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Best note-taking apps of 2022: an epic guide to 27 choices

NoteApps.info offers a searchable database of 278 features with 3,338 screenshots across 27 note taking apps. What does the data have to say about which one will work best for you?

Published June 20, 2021 by NoteApps Editorial Team. Last feature update May 20, 2022

When a person searches the web for "best note taking apps," which apps ought to appear? Spoiler alert: there's no single right answer. It depends entirely on your note-taking use cases.

And yet, when you Google this, you'll find no shortage of beat writers offering their unqualified opinions as to which note taking apps are "best for 2022." Nothing against beat writers, but their confidence that they could know what's best for every user is misplaced. With more than 20 note taking apps that could credibly call themselves the best in some user niche, it's an impossible task for any writer to fully cover the vast expanse of the "note-taking universe" in 2022.

We believe the most useful take on "the best note taking apps of 2021" is one that considers as many note apps as possible, grounded with hard data and screenshots to show how each feature looks in each app. So, that's what we built, and what you will find on the rest of this page.

To date, NoteApps.info has cataloged 7,131 provider-features (27 note apps with 278 features evaluated per app), to allow data-backed decision-making about which note app best matches your needs. This is the largest freely available data set illustrating what features are available in which note apps.

Table of contents

Let's try to find the perfect note taking app for you 👇

  1. Best note taking apps by what you've liked best before
  2. Best note taking apps by your biggest sticking point
  3. Best note taking apps by the specific features you tell us you need 🤓
  4. Best note taking apps by total features cataloged

Best note taking apps by what you've liked best before

If you're already a note-taker, the app you use as a go-to says a lot about your needs and preferences. For those who are coming from apps that Google indicates as common search terms, we have created data-backed guides to help evaluate a possible switch.

These apps have a strong overlap with Evernote's featureset, while bringing more modern sensibilities to the mix. Most have an Evernote importer. Top recommendations: Amplenote, Nimbus Note, Notion, Bear.

Data-backed guide to the best Evernote alternatives of 2022

These recommendations are weighted toward advanced table support, collaboration/team-based features, and better offline document availability. Top recommendations: Coda, Nimbus Note, Craft, Amplenote.

Data-backed guide to the best Notion alternatives of 2022

Note apps with strong backlinking capabilities, content transcluding, and Zettelkasten readiness. Top recommendations: Amplenote, Obsidian, Notion, RemNote.

Data-backed guide to the best Roam alternatives of 2022

These apps offer the most analogous drawing and free-form canvas experience to the venerable Microsoft incumbent. Top recommendations: GoodNotes, Evernote, Notion, Craft.

Data-backed guide to the best OneNote alternatives of 2022

Best note taking apps by your biggest sticking point

Different apps specialize in different areas. The list is ordered by perceived degree to which app embodies the best version of category.

  • 🎨 Aesthetic excellence

    Apps regularly praised on Twitter and by industry press for their product design. These generally offer a minimalistic UX, along with slick native apps. See Craft, Obsidian, Bear, ClickUp or compare all four

  • 🧑‍đŸ’ģ Blogging

    Built for users who want to use their notebook as a replacement for (or augmentation of) Wordpress. These apps provide a straightforward path to publish, embed and style note content. See Amplenote, Notion, Standard Notes, Obsidian or compare all four

  • 📆 Calendar/to-do integration

    These apps have all to-do lists to be scheduled to one's external calendar, while allowing the user to view their existing calendar obligations from within the app. See Amplenote, Taskade, Notion, Coda, ClickUp or compare all five

  • 🎭 Collaboration

    The extent to which collaborative faculties are offered is a major differentiator among note taking apps. The apps on this list make it easy to share note content with groups of users, and to collaboratively edit note content. See Notion, ClickUp, Coda, Notejoy, Asana or compare all five

  • 📱 Superior iPad experience

    iPad users need native drawing tools, a diverse range of features & navigation available via keyboard, and a striking aesthetic presentation. These apps best deliver all of the above. See Craft, Evernote, GoodNotes or compare all three

  • 🧠 Networked thought

    Third-generation note apps have gone all-in on backlinks and Zettelkasten as a means to organize life and "build a second brain." These apps draw disproportionate interest among those who use their note taking app for undertaking research. See Roam, Obsidian, Amplenote, RemNote or compare all four

  • 🤓 Programming

    Good code highlighting is the baseline requirement for this category, but these apps tend to also have a focus on security and plugins/extensibility. See Obsidian, Joplin, Standard Notes, Roam or compare all four

  • 🔒 Client-side security

    Apps with a documented claim to secure note client on the client, such that notes can be stored in a way the note app provider themselves could not access. See Joplin, Standard Notes, Amplenote, Obsidian or compare all four

  • 📑 Tables/databases

    Robust table/database support can starts with allowing formulas to be applied within tables in the note app, but also includes enumerated data types and thus notes that lend themselves to sharing as templates. See Notion, Coda, OneNote, Nimbus Note or compare all four

  • ✅ To-do lists

    Powerful to-do list features like recurring tasks, unlimited task attachments, and collapsible task hierarchy are available. See Amplenote, ClickUp, Taskade or compare all three

Best note taking apps by specific features you tell us you need

Choose a platform and at least one feature group below. Results will be sorted by which note apps share the most features with your tastes, with precedence given to apps that offer a superset of the features you expect.

Best note taking apps by total features cataloged

This method of sorting note apps is provided last for a reason: it's the least useful. The number of features we have cataloged by app depends on what counts as a "feature." As of mid-2021, our feature set is most heavily weighted toward Formatting, Performance Benchmarks, and Tasks.

To try to compensate for potential bias introduced by the number of features per group, each app below is scaled by the number of features it makes available relative to the number of features that NoteApps defines for each group.

  1. Amplenote (Launched 2019). Write it down. Get it done. Flexible notes and tasks, built by productivity enthusiasts. Unlock the best version of you. 184 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  2. Notion (Launched 2016). All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized. 176 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  3. Nimbus Note (Launched 2015). Transform information chaos from multiple sources into an organized workplace. Empower yourself or your team to get things done faster with less iterations, and fewer meetings. 160 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  4. Evernote (Launched 2008). Simplify your life. Evernote is the home for everything you need to remember, and everything you want to achieve. 159 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  5. OneNote (Launched 2003). OneNote: Your digital notebook. Gather your thoughts, then make them even better. Share and collaborate. 155 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  6. ClickUp (Launched 2017). One app to replace them all. We're just getting started, and are so grateful for all of the 200,000+ teams that are in this together with our team. 153 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  7. Coda (Launched 2014). It's time for a new doc that brings words, data, and teams together. 149 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

  8. Obsidian (Launched 2020). A second brain, for you, forever. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. 146 total features cataloged with screenshots.

    Feature breakdown

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