Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Joplin VS GitJournal

Compare Joplin VS GitJournal and see what are their differences

Joplin logo Joplin

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.

GitJournal logo GitJournal

Manage your Notes from any Git Repo.
  • Joplin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-20
  • GitJournal Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-05-22

Joplin features and specs

  • Open Source
    Joplin is open source, which means the source code is freely available and can be modified or studied by anyone. This ensures transparency and provides the community with the ability to contribute to its development.
  • Cross-Platform
    Joplin is available on multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, which allows users to access their notes and to-dos across different devices.
  • End-to-End Encryption
    Joplin offers end-to-end encryption, ensuring that your notes and data are securely encrypted and only accessible by you.
  • Rich Text Support
    Joplin supports Markdown, which allows users to create notes with rich text formatting, including headers, lists, checkboxes, images, links, and more.
  • Synchronization Options
    Joplin provides multiple options for synchronization, including cloud services like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Nextcloud, enabling users to keep their data in sync across devices.
  • Resource Management
    Joplin allows users to attach files, images, and other resources to their notes, making it a versatile tool for managing different types of information.

Possible disadvantages of Joplin

  • User Interface
    The user interface of Joplin can be less intuitive and visually appealing compared to other note-taking apps, which might lead to a steeper learning curve for new users.
  • Limited Collaboration
    Joplin is primarily designed for individual use and lacks extensive collaboration features found in other apps like Google Keep or Evernote, making it less suitable for team-based tasks.
  • No Native Web App
    Joplin does not have a native web app version, which can be a drawback for users who prefer accessing their notes through a browser without installing the desktop or mobile applications.
  • Sync Configuration
    Setting up synchronization options can be complex for some users, especially for those who are not familiar with cloud services or network configurations.
  • Resource Intensive
    Joplin can be resource-intensive, particularly when dealing with a large number of notes or attachments, which might affect performance on older devices.

GitJournal features and specs

  • Version Control
    GitJournal uses git for version control, which means every change in the notes is tracked. This allows users to revert back to previous versions if needed.
  • Markdown Support
    The app supports markdown, enabling users to format their notes easily and consistently, which is particularly beneficial for users already familiar with markdown syntax.
  • Cross-Platform Sync
    GitJournal allows users to sync their notes across multiple devices using any git provider, ensuring that notes are always up to date no matter where they are accessed.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, GitJournal provides transparency in its operations and allows contributions from the developer community to improve and enhance the app.
  • Privacy
    Users have the freedom to choose their own git repository, which means they have complete control over the privacy and security of their data.

Possible disadvantages of GitJournal

  • Initial Setup
    The initial setup process can be complex for users unfamiliar with git, creating a potential barrier to entry for non-technical users.
  • Complexity for Basic Users
    For basic note-taking needs, using git may be overkill, and the additional features might be unnecessary and confusing for those users.
  • Limited Offline Features
    While notes can be accessed offline, some features may require an internet connection, which could be limiting for users needing full offline functionality.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with using markdown and git, which might deter users who are not familiar with these technologies.
  • Dependency on Git Providers
    The app relies on external git providers for sync functionality, which means any issues with these services can impact the performance and reliabilty of GitJournal.

Joplin videos

Joplin, a free, open source, self hosted syncing note taking alternative to Evernote and OneNote..

More videos:

  • Review - Joplin Is An Open Source Alternative To Evernote
  • Review - Joplin Desktop: Take Notes With A Rich Markdown Editor

GitJournal videos

Gitjournal

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Joplin and GitJournal)
Note Taking
95 95%
5% 5
Todos
100 100%
0% 0
Personal Notes
0 0%
100% 100
Notes
95 95%
5% 5

