Notelet and the other notes apps, compared

At a glance

“Web”: no app for that system, but a web version in the browser. “Free sync”: syncing between your own devices without paying. “Not stated”: the app’s own pages didn’t say.

Who Notelet is for

People who keep notes and reminders across a mix of devices: an app on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, each in that system’s own design, with every feature free. Sync is free through storage you already have, or through Notelet Cloud.

It can’t yet share a note with another person, scan documents, run in a browser or on an iPad, and it has no links between notes, plugins or AI. If you need those, one of the apps below suits you better.

The other thirteen

• Apple Notes + Reminders

  Best for: People with only Apple devices

  Free and built into every Apple device, with sharing, scanning, handwriting and Siri. On Windows, Android and Linux it’s iCloud.com in a browser.

  Notelet vs Apple Notes

• Google Keep

  Best for: Quick shared lists, Google users

  Free and quick to open, with a side panel in Gmail and Docs and lists you can share in a tap. It has no desktop app, and it uses labels rather than folders.

  Notelet vs Google Keep

• Microsoft OneNote

  Best for: Handwriting, lectures, shared notebooks

  A free notebook where you write, draw or type anywhere on the page, with handwriting and sharing. It has no Linux app.

  Notelet vs OneNote

• Obsidian

  Best for: Linked knowledge bases, tinkerers

  A Markdown knowledge base with links, graph and plugins. Powerful, with more to learn; sync is paid unless you set it up yourself.

  Notelet vs Obsidian

• Notion

  Best for: Teams, databases, wikis

  A team workspace with databases, wikis and AI. Heavier for quick personal notes; offline only for pages you choose on Free.

  Notelet vs Notion

• Evernote

  Best for: Web clipping, search in images and PDFs

  The classic notebook app, with a web clipper, search inside images and PDFs, tasks, a calendar and AI. The free plan allows 50 notes on one device.

  Notelet vs Evernote

Bear

A beautifully made Markdown app for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Bear says it has no plans for Windows or Android apps; Bear Web runs in a browser.

Craft

Documents made of blocks, with sharing and AI, and an award-winning design. Free plan: 1,500 blocks and 1 GB.

Joplin

Free and open source, with end-to-end encryption and sync through Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, S3 or Joplin Cloud. Closest to Notelet on free self-sync.

Notesnook

Open source and end-to-end encrypted by default, with reminders and a web app. Free plan limits attachments and active reminders.

Standard Notes

End-to-end encrypted notes. The free plan syncs plain text; rich notes and folders need a $90-a-year plan.

Simplenote

Plain text and Markdown notes, synced and shareable, and completely free. It has no rich formatting or reminders.

UpNote

A tidy notes app on every system, with a lifetime licence. The free version stops at 50 notes.

Common questions

How this was put together

Every fact about another app comes from its own pricing, download or help pages (linked from each card and page), read on 20 October 2026. Facts about Notelet are for version 0.10.12. Spot a mistake? Write to hello@noteletapp.com.