Notes apps: who can read them, open formats, and who pays
Notes outlive the apps we write them in. A decade of journals, research, recipes or family records matters, and the day you want to move them is the day you find out what format they were really kept in. Three questions sort the apps: can the company that syncs your notes read them, will your notes come out in a format any other program can open, and how does the company make its money.
The short answer. If you want notes you will always be able to open, Obsidian keeps them as plain Markdown files in a folder on your own device, and the app is free. If you want sync that the company cannot read, Standard Notes and Notesnook encrypt on your device and have free plans; Obsidian's paid Sync and Joplin's optional encryption do the same. Apple Notes, Google Keep, Evernote and Notion are easy to start with, but by default none of them keeps the keys to your notes only on your devices. There is no single best app: the most portable and private setups ask a little more of you.
What to compare
| Measure | The question to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Who can read them | Local files, end-to-end encryption, or the company's keys? | Notes hold health, money and family details |
| Open formats | Do notes export as Markdown, plain text or HTML? | Open formats outlast any one app |
| Who pays | Subscriptions, a one-off app, donations, or a wider ad business? | The model decides what the company wants from your notes |
| Syncing and sharing | Does it work on all your devices, and can you share a note? | The easiest tool is the one you keep using |
Weigh what you care about
Who can read them. Obsidian says all data is saved locally on your device and never sent to its servers, that it collects no telemetry, and that its optional Sync encrypts your data, including file names, end to end. Standard Notes says only you hold the keys to decrypt your data and that its encryption has been audited. Notesnook says it encrypts everything on your device before it travels over the internet and does not read what you write. Joplin supports end-to-end encryption on all its apps, but you have to switch it on yourself. Apple lists Notes as encrypted with keys held by Apple under standard protection, and end to end, with keys only on your devices, if you turn on Advanced Data Protection. Notion encrypts data at rest and in transit, and its security page describes no option for keys that only you hold. Google's privacy policy says automated systems analyse your content to tailor features. Evernote says everything you put in is private by default, and that its systems analyse your data to power features such as search.
Open formats. Obsidian stores notes as Markdown plain text files, so any text editor can open them. Apple Notes on a Mac exports notes as PDF or Markdown. Notion can export a whole workspace as HTML, Markdown or CSV. Joplin exports to its own lossless JEX format, a raw format, HTML and PDF, and imports Evernote, Markdown and OneNote. Google Keep's export includes note text, attachments, colours and labels, though its help page names no file format. OneNote notebooks can be exported only through OneNote for the web, and only from a personal OneDrive, not a work or school one. If you are leaving Evernote, Joplin says its import keeps notebooks, notes, tags, attachments and metadata, but not colours, font sizes or fonts.
Open code. Joplin's code is under the AGPL, apart from its server, which has its own licence. Logseq is AGPL too, and its README warns that its new database version is in beta, that data loss is possible, and that you should keep backups. Standard Notes links to its source code. Obsidian says it owns and reserves the rights to the code in its app. Anytype's code is published under a source-available licence that limits commercial use.
Who pays and what it costs. Standard Notes says all its revenue comes from paying users and it has taken no venture capital; its free plan includes encryption and sync on unlimited devices, and paid plans are 90 or 120 US dollars a year. Obsidian's app is free with no sign-up; Sync costs 4 dollars a month billed yearly, or 5 billed monthly. Notesnook's free plan allows unlimited notes and 50 MB of storage a month, and Essential is 19.99 dollars a year. Bear Pro, needed for sync across devices, is 2.99 dollars a month or 29.99 a year. Evernote's free plan is limited to 50 notes, one notebook and one device. Evernote, whose site is run by Bending Spoons, says it never gives or sells your content to anyone for advertising.
If you care most about...
There is no best notes app for everyone. Choose by the thing you most want to protect.
| If you care most about | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Notes you can open long after the app is gone | Obsidian, or any app that writes plain text files | Markdown in an ordinary folder |
| Sync the company cannot read, on a free plan | Standard Notes, Notesnook | Encrypted on your device before upload |
| Open-source code | Joplin, Standard Notes | Published code; Joplin's encryption must be switched on |
| Staying inside Apple | Apple Notes with Advanced Data Protection on | Keys move to your devices; exports to Markdown on a Mac |
| Pages and databases in one place | Notion | Exports a whole workspace to HTML, Markdown or CSV |
| Leaving Evernote | Joplin | Imports notebooks, tags and attachments |
The route that costs nothing
You may already have what you need. The notes app that came with your phone costs nothing extra, and a folder of plain text files on your computer opens in any text editor. Whatever you use, export your notes once a year into an open format and keep that copy somewhere you control. If the export fails or looks mangled, you have learned something important while it is still easy to act on.
What we're not telling you
- Encryption claims here are each company's own statements; we did not read an independent analysis for most notes apps.
- We do not score writing features, speed, or access for disabled users. Task managers, office suites and team wikis do a different job and are not compared.
- Prices are US list prices read in September 2026, and they change.
How we made this
We take no money from any notes app. Every fact above comes from an app maker's own pages or public repositories, linked below. Each app's scores, with the source behind every cell, are in the notes comparison. If something has changed, tell us through Contribute and we will correct it.
Sources
- Obsidian privacy, checked 2026-09
- Obsidian help: how Obsidian stores data, checked 2026-09
- Obsidian pricing, checked 2026-09
- Obsidian licence overview, checked 2026-09
- Standard Notes, checked 2026-09
- Standard Notes plans, checked 2026-09
- Notesnook privacy policy, checked 2026-09
- Notesnook pricing, checked 2026-09
- Joplin end-to-end encryption, checked 2026-09
- Joplin import and export, checked 2026-09
- Joplin licence, checked 2026-09
- Logseq source repository, checked 2026-09
- Anytype licence, checked 2026-09
- Bear Pro features and price, checked 2026-09
- Apple iCloud data security overview, checked 2026-09
- Apple Notes for Mac: import, export and print, checked 2026-09
- Google privacy policy, checked 2026-09
- Google Keep: export your data, checked 2026-09
- Microsoft: export and import OneNote notebooks, checked 2026-09
- Notion security and privacy, checked 2026-09
- Notion: export your content, checked 2026-09
- Evernote plans, checked 2026-09
- Evernote: three laws of data protection, checked 2026-09