Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Plain Org VS PrivacyNotes

Compare Plain Org VS PrivacyNotes and see what are their differences

Plain Org logo Plain Org

View and edit your org mode tasks while on the go.

PrivacyNotes logo PrivacyNotes

Zero-knowledge encrypted notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords in one app. Your keys never leave your device. One-time price, no subscription. Hosted in Switzerland.
Visit Website
  • Plain Org Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-18
  • PrivacyNotes Journal
    Journal //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Settings
    Settings //
    2026-06-25
  • PrivacyNotes Website
    Website //
    2026-06-25

PrivacyNotes is a zero-knowledge encrypted workspace that brings your notes, tasks, journals, files, and passwords into one app, so you stop juggling four separate subscriptions.

Everything is encrypted on your device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it ever syncs. Your keys are derived from a recovery phrase that never touches our servers, so we cannot read your content, your filenames, or anything else. This is real zero-knowledge, not a marketing label.

Five pillars, one encrypted app:

  • Notes - a live markdown editor with note-to-note links, tags, and fast full-text search
  • Tasks - native checklists and task management next to your notes
  • Journals - daily entries with built-in mood, sleep, and medication tracking
  • Files - an encrypted vault for images, audio, and attachments
  • Vault - lock sensitive notes and logins behind a PIN or biometrics

Built for privacy, not surveillance:

  • No ads, no trackers, no analytics, ever
  • Sign in anonymously with a recovery phrase or with Google. No email or personal details required.
  • Open core: the encryption layer and database schema are published for independent review
  • Burn notes: self-destructing shares the server cannot read

Pricing that respects you:

  • Free covers every pillar with two-device sync and offline use
  • Pro is a one-time free, not a subscription, adding unlimited devices, note history, and more storage
  • Optional storage add-ons when you need them

Works on web, macOS, and soon iOS, Android, Windows and Linux with a responsive mobile layout. Import from Apple Notes, Standard Notes, Google Keep, Obsidian, and markdown in a few clicks.

Plain Org

Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

PrivacyNotes

$ Details
freemium $48.0 / One-off (Early adopter price)
Platforms
MacOS Web Firefox Google Chrome Edge Safari
Release Date
2026 June
Startup details
Country
Switzerland
Employees
1 - 9

Plain Org features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Plain Org is designed with a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy for users to navigate and manage their information efficiently.
  • Integration Capabilities
    The platform offers seamless integration with various third-party tools and services, enhancing its functionality and allowing for a more versatile user experience.
  • Customization Options
    Users can customize their experience through various settings and configurations, catering to individual or organizational needs.
  • Collaboration Features
    It provides robust collaboration tools that facilitate teamwork and communication, making it ideal for group projects and organizational use.

Possible disadvantages of Plain Org

  • Limited Advanced Features
    While suitable for many tasks, some advanced users may find the lack of certain sophisticated features a drawback for comprehensive use cases.
  • Pricing Structure
    Depending on the complexity and number of integrations used, the cost can escalate, potentially making it less appealing for budget-conscious users or smaller teams.
  • Learning Curve for New Users
    Despite its user-friendly design, some new users might experience a learning curve initially when adapting to its unique workflow and features.
  • Dependence on Internet Connectivity
    As with most online platforms, Plain Org requires a stable internet connection for optimal performance, which can be a limitation in environments with connectivity issues.

PrivacyNotes features and specs

  • Privacy-focused
    PrivacyNotes is designed with privacy as a core principle, aiming to keep your notes secure and away from third-party access, which appeals to users concerned about data confidentiality.
  • Encryption
    The service typically emphasizes encryption to protect note content, meaning your data is scrambled and less vulnerable to unauthorized reading if intercepted or stored.
  • Ephemeral notes
    Many privacy note services offer self-destructing or temporary notes that automatically delete after being read or after a set time, reducing the digital footprint left behind.
  • Simple and lightweight
    Such tools often provide a clean, minimal interface focused on quick note creation and sharing without unnecessary features, making it easy to use.
  • No account required
    Privacy-oriented note apps frequently allow you to create and share notes without registration, lowering the barrier to entry and reducing personal data collection.

