# Evernote Alternatives 2027: 10 Paid, Free & Open-Source

Source: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/evernote/
Prices checked: 2026-11-14 (Zekai Price Ledger)

The best Evernote alternatives in 2027 are Notion (best overall, $10/member/mo), Obsidian (best free plan: No limits on the app) and Joplin (best open source, AGPL-3.0-or-later). Evernote itself starts at $8.25/mo billed yearly. Zekai checked these prices on vendor pages on 14 Nov 2026; 7 more are compared below, including 3 with a free plan and 4 open source.

| Tool | Type | Starting price | Free plan limit | Licence | Best for | Price checked | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evernote (the tool being replaced) | — | $8.25/mo billed yearly | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device, 1 GB monthly uploads | — | — | 2026-11-14 | [pricing](https://evernote.com/compare-plans) |
| Notion | Free plan + paid | $10/member/mo | Unlimited pages solo, 5 MB uploads, 7-day history, 10 guests | — | Notes plus databases and team wikis | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://www.notion.com) [pricing](https://www.notion.com/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/notion/) |
| Craft | Free plan + paid | $4.80/mo billed yearly | 1,500 blocks, 1 personal space, 1 GB storage | — | Polished notes on Apple devices | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://craft.do) [pricing](https://www.craft.do/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/craft/) |
| Obsidian | Free plan + paid | $4/mo billed yearly (Sync) | App is free without limits; Sync and Publish are optional paid add-ons | — | Private local Markdown note vaults | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://obsidian.md) [pricing](https://obsidian.md/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/obsidian/) |
| Mem | Free plan + paid | $9/mo | 25 messages to Mem, 25 new notes a month, 3 hours Voice Mode | — | Agent-style note capture and follow-up | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://mem.ai) [pricing](https://get.mem.ai/pricing) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/mem/) |
| Reflect | Free | Free plan; paid price not published | Free on Mac; iPhone and iPad need a paid subscription | — | Backlinked daily notes in Markdown |  | [site](https://reflect.app) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/reflect/) |
| Joplin | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0-or-later | Encrypted Markdown notes with Evernote import | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://joplinapp.org) [pricing](https://joplinapp.org/plans/) [code](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/joplin/) |
| Logseq | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | Outliner notes with linked pages |  | [site](https://logseq.com) [code](https://github.com/logseq/logseq) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/logseq/) |
| AFFiNE | Open source | $6.75/mo (hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | MIT (some directories under separate licences) | Docs and whiteboard in one local-first app | 2026-11-14 | [site](https://affine.pro) [pricing](https://affine.pro/pricing) [code](https://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/affine/) |
| SiYuan | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | AGPL-3.0 | Block-level linked notes with Docker hosting |  | [site](https://b3log.org/siyuan) [code](https://github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/siyuan/) |
| QOwnNotes | Open source | Free (self-hosted) | No limit (self-hosted) | GPL-2.0 | Plain-text Markdown notes with Nextcloud sync |  | [site](https://www.qownnotes.org) [code](https://github.com/pbek/QOwnNotes) [Zekai page](https://zekaiwork.com/ai-tools/qownnotes/) |

