An Evernote alternative that's actually free in 2026.

Evernote's free tier is 50 notes. Personal plans run $14.99 a month. If you're here, you probably already know the price, and you're looking for the way out.

What changed with Evernote

Evernote was the notes app for over a decade. Web clipper, OCR, document scanning, a generous free tier. Then it got bought, restructured, repriced.

The free tier is now 50 notes and one notebook. The Personal plan is $14.99 per month or $129.99 a year. The Professional plan is $17.99 a month. People who'd been paying $35 a year are being asked to pay 4x that.

None of this is hidden. The price page is public. But the friction of moving 10 years of notes out is high, and that's what the new owners are pricing against.

If you're past the inflection point and ready to leave, here's the map.

What people actually use Evernote for

Three things, mostly:

1. Writing personal notes — meeting notes, ideas, journal entries.
2. Capturing web pages — research, articles to read later.
3. Storing PDFs and photos — receipts, business cards, contracts.

Different alternatives are better at each. There's no single Evernote replacement that's better at all three. So pick by what you actually use.

If you mainly write notes — Notiero

Notiero is a markdown notes app that runs in your browser. Open notiero.com, start typing. No account, no install.

What it gives you:

• Unlimited notes, no device cap, no quota.
• Real markdown — your notes are .md text, portable forever.
• Tags (#tag) and backlinks ([[note]]) for organisation.
• Works offline as a PWA after first visit.
• Free cloud sync across devices (optional sign-in).
• Costs nothing. Plus tier is $4/month if you want priority support; the free tier is fully functional.

What it doesn't give you: web clipper, OCR, scanning. If those are your job, keep reading.

If you mainly clip web pages — Joplin

Joplin is open source, free, and has a real web clipper (browser extension). You bring your own sync target (Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, or its own server). The interface looks like Evernote from 2015, which sounds bad but is actually fine — Evernote users feel at home immediately.

Setup takes 20 minutes (install desktop app, install web clipper, connect cloud). After that it works.

If you mainly scan documents — Apple Notes or Microsoft OneNote

Apple Notes has built-in document scanning on iPhone, OCR on scanned text, and free unlimited storage. The price is "must be on Apple devices."

OneNote is free on every platform with a Microsoft account. Decent OCR. The UI is divisive — sections and pages, no flat list — but for document storage it works.

Both are free. Both are owned by trillion-dollar companies that won't suddenly raise prices, but also won't innovate.

The four free alternatives side by side

How to move your notes out of Evernote

Three steps. Takes 30 minutes for a lifetime of notes.

1. Export from Evernote

In Evernote desktop: right-click a notebook, "Export Notes". Choose ENEX format. ENEX is XML — every note, every tag, every attachment, in one file you control. Do this for every notebook. Keep the files in a safe place. This is your insurance.

2. Convert ENEX to markdown

If your new app accepts ENEX directly (Joplin does), skip this step.

If it accepts markdown (most do), use a free converter:

• evernote2md — command-line tool, converts ENEX to a folder of .md files. Free, open source.
• yarle — GUI version, same job. Free.

3. Import into your new app

• Notiero: copy and paste each markdown file's contents into a new note. Or use Notiero's "Import .md" feature in the profile menu.
• Joplin: File → Import → ENEX. Done.
• Obsidian: drop the .md files into your vault folder.
• Notion: Settings → Import → Evernote. Works directly with your Evernote account.

What I'd actually pick

If your Evernote usage is "I write a lot of notes, occasionally clip a web page, hoard a few PDFs" — try Notiero for the notes and Apple Notes / OneNote for the PDFs. Use Joplin if the web clipper is your daily driver.

If your Evernote usage is "I have 8 years of business records, scanned receipts, contracts, and tagged research" — Joplin is the closest one-to-one replacement. The migration is bigger but the parity is real.

If you want to pay less than Evernote without paying nothing — UpNote ($25 one-time, lifetime) and Bear ($30/year, Apple only) are both polished and significantly cheaper.

Common questions

Why is Evernote so expensive now?

Evernote was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2022, and prices have climbed significantly since. The free tier was cut to 50 notes and 1 notebook. Personal plans run $14.99/month or $129.99/year. Professional is $17.99/month. The 'why' is a familiar pattern after PE-style acquisitions: monetise the existing user base before they leave.

Can I import my Evernote notes into another app?

Yes. Evernote exports to ENEX (its own XML format) or to HTML. Most modern notes apps accept these or markdown. The cleanest path is: export each notebook from Evernote as ENEX, use a free converter like evernote2md to turn ENEX into markdown files, then paste or drop those into your new app. Notiero, Obsidian, Joplin, and Notion all accept markdown directly.

Is my data safe if I switch from Evernote?

Export everything first. Evernote's export to ENEX preserves your notes, tags, and notebook structure. Keep the export file as a backup — it's plain text you can open in any app forever. Then try alternatives risk-free. If you don't like one, your ENEX file is your fallback. The most important rule when leaving any notes app: export before you commit to the new one.

Does Notiero have a web clipper like Evernote?

Not yet. Notiero focuses on text notes. If you need a web clipper specifically — capturing whole web pages with images and formatting — Evernote and Joplin are still better picks. For text snippets, you can paste any URL or excerpt into Notiero and the markdown is preserved.