Best Note Taking Products in 2026

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.

Key Obsidian features:

Local-first Markdown Support Bidirectional Linking Customizability

AI story outline analysis for authors, screenwriters, playwrights, and editors. Analyze your book, screenplay, or story outline for pacing, structure, character arcs, tension, plot logic, and weak spots before you draft.

Key Outline Analyzer features:

Outline Analysis Chapter breakdown Character Arc Review Act Structure Graph

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All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized.

Key Notion features:

All-in-One Workspace Highly Customizable Collaboration Features Cross-Platform Availability

Bring your life's work together in one digital workspace. Evernote is the place to collect inspirational ideas, write meaningful words, and move your important projects forward.

Key Evernote features:

Cross-Platform Compatibility Organizational Tools Web Clipper Collaboration Features

Joplin is a free, open source note taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. The notes are searchable, tagged and modified either from the applications directly or from your own text editor. .

Key Joplin features:

Open Source Cross-Platform End-to-End Encryption Rich Text Support

Open Source free

Logseq is a local-first, non-linear, outliner notebook for organizing and sharing your personal knowledge base.

Key Logseq features:

Bidirectional Linking Graph View Markdown Support Local Storage

Open Source free

Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Key OneNote features:

Cross-Platform Accessibility Collaboration Features Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem Flexible Organization

The simplest way to keep notes. Light, clean, and free. Simplenote is now available for iOS, Android, Mac, and the web.

Key Simplenote features:

Ease of Use Free of Cost Real-time Sync Multi-platform Support

Open Source

A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work.

Key Standard Notes features:

End-to-End Encryption Cross-Platform Support Open Source Extended Features via Subscription

Open Source

A simple journal application for the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. AboutTo learn more about Day One, see these two excellent reviews . PublishPublish is not available in Day One 2.

Key Day One features:

User-friendly Interface Cross-Platform Availability Rich Media Support End-to-End Encryption

Capture notes, share them with others, and access them from your computer, phone or tablet. Free with a Google account.

Key Google Keep features:

Cross-Platform Accessibility Integration with Google Ecosystem Real-Time Collaboration Voice Notes

Trilium Notes is a hierarchical note taking application.

Key Trilium Notes features:

Hierarchical Note Organization Rich Text Editing Dynamic Note Linking Cross-Platform

Open Source

a non-linear personal web notebook.

Key TiddlyWiki features:

Flexible and customizable Self-contained No server needed Active community

Open Source

Zim is a graphical text editor used to maintain a collection of wiki pages. Each page can contain links to other pages, simple formatting and images.

Key Zim Wiki features:

Offline Accessibility Simple Interface Rich Formatting Options Backlinking

Open Source