## How each alternative compares with Evernote

- **Notion** (Free plan + paid, $10/member/mo, checked 2026-11-14): Notion's Free plan includes databases with subtasks and dependencies and 10 guests, while Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes start on the $20 Business plan; Evernote Free stops at 50 notes. Switch if you want notes, databases and shared team pages in one workspace and will outgrow 1,000 notes. Stay with Evernote if you mostly clip web pages and scan documents into one searchable notebook without building databases.
- **Craft** (Free plan + paid, $4.80/mo billed yearly, checked 2026-11-14): Craft Plus costs $4.80 a month on yearly billing with unlimited blocks, and its Free plan caps content at 1,500 blocks with Core, Fast and Max AI models listed. Switch if you want a cheaper paid plan than Evernote Starter and unlimited content in one clean document editor. Stay with Evernote if you rely on Evernote's web clipper, calendar connections and attachment handling across many devices.
- **Obsidian** (Free plan + paid, $4/mo billed yearly (Sync), checked 2026-11-14): Obsidian's app has no note, notebook or device caps and stores notes locally; paid Sync is $4 a month with end-to-end encryption, and the pricing page lists no AI add-on. Switch if you want unlimited local notes in plain files and are happy to pay only for optional encrypted sync. Stay with Evernote if you want built-in AI search and transcription, or shared notebooks that non-technical colleagues edit.
- **Mem** (Free plan + paid, $9/mo, checked 2026-11-14): Mem's Free plan allows 25 new notes a month and 25 messages to its agent, and Pro at $29 adds proactive task tracking across your notes. Switch if you want an AI agent that tracks tasks across your notes and you create only a few notes monthly. Stay with Evernote if you keep thousands of notes, attachments and notebooks that need a conventional filing structure.
- **Reflect** (Free, Free plan; paid price not published): Reflect's current site describes an open-source Mac app with local Markdown files, iCloud Drive or Git sync, and optional AI using your own API key; iOS needs a paid subscription. Switch if you want daily notes with backlinks on a Mac and prefer bringing your own AI provider key. Stay with Evernote if you need Windows or Android apps and a hosted web clipper like Evernote's.
- **Joplin** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Joplin's README says Evernote exports can be imported with formatting converted to Markdown, and apps exist for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android and iOS, with a Web Clipper for Firefox and Chrome. Switch if you are leaving Evernote with years of notes and want to import ENEX files into an encrypted open app. Stay with Evernote if you depend on Evernote's built-in AI Assistant and AI Transcribe rather than community plugins.
- **Logseq** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): Logseq's README calls itself a privacy-first knowledge platform and says its Database version is in beta with data loss possible, while Evernote is a mature hosted service with support. Switch if you think in linked outlines and want a privacy-first open-source notebook you can inspect. Stay with Evernote if you need stable attachments, scanning and web clipping with vendor support, not beta storage.
- **AFFiNE** (Open source, $6.75/mo (hosted), checked 2026-11-14): AFFiNE merges docs and an edgeless whiteboard; its free tier gives unlimited local workspaces plus 10 GB cloud storage for up to 3 members, with a $499.99 lifetime Believer plan. Switch if you want notes and whiteboards on one canvas, with an option to keep everything local or self-hosted. Stay with Evernote if you want Evernote's mature scanning, web clipper and email-to-note capture workflows.
- **SiYuan** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): SiYuan supports block-level references and two-way links plus a Markdown WYSIWYG editor, and its README documents Docker, Kubernetes, Unraid and TrueNAS hosting. Switch if you want fine-grained block references and a private server you control for your notes. Stay with Evernote if you want a hosted service with official web clipping and no server or key management.
- **QOwnNotes** (Open source, Free (self-hosted)): QOwnNotes keeps notes as plain Markdown files on Linux, macOS and Windows and syncs through Nextcloud or ownCloud Notes; it has no hosted account, unlike Evernote's cloud sync. Switch if you already run Nextcloud and want notes stored as plain Markdown files you fully own. Stay with Evernote if you want a managed cloud with iOS and web access and no file syncing to configure.

