Best Free Note Taking Apps in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Notion is the best free choice when notes need to become a system. Pages, databases, calendars, and task views live in one workspace, so a study plan, a project tracker, and a reading list can share the same space. Templates help new users start fast, and sharing with a small team is straightforward on the free plan for individuals.

The downside is overhead. A quick thought takes more clicks in Notion than in Keep or Apple Notes, and the flexibility that makes it powerful can also make a simple notebook feel overbuilt. If you want a workspace that grows with a project, Notion is excellent. If you only want to jot and forget, a simpler app will serve you better.

Obsidian is the pick for a personal knowledge base that you want to keep for years. Your notes are plain Markdown files on your own device, so you are not locked into one company format, and the core app is free for personal use with no note limit. Links between notes and the graph view help ideas connect over time, which suits writers, researchers, and students building a lasting archive.

The catch is sync. The app itself is free, but the official sync service costs extra, so multi device users often set up their own sync through a cloud folder or a third party service. Collaboration is also not its strength. If ownership and linking matter most, Obsidian is the clearest free choice here.

OneNote is the best free notebook for students and anyone who mixes typing, handwriting, and pasted material. Pages are free form, so you can place text, images, and ink anywhere, and section tabs keep subjects apart in a way that feels like a real binder. It runs on most platforms, and sync through OneDrive works well for most users.

The limit is storage. Notes share your OneDrive quota, so a large archive with many images and recordings can fill it over time. The interface also packs in many tools, which can feel busy next to a minimal app. For class notes, meeting notes, and mixed media notebooks, OneNote remains a strong free default.

Apple Notes is the app most iPhone, iPad, and Mac users should try first, because it is already installed and it syncs through iCloud without a subscription. It handles text, checklists, scanned documents, and handwriting well, and recent versions add useful organisation with folders, tags, and links between notes.

The limit is ecosystem. Notes work best on Apple devices, and while web access exists through iCloud, it is not as full as a native app on another platform. Apple Notes also lacks the databases and project views of Notion. For quick and everyday notes inside the Apple world, it is simple, fast, and free.

Google Keep is the fastest way to capture a thought, a list, or a reminder. Notes are colour coded, searchable, and labelled rather than filed in folders, and reminders can be tied to a time or a place. It works on the web and on mobile, and it syncs with a Google account at no cost.

The simplicity is also the limit. Keep is not built for long essays, linked knowledge bases, or complex project plans, and its formatting is basic. Use it for capture and short lists, then move longer material into Notion, Obsidian, or OneNote when a note grows into a project. As a capture inbox, Keep is hard to beat.

Joplin suits users who want privacy and control without paying. It is open source, it stores notes in Markdown, and it offers end to end encryption with a choice of sync options, including self hosted storage and cloud services. The web clipper also helps when saving articles and research for later reading.

The interface is functional rather than polished, and setting up sync takes a decision that simpler apps hide. Joplin also lacks the visual polish and template library of Notion. If open source, encryption, and ownership matter more than looks, Joplin is a strong free pick that respects your data.

Logseq is built around daily notes and outlines, which suits users who think in bullet points and want every day to have its own page. Notes are local files, links connect ideas, and the outliner makes it easy to break a large topic into smaller tasks and thoughts. It is free and open source, with no note limit in the core app.

The style is not for everyone. Users who prefer long form pages may find the outline first approach awkward, and the interface feels more technical than Apple Notes or Keep. If you already like outlining, or you want a local first alternative to a linked knowledge base, Logseq deserves a week of real use before you judge it.

Simplenote is the calmest app on this list. It does one job, plain text notes that sync fast across devices, and it does it without clutter, paywalls, or feature noise. Tags and search keep a large set of short notes usable, and Markdown support helps writers who want light formatting without a heavy editor.

The limit is scope. Simplenote is not a place for rich notebooks, images, databases, or complex project plans. If your notes are mostly text, and you value speed and simplicity over features, Simplenote is a genuine free forever option. If you need media and structure, pair it with a richer tool rather than forcing it to do both jobs.

Evernote was once the default note app, and its web clipper remains a strength for saving articles and research. Notebooks, tags, and search still make sense for users with an existing archive, and the app runs on most platforms. For a user who already lives in Evernote, those habits are hard to replace.

The free plan is now the problem. It is limited to 50 notes, one notebook, and one connected device, which makes it impractical as a main free app for most new users. Paid plans remove those limits but cost more than many rivals. Evernote only makes sense here for a small, focused archive, or for users willing to pay for its clipping and search strengths.