Compare the best free note-taking apps by sync, free-plan limits, search, and export. Clear criteria, honest picks, and what free really includes.

The best free note-taking apps for most people are Obsidian if you want local files and full control, OneNote if you're a student, and Apple Notes or Google Keep if you already live in one ecosystem. All of them work at $0 for everyday use. The catch is that 'free' means different things. Some apps cap your note count, some charge for sync, and some limit uploads so tightly that they stop being useful.

This guide compares the best free note-taking apps on four practical criteria: sync on the free plan, free-plan limits, search, and export. Use it to find the app that fits how you work, not the one with the longest feature list.

How we judged each app

• Sync: Does syncing work across devices without paying?
• Free-plan limits: Note counts, storage, devices, and file sizes.
• Search: Can you find one note quickly in a large library?
• Export: Can you leave with your notes in a format you can open somewhere else?

Our picks are independent. We don't accept payment for rankings, and any affiliate link will be clearly labeled as one.

Quick comparison table

Here's how the best free note-taking apps compare at a glance.

App	Sync on free plan	Main free-plan limit
Obsidian	Local app is free; sync is optional and paid, or free through a folder service	No note cap on the local app; paid Sync Standard has 1 vault and 1 GB
Evernote	Yes (device limits apply)	Up to 50 notes and 1 notebook
Notion	Yes	Solo: unlimited blocks; with a second member, 1,000 blocks; 5 MB uploads
OneNote	Yes, through OneDrive	5 GB of OneDrive storage shared across Microsoft services
Apple Notes	Yes, through iCloud	5 GB of iCloud storage; built for Apple devices
Google Keep	Yes	15 GB shared with other Google apps
Notesnook	Yes, basic sync	Unlimited notes and devices in the free tier
Zoho Notebook	Yes, across devices	2 GB per user; 100 MB file uploads
Joplin	Needs setup unless you pay for Joplin Cloud	Open source; sync setup required
Simplenote	Yes	No paid plan

Limits change, so confirm current numbers on each vendor's pricing page before you commit.

Obsidian: one of the best free note-taking apps if you want files

Obsidian saves your notes as plain Markdown files on your own device. The app is free for personal and commercial use, and you pay only for add-on services. Its official Sync service starts at $4 per user per month when billed annually, with 1 synced vault, 1 GB of total storage, a 5 MB maximum file size, and one month of version history, according to Obsidian's Sync page. The Standard plan announcement explains how the tiers fit together. The Plus tier raises the limits to 10 vaults and 10 GB.

Free sync without paying

You don't need Obsidian Sync to keep notes on two devices. Logseq can also sync for free this way. Here's a setup that works:

1. Create your vault in a folder your cloud service already syncs, such as iCloud Drive on Apple devices or Google Drive on Windows and Android.
2. On your second device, open the same synced folder as a vault in Obsidian.
3. Run one sync method per vault. Using Obsidian Sync and a folder service together can create duplicate files.
4. Let syncing finish before you switch devices, and avoid editing the same note on two devices while one is offline. Cloud services may save conflicting copies.
5. If you're comfortable with Git, keep the vault in a private GitHub repository and pull changes on each device before you start writing.

This setup is more hands-on than Obsidian Sync, but it costs nothing and keeps your files in a folder you control.

Evernote: free, but the 50-note cap is tight

Evernote is well known, but its free plan is the most restrictive of the best free note-taking apps. It allows up to 50 notes and 1 notebook, according to Evernote's help center. The paid Starter plan raises that to 1,000 notes and 20 notebooks. The free plan is enough to try the app, but not enough for a daily notebook. Device limits also apply, so check the current number on Evernote's pricing page before you rely on it across several devices.

Notion: strong for solo users, tight for teams

For one person, Notion's free plan offers unlimited blocks, which makes it a flexible personal wiki. Add a second workspace member and the free plan stops at 1,000 blocks. Deleting old content doesn't reset that counter. Uploads are capped at 5 MB, and page history covers about 7 days, according to MyFlexNote's guide to free note apps.

If you're organizing projects and reading lists alone, the free plan is generous. If you need a shared space for a small team, plan for a paid tier early.

OneNote: a student favorite among the best free note-taking apps

OneNote's only hard limit on the free plan is 5 GB of OneDrive storage, shared across all Microsoft services, according to Productivity Brief's student guide. Notebooks, sections, and pages suit lecture notes well. OneNote can also search handwritten text through OCR, which helps if you take notes by hand on a tablet.

The trade-off is storage. Five gigabytes disappears quickly if you store photos and recordings alongside your notes.

Apple Notes and Google Keep: best inside one ecosystem

Apple Notes is free and comes with 5 GB of iCloud storage. It's a strong choice if every device you use is from Apple. Its gaps are cross-platform support for Android and Windows, along with advanced audio and math tools.

Google Keep shares 15 GB of storage with other Google apps. It's a simple pick for short notes and checklists, especially if you already use Gmail and Google Drive. Keep is less suited to long documents.

Simplenote, Joplin, Notesnook, and Zoho Notebook

These four are also worth knowing about among the best free note-taking apps:

• Simplenote: Free, with no paid plan. Good for plain text that just needs to sync, with few extras.
• Joplin: Open source. Sync requires setup unless you pay for Joplin Cloud, so it suits people who are comfortable configuring their tools.
• Notesnook: The free tier offers unlimited notes and devices with basic sync, which makes it one of the most generous free plans here.
• Zoho Notebook: The Essential free plan includes 2 GB of cloud storage per user, 100 MB file uploads, unlimited notes and notebooks, and sync across devices.

Bear is a useful warning. You can write in it for free, but sync costs money, so it doesn't meet the sync criterion without a subscription.

continuu.it: when your notes belong to projects

Most note apps are built around notebooks. If your real problem is starting many projects and losing the thread on each one, a project tool may fit better. continuu.it is a project tool for people who start more than they finish, and it works differently from a note app. Here's what it does:

• Each project has a state: Active, Paused, Killed, or Completed, so nothing sits in limbo.
• Tasks live inside projects, so when you return after three weeks, you see where you stopped.
• Notes stay attached to the project and keep the context you would otherwise have to rebuild.
• Ideas can be parked without becoming a project yet.
• Analytics compare how much you start against how much you finish.
• Killed projects go to a Graveyard, because ending a project is also a way of finishing it.
• Routines handle recurring work, and a calendar tracks real dates.

continuu.it has a free plan and is built for freelancers, students with long projects, and side-project builders. It is not a replacement for Notion as a docs or wiki tool. If you need a shared knowledge base, keep Notion or Obsidian for that, and use continuu.it to track what you're actually working on. Check the site for current plan details, including sync and export, before you move your notes.

Search and export: what to check before you commit

Search and export are where the best free note-taking apps differ most, and they're easy to skip. Run these three checks in your first week, not after you have 500 notes:

1. Search: Load at least 200 notes and search for a phrase from the middle of an old note. Time how long it takes to find it.
2. Export: Export a set of notes, including attachments, to Markdown or PDF. Open the files on a different device.
3. Offline: Turn off Wi-Fi, then create and edit a note. Confirm your changes sync when you reconnect.

Obsidian passes the export check easily, because your notes are already Markdown files in a folder. If you also copy snippets between notes and other apps all day, see the 5 best clipboard managers to speed that up.

How to choose in five minutes

Matching your needs to the best free note-taking apps usually comes down to a few questions:

• One ecosystem: Apple Notes for Apple devices, or Google Keep for Google accounts.
• Mixed devices on a zero budget: Obsidian with a folder-sync setup, or Notesnook.
• Students: OneNote, as long as your files stay under 5 GB.
• Under 50 notes: Evernote works for a short trial.
• Team pages: Watch Notion's 1,000-block limit as soon as a second member joins.
• Wanting to leave later: Pick an app that exports plain Markdown or PDF.

At 3minread, our rule of thumb is simple: choose the app whose limit you won't hit, and run the export test before you commit.

Frequently asked questions

Is Evernote free?

Yes, with limits. The free plan allows up to 50 notes and 1 notebook.

What is the best free note-taking app overall?

There isn't one winner. Obsidian is the strongest choice for local files and control, OneNote suits students, and Apple Notes or Google Keep work best inside a single ecosystem.

Do I have to pay for Obsidian Sync?

No. Sync is optional. You can sync a vault through a cloud folder service or Git instead.

Is Notion better than OneNote for notes?

For personal notes, OneNote is often the simpler choice on a free plan. Notion works better for pages a team will browse later.

Takeaway

The best free note-taking app is the one that matches your sync setup, your note volume, and your need to export. Start with two or three of the best free note-taking apps above, test search and export with real notes, and keep the one you still like after a week. For a related workflow, see the 5 best clipboard managers. Recommendations here are independent, and vendor limits change, so confirm current numbers on each official site.