## Open-source options in detail

- **Joplin** (https://github.com/laurent22/joplin): Licence: AGPL-3.0-or-later; Commercial use: Yes (AGPL-3.0-or-later); sharing changes is required if you run a modified version as a service.; Runs on: Desktop apps for Windows, macOS, Linux; Android and iOS apps.; Setup: easy: Install the app, then pick a sync target.; Last commit: 2026-11-14; Last release: 2026-10-28; GitHub stars: 57,200 (2026-11-14)
- **Logseq** (https://github.com/logseq/logseq): Licence: AGPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes (AGPL-3.0); sharing changes is required if you run a modified version as a service.; Runs on: Desktop app for major operating systems; web version available.; Setup: easy: Download the installer; DB version is still beta.; Last commit: 2026-11-12; Last release: 2026-10-25; GitHub stars: 45,600 (2026-11-14)
- **AFFiNE** (https://github.com/toeverything/AFFiNE): Licence: MIT (some directories under separate licences); Commercial use: Yes for MIT-licensed parts; the backend server folder has its own licence, so read it first.; Runs on: Desktop and web clients; Docker server if you self-host.; Setup: moderate: Docker deployment plus storage and backups if self-hosted.; Last commit: 2026-11-12; Last release: 2026-11-13; GitHub stars: 74,500 (2026-11-14)
- **SiYuan** (https://github.com/siyuan-note/siyuan): Licence: AGPL-3.0; Commercial use: Yes (AGPL-3.0); sharing changes is required if you run a modified version as a service.; Runs on: Desktop app, or a Docker container on a home server.; Setup: moderate: Docker volume and permissions settings for server use.; Last commit: 2026-11-10; Last release: 2026-11-13; GitHub stars: 47,200 (2026-11-14)
- **QOwnNotes** (https://github.com/pbek/QOwnNotes): Licence: GPL-2.0; Commercial use: Yes (GPL-2.0); changes you distribute must stay under GPL-2.0.; Runs on: Desktop for Linux, macOS and Windows; Android app separate.; Setup: easy: Install the desktop app, then point sync at your files.; Last commit: 2026-11-13; Last release: 2026-11-13; GitHub stars: 6,000 (2026-11-14)

## Questions

### What is the best alternative to Evernote in 2027?
Notion is the best overall Evernote alternative on this page ($10/member/mo). For no cost, Obsidian has a free plan (App is free without limits; Sync and Publish are optional paid add-ons). To self-host, Joplin is open source (AGPL-3.0-or-later).

### Is there a free version of Evernote?
Yes. Evernote has a free plan: 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device, 1 GB monthly uploads. Paid plans start at $8.25/mo billed yearly, checked on 14 Nov 2026.

### Is there a 100% free alternative to Evernote?
Yes. Joplin, Logseq, AFFiNE, SiYuan, QOwnNotes are open source and free to self-host. Notion, Craft, Obsidian, Mem, Reflect have a free plan with limits, shown in the table.

### What is cheaper than Evernote?
Craft starts at $4.80/mo billed yearly, against $8.25/mo billed yearly for Evernote, as listed on each vendor's pricing page on 14 Nov 2026.

### How much do Evernote alternatives cost for a team of 5?
If each of 5 people buys the entry paid plan, at the prices Zekai checked on 14 Nov 2026, the monthly cost is Obsidian $20/mo, Craft $24/mo, AFFiNE $33.75/mo, against Evernote $41.25/mo for Evernote. Team and business plans can cost more per seat. The Zekai Cost Finder on this page recalculates for any team size.

### Which is better, Notion or Evernote?
Notion's Free plan includes databases with subtasks and dependencies and 10 guests, while Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes start on the $20 Business plan; Evernote Free stops at 50 notes. Choose Notion if you want notes, databases and shared team pages in one workspace and will outgrow 1,000 notes. Stay with Evernote if you mostly clip web pages and scan documents into one searchable notebook without building databases.

### Why are people leaving Evernote?
The documented reasons are: Evernote limited Free accounts, new and existing, to fifty notes and one notebook starting December 4; users above the limit keep access but cannot add beyond it (29 Nov 2023); Evernote's help centre says the older Personal and Professional plans were retired in favour of Starter ($14.99 monthly or $99 yearly) and Advanced ($24.99 monthly or $249.99 yearly); the FAQ page prints no date (14 Nov 2026). Each is sourced in the section above.

### What is the best Evernote alternative?
For databases and teams Notion is the usual choice, for local Markdown Obsidian, and for importing an Evernote archive Joplin. Craft is the cheaper polished editor if you mainly write documents.

## Related on Zekai

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Live table, team cost finder and price alerts: https://zekaiwork.com/alternatives/evernote/