accessing LastPass Vault from public or untrusted computers.
Pro Works on Linux
LastPass alongside KeePassX are the only cloud-syncing password managers that work on Linux.
Pro Does not require a standalone app
While many password managers require a standalone app to be installed on the system, LastPass does not and can function via browser plugins.
Pro Military grade encryption
Lastpass has 256-bit AES encryption implemented in C++ and JavaScript with one-way salted hashes.
Pro Password one-click change
LastPass is able to change your password automagically.
Pro Yubikey support
LastPass offers multifactor authentication via Yubikey.
Pro Password security check up
Gives score based on password use and strength. Score is bad on other LastPass users and denotes where you fall in that group.
Pro Can create one-time passwords for accessing the Vault
LastPass allows creating passwords for accessing the LastPass Vault that can only be used once. Great for accessing the Vault in public or untrusted places.
Pro Vetted by Steve Gibson
Steve Gibson is a well established security researcher best know for his work with Apple and Atari systems as well as founding Gibson Research Corporation. He was given access to LastPass' source code and confirmed that it's safe to trust its security.
Pro Allows downloading an encrypted database backup that can only be decrypted with LastPass Pocket
LastPass Pocket is a standalone personal database decrypter. It's a portable executable, meaning it does not need to be installed, that is used to decrypt a local encrypted copy of the password database.
Pro Has native integration via app for Android
Fills in passwords in android apps without loading into LastPass directly.
Pro Works even with browsers that don't support plugins
Via a clever use of bookmarklets, LastPass works on browsers that don't inherently support bookmarklets, like Opera or Safari on iOS.
Pro Credit monitoring in US
LastPass can be set to notify if a user's credit report suddenly changes.
Pro Great free features
A large amount of features for the free version.
Pro Works with Windows applications with native app
Can record the steps and use it to login to native Windows apps.
Pro Full integration on iOS
Along with apple’s own key manager, LastPass is the only password manager on iOS with full, complete, subsystem access.
Fill passwords in any web browser.
Full passwords in most apps.
Cons
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.
Con Pay for offline use, search, and other functions
The free version of Evernote is highly limited. You have to pay if you want to access your notes without internet connection, search your notes or documents, or upload large amounts of data. The free version allows you to upload 60 MB of data per month, which is about 20 to 30 iPhone camera pictures.
At a certain point, they started charging you for "advanced" capability, which includes searching your own attachments.
Con Different features and functions per device
Desktop app has table creation. Android app lacks font color changes. Some functions can only be accessed on the desktop app. These include changing your default notebook.
Con Security issues
Evernote had their entire database hacked and compromised including customer user passwords. They responded by locking valid users out of accounts and forcing password changes but are still vague about their own security policies. They do not have a good track record for data security. They also do not offer local personal encryption of entire Notebooks as Microsoft OneNote does.
Con Buggy
A program with more features is always prone to more bugs. Evernote is definitely not the most stable note-taking program available.
Con No official Linux app
Evernote does not offer an official Linux app, although there are some third party alternatives available.
Con Constantly directs you to upgrading your account
The frequent reminders to upgrade your account can quickly become disruptive. You get notifications when using the app, and many of the features that show as available in the app are actually for paid accounts only (which, when you try to use them, will remind you to upgrade).
Con Syncing is slow
Con Prices have doubled since Bending Spoon purchase
I used to pay 7 €/month, now it's 13.
Con Very heavyweight for a to-do list
Evernote is a powerhouse program with many features. It uses a correspondingly large amount of memory to run.
Con Missing some basic functions
Con Not distributed
One cannot run Evernote on own servers. This brings with it the risks normally associated with handing over critical applications to a large corporation.
Con Bending Spoon have relocated to Europe and fired 129 people
Con Poor text formatting abilities
Text formatting in Evernote is buggy and unreliable. Bullets (outlining) are getting stuck or disappearing, tables are very static and prone to breaking and everything beyond the most basic formatting might cause an issue.
Con Basic and lacking handwriting function
Handwriting has basic functions, is attached as a picture
Con Bloated and complex
Evernote is too big, has too many features. Note taking apps need absolutely clean interface to allow unobtrusive note taking and not a struggle to search for which buttons to click. It focuses on the search feature so much that it doesn't encourage or make it immediately easy to organize your notes and thoughts. It's essentially a sophisticated notes dump with good search.