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Joplin and GitJournal

Joplin Reviews

20 Obsidian Alternatives: Top Note-Taking Tools to Consider
Joplin is best defined as an open-source note-taking app. The app lets you take notes and access them anywhere as it backs all your notes on the cloud. You can create checklists, notes, and tables within Joplin or attach images and videos. In addition, Joplin supports diagrams and math functions, making it an inclusive note-taking app regardless of subject or topic.
Source: clickup.com
The 6 best note-taking apps in 2024
Not only is Joplin the best open source note-taking app on our list, but it's also the best free Evernote alternative too. For a number of reasons I'll explore below, I don't feel Evernote merits a spot on this list right now; however, because Evernote has been such a staple of the note-taking app space, most other apps compete by trying to be different. OneNote is awesome,...
Source: zapier.com
The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data
In order to synchronize Joplin among your devices, you need to set it up with one of several existing cloud services (such as Dropbox or OneDrive). You can also use Joplin Cloud, which is available in Joplin’s paid plans: Basic, which includes 2GB storage space and 10MB per note or attachment, and Pro, which offers 30GB storage space, 200MB per note or attachment, and other...
10 Best Open Source Note-Taking Apps for Linux
It also supports alarms (notifications) for to-dos, End-To-End Encryption (E2EE) for security, allows for saving web pages and screenshots as notes using the web clipper extension available in Firefox and Chrome web browsers, and supports synchronization with cloud or file storage services such as services including Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
Source: www.tecmint.com
The best encrypted note taking apps
Joplin is open-source, maintains Linux, Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows apps, and also offers built in cloud-sync functionality called “Joplin cloud.” Finally, Joplin scores highly on their use of end-to-end encrypted to keep all user notes private. For more convenience features Joplin offers a web clipper directly integrated into the notes app to allow for cataloging,...
Source: www.skiff.com

GitJournal Reviews

We have no reviews of GitJournal yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Joplin seems to be a lot more popular than GitJournal. While we know about 355 links to Joplin, we've tracked only 23 mentions of GitJournal. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Joplin mentions (355)

  • Why I switched from obsidian: A real developer’s story and what I’m using now
    Joplin Official Website My current workhorse for fast, reliable notes. - Source: dev.to / 1 day ago
  • Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (February 2025)
    Thanks! I built the editor using Tiptap (https://tiptap.dev/) does something similar. I'll think about this for sure, especially since I've been thinking of making it possible to save and read local files. If you'd like to try Gorby, send me an email and I'll be happy to give you a free license code :). - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Nextcloud: Open-Source Cloud Apps
    I am using https://joplinapp.org for notes, using Dropbox for sync though (can also use NextCloud or other sources see https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/sync/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Information flow - how I capture the notes
    Joplin open-source tool, with paid Sync service. However, it supports WebDav sync. As a user of Fastmail have a lot lot of storage for it. Those parts work great, links, complexity level, and clear Markdown. Themes, mobile app, tags, everything I needed was there. Unfortunately, again, for short notes, my go-to app becomes memos, for long-form BookStack, seems to be the best solution. Why? Firstly my love for... - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Zettlr: Note-Taking and Publishing with Markdown
    Longtime Joplin [1] user here, how does the most recent version of Zettlr compare? I have grown really comfortable with the simple interface of Joplin, plus using S3 for sync makes life easy for me as I'm living on my own infrastructure. [1] https://joplinapp.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
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GitJournal mentions (23)

  • Daily work journal/note-taking app suggestions
    It crossed my mind to do a daily Jupyter notebook but I typically don’t need them to be interactive code. The closest solution that I’ve found looks like: GitJournal does anyone have experience with this or other solutions? Source: over 2 years ago
  • How likely is it that the Obsidian mobile app and Obsidian itself to be shut down and discontinued?
    See this gem too - https://gitjournal.io/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • ZK access via mobile phone?
    If you are working with text files and git, gitjournal works well for me. It defaults to Markdown, but if you just edit in raw mode, you can do anything in the text file. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Blogging from my phone with GitJournal
    I've been searching for a while for something that would let me simply publish from my phone. I actually saw GitJournal in the Play store a couple of times, but I assumed it would only use GitHub to back up its own proprietary file format and so be useful. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Best site/programm for creating documents
    There are plenty of desktop/mobile apps for working with markdown. (I've been using Notable (desktop) and GitJournal (mobile ) for an Evernote-like experience.) And markdown is often extended with support for internal links like a wiki, attachments, diagramming (see Mermaid), and easy export to other formats like HTML. Source: almost 3 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Joplin and GitJournal, you can also consider the following products

Obsidian.md - 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.

Standard Notes - A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work

OneNote - 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.

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

Evernote - 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.

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