HelixNotes's answer

HelixNotes combines a clean visual editor with the durability of plain Markdown files.

• Notes are stored as standard .md files on your own device
• No account, proprietary database, or HelixNotes cloud
• WYSIWYG editing plus direct Markdown source mode
• Tasks are collected from checkboxes across all notes into one list and calendar
• Built-in wiki links, graph view, daily notes, KaTeX math, and Mermaid diagrams
• Optional WebDAV sync using your own Nextcloud, ownCloud, NAS, or server
• Optional AI through Ollama or your own API key
• Available on Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iPhone, and iPad
• Free and open source under the AGPL-3.0 license

PrivacyNotes's answer:

PrivacyNotes is the only zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that keeps notes, tasks, journals, files, and a password vault behind one set of on-device keys. Most privacy apps do one of those well and rent it to you monthly. We do all five, encrypt everything with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it leaves your device, and charge once instead of forever. The encryption core is open core, published so the claims can be verified rather than trusted.

HelixNotes's answer

Choose HelixNotes if you want a polished notes app without giving up control of your files.

Unlike cloud-first apps, HelixNotes does not require an account or store notes on company servers. Unlike more complex knowledge-management tools, it focuses on practical note-taking without turning every note into a database. Your vault remains a normal folder of Markdown files that can be opened, searched, backed up, or moved with other tools.

It also includes useful features out of the box: aggregated tasks, calendar scheduling, wiki links, graph view, daily notes, full-text search, version history, themes, math, diagrams, and optional self-hosted sync.

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Three reasons:

• One app, not four subscriptions. Standard Notes, Day One, and Lunatask each rent you a slice (notes, journaling, tasks). PrivacyNotes covers all of them plus files and a vault, for a fair one-time fee.
• Real zero-knowledge. Your keys come from a recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your notes, your filenames, or your metadata. Some encrypted apps leave note or task metadata in the clear; we do not.
• Verifiable, not just trusted. The crypto and schema are open core and published for review, and there is no ad, tracker, or analytics anywhere in the app.

HelixNotes's answer

HelixNotes is built for people who want a capable notes app while keeping ownership of their data.

Its primary audience includes:

• Developers and technical users who prefer plain Markdown
• Writers, researchers, and students managing linked notes
• Privacy-conscious users who do not want another cloud account
• Obsidian users looking for a cleaner, more focused editor
• UpNote users who want local files and less lock-in
• People who already use Nextcloud, ownCloud, a NAS, or WebDAV
• Anyone who wants the same Markdown vault across desktop and mobile

It is intended for personal knowledge management rather than hosted team collaboration.

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Privacy-conscious individuals and independent professionals who handle information they would not want a vendor reading: lawyers, journalists, healthcare and mental-health practitioners, developers, security specialists, researchers, and founders. It also fits anyone who simply wants one private home for their notes, tasks, journaling, and wellness tracking instead of spreading them across surveillance-funded apps.

HelixNotes's answer

HelixNotes started from a simple frustration: I wanted UpNote's clean editor with Obsidian's local files, but without the bloat or lock-in. That combination did not exist in the form I wanted, so I built it.

The result is a local-first notes app where the interface stays out of the way and every note remains a normal Markdown file on your own disk. Features such as tasks, wiki links, daily notes, search, and optional WebDAV sync were added around that principle rather than replacing it.

HelixNotes is developed as free and open-source software by ARKHOST LLC.

PrivacyNotes's answer:

PrivacyNotes started from a simple frustration: staying organized meant scattering your life across half a dozen apps, most of which could read everything you typed and billed you monthly for the privilege. We wanted one place for notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords, encrypted so thoroughly that the people running the servers could not read a word of it, and paid for once rather than forever. So we built the encryption first, made the keys live only on your device, and published the crypto as open core so the promise could be checked, not just believed. Everything else grew from one rule: your data is yours, and no one else's to mine.

HelixNotes's answer

SvelteKit & Rust/Tauri

PrivacyNotes's answer:

React, TypeScript, Vite and Tailwind CSS.

HelixNotes's answer

• HelixNotes does not require accounts and does not track or rank its users, so there are no publicly disclosed "biggest customers."

PrivacyNotes's answer:

Honestly? We have no idea, and that is the entire point. Signup is anonymous (a recovery phrase or Google, no email or personal details), the app ships zero analytics and zero trackers, and zero-knowledge encryption means we cannot see who you are or what you store. We could not name a single customer if we tried. A privacy product that tracked its users closely enough to brag about them would be missing the plot.