
Obsidian
Standard Notes
Evernote
Notion
Logseq
OneNote
Google Keep
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.

Substack
Formo.so
Advanced analytics for Substack writers. Runs 100% locally, no cloud, no subscription. Discover your superfans, churn risk, and cohort retention.

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, Joplin seems to be a lot more popular than StackStats.app. While we know about 358 links to Joplin, we've tracked only 1 mention of StackStats.app.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | joplinapp.org | stackstats.app |
| Pricing | ||
| Company | Startup from Open Source/Community | Startup from the United Arab Emirates · 1 - 9 employees · 2026 |
| Listed in |
In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.


No description of Joplin yet.
StackStats is a local desktop app for serious Substack writers. Import your CSV exports and get analytics Substack doesn't show you: bot-filtered open rates, cohort retention, dead subscriber detection, superfan ID, content-to-growth correlation, and an optional AI layer (supports Ollama,...
What each product offers, as listed by its team.


Possible disadvantages
An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.


Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
Walkthroughs and reviews on video.
Joplin, a free, open source, self hosted syncing note taking alternative to Evernote and OneNote..
More videos
No StackStats.app videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


As answered by people managing Joplin and StackStats.app.
StackStats.app's answer:
I built StackStats because Substack's native analytics weren't cutting it. I wanted cohort data, real open rates (not bot-inflated), and a way to identify which posts were actually driving subscriber growth — but every tool I found was either cloud-based or required migrating off Substack entirely. So I built a local app that works with Substack's own CSV exports. No migration, no cloud, no subscription.
StackStats.app's answer:
StackStats runs 100% locally on your machine — your subscriber data never touches a server. It also goes far beyond what Substack shows natively: bot-filtered open rates, cohort retention, superfan identification, dead subscriber detection, and content-to-growth correlation. No subscription, no account, no cloud. Pay once, own it forever.
StackStats.app's answer:
Most newsletter analytics tools are cloud-based SaaS with monthly subscriptions. StackStats is a one-time purchase that runs entirely on your device. For Substack writers who care about privacy — especially those with paid subscribers — that's a meaningful difference. You also get analytics features that don't exist anywhere else, like bot-filtered open rates and cohort retention, without having to migrate away from Substack.
StackStats.app's answer:
Serious Substack writers who are frustrated by Substack's shallow native analytics and want real data to drive growth — without moving their subscriber data to the cloud.
StackStats.app's answer:
Electron (macOS + Windows), HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Chart.js, PapaParse. Optional AI layer supports Ollama, Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, Groq, and OpenRouter. Licensing via Cloudflare Workers + D1. Payments via Gumroad.
Share your experience with using Joplin and StackStats.app. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.


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...
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...
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...
We have no reviews of StackStats.app yet. Be the first one to post
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


What is this providing over similarly Markdown based open source note taking applications like Joplin? (https://joplinapp.org/) I've been a huge fan of the fact that my backend sync infrastructure is my own self-hosted S3 bucket with... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
Shout out to Joplin (https://joplinapp.org/), which I use on a daily basis. It does most of what Obsidian does but has a free sync version where you just use your cloud drive as the storage. The main thing missing, from what I've found,... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
I use Joplin (https://joplinapp.org) on mobile and pc(windows and Linux). Joplin has a free encrypted sync via OneDrive. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
I'm working on 3 products now: 1. FormBeep(https://formbeep.com) at $38 MRR now - A form to Whatsapp tool. Stack is mainly CF workers with Clerk Auth. 2. SlashLink(https://slashlink.app) $0 - A simple pay as you go amazon link localizer.... - Source: Hacker News / 2 days ago
When comparing Joplin and StackStats.app, you can also consider the following products.

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.
Compare Obsidian to Joplin or StackStats.app:

With Substack, anyone can start a publication that combines a personal website, blog, and email newsletter or podcast. It's quick and simple.
Compare Substack to Joplin or StackStats.app:

A safe place for your notes, thoughts, and life's work
Compare Standard Notes to Joplin or StackStats.app:


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.
Compare Evernote to Joplin or StackStats.app:

All-in-one workspace. One tool for your whole team. Write, plan, and get organized.
Compare Notion to Joplin or StackStats.app: