Is Evernote Dying? Here are Some Alternatives

Taking Notes
#1

This could be rumor or reality, but we all know Evernote has been an iffy player the last couple of years, despite making lots of promises to be around for the long haul.

If any of this makes you nervous, here are some recommendations for alternatives to Evernote. Since note-taking applications are just as personal as task managers, I’ve linked resources I can find that may help you make your decision.

Heavy Hitters

If you’re looking for a full-on Evernote replacement, here are some apps that come close to toe-to-toe with the note-taking establishment.

Notion

The biggest newcomer on the scene, Notion has positioned itself to be an “everything” app with solid note-taking and task management tools.

OneNote

One of the longest note-taking apps on the scene, Microsoft’s OneNote is still getting better with each release (and free!).

Devonthink

Probably the heaviest of heavy hitters, Devonthink offers a strong option and many of the most helpful features in Evernote.

Note-Taking Apps

If you don’t need some of the deeper features of Evernote, or are looking to store some notes and maybe attachments, these apps might suit your needs.

Bear

A heavily Markdown-driven app, Bear’s unique tagging organization system offers flexible organization, plus rock solid sync over iCloud.

Apple Notes

Apple’s own entry into the foray, Apple Notes is a strong contender for a well-featured note-taking application.

Notability

If recording classes or meetings while taking notes is on your list of needs, there is nothing better than Notability. With the recent 8.0 release, Notability also includes handwriting OCR.

SimpleNote

One of the first note-taking apps I heard of, SimpleNote still lives up to its name. If you need simple organization and a bucket to keep notes, this app is it.

Plain Text and Files

If you only need a place to store text and files, why not a file system on your computer synced with a cloud service like iCloud or Dropbox?

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Notes versus files
#2

“Keep It” is one I’d take a look at as well:

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#3

I’m not sure why everyone hates Evernote. Whatever their corporate structure or challenges are, it’s a pretty good app. I’ve looked at various note taking apps, and I keep coming back to Evernote. Why? First, I’m a Mac user and ONENOTE does not affect if we sort on the Mac. Second, Evernote has a lot of ways to capture information. I take notes in it, put items in it, and put photos in it. Not bad!

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#4

Yes it’s not a terrible app for sure. I just know there’s a level of concern with the company right now that’s making people nervous, so I wanted to provide some resources if they are interesting switching.

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#5

My issue with Evernote is they aren’t doing anything with their product. For years people have been asking for countless improvements and they have focused on Work Chat and Context, etc… I hadn’t used Evernote in years and literally nothing had changed for the better (for my needs) in that time. :man_shrugging:t2:

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#6

Load times for the Evernote and OneNote app make me wonder how anyone can use them. I prefer Bear for Notes and file anything else in Files.

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#7

I kinda just keep coming back to “plaintext” notes. I never really gel’d with Evernote anyway.

When Apple Notes got better I started using that for a lot of simple one-off notesy kind of things. If I want something with a bit of structure to it, I generally use Markdown. And if I want more structure, I toss it into TaskPaper format.

Most everything is in iCloud Drive. Especially stuff I need to access “at work” on my Windows laptop.

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#8

Long-time user of Evernote. Went to Premium some time ago.

The combination of notebooks (and stacked notebooks) and tags works for me, as it gives me both hierarchy and free-form.

The email-into-Inbox functionality is critical, including the ability to specify notebooks and tags in the subject line and have the email go where it needs to go.

Every receipt, every contract, every critical document, every critical email – all in Evernote.

And the full-text search, INCLUDING within PDFs, is killer.

I’ve used One Note, and hated the underlying file structure. Comparing Apple Notes to Evernote is like comparing Word to Notepad.

Do I get frustrated with Evernote? Of course; it’s software.

But it has become a critical part of my data/information infrastructure.

I will look at some of these alternatives, just in case. But for me, Evernote is an application that fills a niche that no other app has come close to.

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#9

I think there’s a critical point here - EN fits very well indeed into some people’s workflows. Other apps may have similar features or functions, but the genius of EN always has been that it’s so frictionless. Nothing else really comes close and, if you move away from EN, you have to do some serious thinking and work to drive at alternative ways of working.

I switched away from EN to Devonthink about 18 months ago (reasons: I wanted to keep my data more secure/private, and I was unhappy with the way the subscription pricing was going). I had to (a) figure out where my databases were gong to be kept (b) set up WebDAV support, © figure out the DT structure and how to use it and (d) find a way of taking notes that fit. I’m pleased with the outcome, but it was serious work.

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#10

I hate the sound of “Evernote Dying”. I use the app all the time.

Mine favorite feature is getting a good snip of a website.
I’ve tried DevonThink, but I don’t like the “snip” function in there.

And I love Evernote because it’s on both platforms (when I work I’m at my Mac, but I’m also a gamer, so I’ve also a Window PC here).

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#11

I’ve not used Evernote for 3 or 4 years now.

I’ve a mobile phone,iPad and windows pc at work. EN was I repeat WAS a good option for me as i find it incredibly useful being able to access notes upon all 3 devices at a given time but I wasn’t what you would call a heavy user that required a premium subscription. What killed it for me though was the reduction of devices that could be used in the free tier. Useless to me.

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#12

Listened to this today:

https://player.fm/series/the-productivityist-podcast-ideas-and-tools-for-personal-productivity-time-management-goals-habits-working-better-2322877/beyond-evernote-with-chris-oneill

Their CEO has a very compelling vision for where Evernote could go, and I still believe it in as a product - I just can’t find a viable replacement that works as well. Hope they’re not running the company into the ground.

2 Likes
#13

I’ll second KeepIt. There are a few little kinks that they need to work out, but generally I find it a terrific application. The one thing I wish KeepIt would offer is the ability to open folders outside KeepIt’s directory. That way other applications can access the folder with ease. I’m thinking something along the lines of what DevonThink does when it indexes folders.

1 Like