Evernote

The original everything-bucket, now considerably more expensive.

By Bending Spoons · since 2008 · evernote.com

7.1

B · out of 10

Evernote still has the best web clipper ever built and search that reads text inside photos and PDFs. Under Bending Spoons it also got faster and grew AI search and editing. What it lost was goodwill: the free tier is capped at 50 notes and one notebook, and the paid plans cost more than almost every rival.

How it scores

  • Features25% of score

    8.2

    Depth and breadth of what the app can do.

  • Ease of use20% of score

    6.6

    Speed, polish and how long it takes to feel at home.

  • AI15% of score

    7.0

    Quality and usefulness of the built-in AI, not just its presence.

  • Sync & reliability15% of score

    8.0

    How dependably notes move between devices.

  • Value15% of score

    4.4

    What you get for what you pay.

  • Platform coverage10% of score

    8.4

    How many places you can actually use it.

Pricing

$14.99/month · $129.99/year

Free tier: 50 notes and a single notebook, on one device. It is a trial in everything but name.

Personal is $14.99/month or $129.99/year; Professional adds more AI and integrations.

Platforms

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Web

47 tracked features supported

What it does well

  • The web clipper still has no equal
  • Search reaches inside images, scans and PDF attachments
  • Tasks, calendar and notes finally live in the same place
  • The AI assistant keeps a memory of your preferences that you can read and edit

Where it falls short

  • The free tier is effectively unusable at 50 notes
  • Among the most expensive plans in the category
  • No markdown, no backlinks, no linked-notes thinking
  • Years of ownership churn have burned a lot of trust

Our take

Technically much better than its reputation suggests, but you are paying flagship prices for a mature filing cabinet.

Best for: Researchers and clippers who live on the web and want everything searchable.

All-in-one workspaceTeams

Feature by feature

YesPartlyVia pluginNo

Capture & input

How notes get into the app in the first place.

  • Voice recording
  • Audio transcription
  • Speaker identification
  • Meeting recording
  • Handwriting / stylusPartly
  • Drawing canvasPartly
  • OCR / handwriting search
  • Web clipper
  • Share extension
  • Quick capture
  • Images
  • PDF & documents
  • Document scanning

Organization

How notes are structured, linked and found again.

  • Tags
  • Folders / notebooks
  • Multi-level foldersPartly
  • Internal links
  • Backlinks
  • Graph view
  • Databases / boards
  • Daily notes / journal
  • Note templates
  • Saved searches
  • Pins / favorites
  • Merge notes

AI

Assistants, generators and meaning-based search.

  • AI chat / writing assistant
  • AI agent with tools
  • Custom AI agents
  • Semantic search
  • AI web search
  • Connected apps for AIPartly
  • Prompt templates
  • Custom AI instructions
  • AI memory
  • Scheduled AI tasks
  • Flashcard generator
  • Spaced repetition
  • Quiz generator
  • Fill in the blank
  • Mind maps
  • AI image generation
  • Infographic generator
  • Slide deck generator
  • AI mini apps
  • Brainrot video generator
  • AI audio overview
  • Bring your own model
  • AI job notifications

Writing & editing

What the editor itself can actually do.

  • Markdown
  • Rich text
  • Code blocks
  • Math / LaTeX
  • Tables
  • Find and replace
  • Version history
  • Note info

Sync & data ownership

Where your notes live and how easily they leave.

  • Cloud sync
  • Sync through your own cloud
  • Offline support
  • Offline-first / own your data
  • Self-hosting
  • End-to-end encryptionPartly
  • Locked notesPartly
  • Daily backupPartly
  • Import
  • Export
  • Public API
  • Command line tool
  • Remote MCP server
  • Plugins / extensions

Sharing & collaboration

Working with other people inside your notes.

  • Share with people
  • Real-time collaborationPartly
  • Comments
  • Public sharing

Experience

The everyday polish around the writing surface.

  • Dark mode
  • Custom themes
  • Multi-language
  • Command palettePartly
  • Split viewPartly
  • Focus mode
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Shortcuts

Compare with

All Evernote alternatives

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Adds: AI agent with tools, Flashcard generator

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Evernote vs Notion

The all-in-one workspace that swallowed the note app category.

8.5

Evernote vs Craft

Documents that look designed before you touch anything.

8.1

Evernote vs Granola

Meeting notes that write themselves, with no bot in the call.

7.8