By device
Best note-taking apps for Linux
The Linux shortlist is short and opinionated. Most of what runs here is open source, keeps notes as files, and lets you own the sync server as well as the notes.
Top pick: Obsidian, at 8.8 out of 10 on this ranking. The safest long-term home for a personal knowledge base. Budget a weekend for setup, and accept that AI here is bring-your-own.
What we weighted
Runs properly, not in a browser tab
A real desktop build, ideally packaged rather than a zip.
Files you can script
Markdown on disk, greppable, backed up by whatever you already run.
Your own sync
Self-hosting or a folder you sync yourself, no account required.
Every app keeps its site-wide score, but the order here is a separate fit reading built from those three needs, so it is not the same list you get on the home page.
Obsidian
Plain markdown files on your disk, with a plugin ecosystem bolted on top.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
Long-term thinkers who want to own the files and are willing to tinker.
Fit
8.4 overall
$4/mo
Joplin
Open source, end-to-end encrypted, and it syncs wherever you tell it to.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
Privacy-minded people leaving Evernote who want to control the storage.
Fit
7.5 overall
$3/mo
Logseq
A journal-first outliner with flashcards baked in, over local files.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
Daily journalers and students who want linked notes plus revision.
Fit
7.4 overall
Free
AFFiNE
Docs and an infinite whiteboard that are the same document.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
People who want Notion plus a whiteboard, on their own server.
Fit
7.6 overall
$8.90/mo
Anytype
Notion-shaped, but the data is encrypted and lives on your machine.
For linux: Offline-first / own your data, Export, Self-hosting.
People who want a Notion-style workspace without the cloud.
Fit
7.4 overall
$99/yr
Grape
Take the note. The AI does the filing, the studying and the searching.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
No: Self-hosting.
Students and individual note-takers who want AI over their own notes, kept on their own device, and who now and then share a folder with a classmate or a colleague.
Fit
9.0 overall
$3/mo
Standard Notes
Encrypted first, everything else second. Now part of Proton.
For linux: Markdown, Export, Self-hosting.
Anyone whose first requirement is that nobody else can read their notes.
Fit
6.6 overall
$8/mo
Octarine
Local markdown files, a clean editor and one payment.
For linux: Markdown, Offline-first / own your data, Export.
Obsidian-minded people who would rather buy a finished app than build one.
Fit
7.5 overall
$79 once
Notesnook
Zero-knowledge encryption without giving up a modern editor.
For linux: Export, Self-hosting, End-to-end encryption.
People who want Evernote-style notes with Signal-style privacy.
Fit
7.2 overall
$4.49/mo
RemNote
Take notes and generate the flashcards in the same keystroke.
For linux: Markdown, Export, Plugins / extensions.
No: Self-hosting.
Medical, law and language students who live in spaced repetition.
Fit
7.9 overall
$8/mo
Questions linux ask
- What is the best open source note app for Linux?
- Joplin if you want encryption and sync you control, Logseq or Anytype if you want linked notes, and Standard Notes if the encryption matters more than the features.
- Does Obsidian work on Linux?
- Yes, as an AppImage, a Snap and a Flatpak. It is not open source, but the notes are plain markdown files, which is the part most Linux users care about.
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