Analysis of PrivacyNotes

Overall verdict

  • I don't have verified, specific information about PrivacyNotes (privacynotes.app) to make a reliable assessment of its quality, security practices, or features. I cannot confirm details about its encryption methods, privacy policy, company background, or user reviews.

Why this product is good

  • Unable to verify claims about encryption or zero-knowledge architecture without independent confirmation
  • No access to current user reviews, ratings, or reputation data for this specific service
  • Cannot confirm company legitimacy, ownership, or track record
  • Unable to verify uptime, reliability, or actual security audit results
  • No information available on pricing structure or terms of service specifics

Recommended for

  • Before using, research independently via security audit reports if available
  • Check for third-party security reviews or penetration testing results
  • Verify the company's privacy policy and data handling practices directly on their site
  • Look for user reviews on independent platforms rather than relying on marketing claims
  • Consider established, well-audited alternatives if handling highly sensitive information

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Plain Org and PrivacyNotes)
Task Management
90 90%
10% 10
Note Taking
90 90%
10% 10
Project Management
100 100%
0% 0
Notes
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Plain Org and PrivacyNotes.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

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.

What makes your product unique?

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.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

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.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

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.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

PrivacyNotes's answer:

React, TypeScript, Vite and Tailwind CSS.

What's the story behind your product?

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.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Plain Org and PrivacyNotes

Plain Org Reviews

We have no reviews of Plain Org yet.
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PrivacyNotes Reviews

  1. Feature rich

    The best thing about this: No subscription model, it's a one-time fee for a lifetime license. But you can start for free with the generous freemium model. I only needed to upgrade to pro because I wanted to use the app on my phone, laptop and desktop. Highly recommended! Btw, it's a perfect markdown editor as well, not sure why they don't emphasize this more.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Plain Org seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 38 times since March 2021. 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.

Plain Org mentions (38)

  • Org Mode Syntax Is One of the Most Reasonable Markup Languages to Use for Text
    Iโ€™ve built a handful of org based iOS apps. While my initial intention was to bring as much org support to iOS as possible (https://plainorg.com), my thinking evolved over time and I gravitated towards a different kind of mobile-optimised experience, and so https://journelly.com was born. Iโ€™ve recently added Markdown support too https://xenodium.com/journelly-1-3-released I use Journelly the most and is also my... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Orgzly Revived: a community-maintained version of Orgzly
    If you're looking for an iOS counterpart, I built https://plainorg.com. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Ask HN: What apps have you created for your own use?
    - https://xenodium.com/an-ios-journaling-app-powered-by-org-plain-text - Lately, I'm having a go at building a privacy-focused plain-text-based iOS journaling app. I starte building it for someone important in my life but now using it myself. - https://flathabits.com - After reading Atomic Habits, I wanted a habit tracker but most had more friction than I wanted, required accounts, had distractions, lock-in etc.... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Can Beorg sync with calendars, reminders and other folders?
    Check out โ€˜Syncing your dataโ€™ in https://plainorg.com for what is supported. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Ask HN: Most interesting tech you built for just yourself?
    - A ChatGPT shell that integrates well into my editor of choice https://xenodium.com/chatgpt-shell-available-on-melpa - A scriptable screenshot/video capture utility https://xenodium.com/recordscreenshot-windows-the-lazy-way - An iOS habit tracker that's neither cloud-based, nor needs an account, social, wants my attention, data, etc. https://flathabits.com - An iOS scratch pad that removes further friction than... - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
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PrivacyNotes mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of PrivacyNotes yet. Tracking of PrivacyNotes recommendations started around Jun 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Plain Org and PrivacyNotes, you can also consider the following products

Flat Habits - A habit tracker that's mindful of your time, data, and privacy

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

Orgro - An org-mode file viewer for iOS and Android. Imagine a plain-text markup language like Markdown, but married to an application that is a literate programming environment and life organizer.

Apple Notes - Apple Notes functions as a service for making short text notes.

Orgzly - Outliner for notes, tasks and to-dos

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