Con New web editor does not support Firefox
As of now, Firefox users must download a separate extension to change their user agent to trick the Evernote site into giving them the beta, or install Chrome.
Con No recurring and snooze reminders
Perhaps because it is not truly a to-do list app, there is currently no support for recurring events or snooze reminders. The company claims to be working on this functionality.
Con Lacks search and replace capability
Con Rather poor user interface
Slow, not user friendly experience, complex, and somehow limited.
Con Lacks right-to-left writing support
When you write in a right-to-left language (Arabic, for example), everything looks fine in the editor but the direction changes to the left again after saving the note.
Con Steep learning curve
Since Evernote has so many features built in, it's hard to know where to find everything until reasonable amount of time has been spent with it.
Con Easy to accidentally hit the wrong button on the mobile apps
The mobile apps have fairly small touch targets, making it easy to miss the button or accidentally press the wrong one.
Con No ability to re-order notes other than sorting
Evernote has no way to re-order notes, nor even to change their display order. Sorting is the only option, and the "official" workaround (for years now) is to prefix note titles with line numbers manually so notes will sort and display as desired.
Con Forced cloud backup
The is no way to opt-out of saving all of passwords on LastPass servers.
Con Has been hacked before
And becomes extra bad as you are forced to have everything at one central cloud place.
Con Recently doubled annual subscription rates
This applies even if you're a re-subscribing customer.
Con Somewhat poor customer service
LastPass maintains a support forum which they mostly ignore, labeling it "mostly peer-to-peer support" leaving only their e-mail ticket system to turn to.
Con Not free/libre
This application is proprietary, and thus cannot be modified, freely distributed, or trusted to be secure.
Con History of bad support for the company behind LastPass
You never know how much you will pay for it because LogMeIn did the same with Hamachi product. Support will be bad.
Con Rates are ridiculous for one user
They cut services and increased prices after they were purchased by LogMeIn.
Con Doesn't Encrypt URL
Lastpass doesn't encrypt the links stored in the vault, which can be accessed by hackers. Encryption ONLY applies to Password and Username.
Con Very bad UX for sharing passwords with other people (in free version)
When on lastpass.com you update the contents of a password file, it gets updated only on your side, not on the side of people it is shared with (and the UI does not tell you anything about this).
Also, when you want to share a password file with someone, they often have trouble accessing it (bugs in registration or acceptation of the shared document).
Con No longer free
Least expensive plan is $2/month. Formerly, the lowest paid tier allowed sharing with family members. Now there's a family plan for $4/month.
Con Poor Email Support
Email support is slow and just offers canned responses that are not anymore helpful then their documentation.
Con Forgets to ask "add new site?" on some websites
So you are forced to add a new site manually, which takes too long (relatively speaking).
Con Clutzy configuration to have multiple URLs for one credential
LP does not have a single place to view or edit all URLs related to a given credential. It has the main one then the rest on an "equivalent URL" configuration page.
Con Cross-browser/client single login breaks all-the-time!
Spend lots of time trying to make it work and another day it's just broken again. Very frustrating.
Con During login, application loads for a very long time
Con Domain & path matching is overly complex
I want simple "this domain (along with its subdomain) should match these". There are features for that - "Equivalent Domains" & "URL Rules". But still I can't get it working for certain items, so that I have to duplicate them.
Con When generating passwords, LastPass tends to put the wrong info in forms
For forms with both an email address and username, LastPass tends to mix up and overwrite information.
Con Randomly loses custom/extra fields/passwords
Sometimes they get wiped. Don't forget to copy them into the notes section in the first place, which seems to be generally stable.
Con Can't start on mobile
Apparently you have to start with their web interface and/or browser extension. Can't just start on mobile.
Con Autofill glitchy
Hit and miss with autofill either filling or being able to submit.
Con Inconsistent categories
They get shuffled around. E.g. once a top level "_None" category was introduced by itself. Still couldn't get the hang of it.
Con Doesn't always log out when idle
This issue is especially common with the mobile app.
Con Mobile apps are not intuitive
There are large differences between iOS and Android; as well as from the base desktop and cloud interfaces. Option A doesn’t correspond to the same thing across platforms. Functions have different names on different platforms, and under different settings.