The 8 best Joplin alternatives
Joplin scores 7.5 out of 10 here, and its weak spots are specific: the interface is functional at best. These are the apps that fix that, ranked by overall score.
Grape
Take the note. The AI does the filing, the studying and the searching.
Mac / Win / Linux / iOS / Android
Gains you: audio transcription, speaker identification, meeting recording. Same territory: privacy & ownership.
$3/mo
Obsidian
Plain markdown files on your disk, with a plugin ecosystem bolted on top.
Win / Mac / iOS / Android / Linux
Gains you: audio transcription, meeting recording, quick capture. Same territory: linked thinking / pkm.
$4/mo
Apple Notes
Already on your phone, and better than it has any right to be.
Mac / iOS / Web
Gains you: audio transcription, meeting recording, quick capture. Same territory: genuinely free.
Free
RemNote
Take notes and generate the flashcards in the same keystroke.
Web / Win / Mac / Linux / iOS / Android
Gains you: audio transcription, quick capture, databases / boards. Same territory: linked thinking / pkm.
$8/mo
Heptabase
Notes on whiteboards, for when the outline is not the shape of the idea.
Win / Mac / Linux / iOS / Android / Web
Gains you: databases / boards, saved searches, prompt templates. Same territory: linked thinking / pkm.
$11.99/mo
Microsoft OneNote
An infinite paper notebook that has quietly been free for twenty years.
Win / Mac / iOS / Android / Web
Gains you: audio transcription, speaker identification, meeting recording. Same territory: genuinely free.
Free
Capacities
A studio for your mind, organised by object type instead of folders.
Web / Mac / Win / iOS / Android
Gains you: audio transcription, meeting recording, quick capture. Same territory: linked thinking / pkm.
$12.99/mo
Day One
A journal that has been quietly perfecting one job since 2011.
iOS / Mac / Android / Win / Web
Gains you: audio transcription, quick capture, document scanning. Same territory: privacy & ownership.
$49.99/yr
Still not sure?
Filter the whole directory by the one feature you cannot live without, or browse by what you need the app for.