Notes are supposed to be private.
Unfortunately, many of the most popular note-taking applications are built around cloud services where your notes are stored on someone else's servers and the provider can potentially access the contents.
That may be perfectly acceptable for some people. But if your notes contain personal information, private ideas, work documents, passwords, research or anything else you would rather keep private, the way your note-taking application handles your data becomes very important.
This is where Notesnook takes a different approach.
Notesnook is a privacy-focused, open-source note-taking application designed around end-to-end encryption and zero-knowledge principles.
It tries to combine the convenience of modern cloud-based note-taking applications with the privacy normally associated with encrypted applications.
And unlike many privacy-focused note applications, Notesnook does not sacrifice productivity features to achieve that.
What Is Notesnook?
Notesnook is a cross-platform note-taking application developed by Streetwriters.
It is designed as a private alternative to applications such as Evernote, Microsoft OneNote and Notion.
The application is available across desktop, mobile and web platforms, allowing you to access your notes from multiple devices while keeping the notes end-to-end encrypted.
Notesnook is also completely open source. The company has open-sourced not only its client applications, but also components such as its sync server, web clipper and importer.
This is particularly important for a privacy-focused application because users can inspect the source code rather than having to rely entirely on the developer's claims about how their data is handled.
The Main Difference: Privacy
The biggest reason to use Notesnook instead of a conventional note-taking application is its approach to privacy.
Your notes are encrypted on your device before they are synchronized to the cloud.
The encryption is based on XChaCha20-Poly1305, while Argon2 is used for password-based key derivation and hashing.
The important part is that the server receives encrypted note data rather than your notes in readable form.
According to Notesnook's documentation, the server cannot decrypt the contents of your notes because it does not possess the necessary encryption keys.
This means the company itself is not supposed to be able to simply open your synced notes and read them.
End-to-End Encrypted Sync
Cloud synchronization is one of the most useful features of modern note-taking applications.
It is also one of the areas where privacy can become complicated.
With Notesnook, your notes are encrypted before they are synchronized.
You can therefore create a note on your phone, edit it on your desktop and later access it through the web application without sending the readable contents of your notes to Notesnook's servers.
The result is the convenience of cloud synchronization without requiring the service provider to have access to the contents of your notes.
Encryption at Rest
Notesnook also encrypts your local database.
This is an important distinction.
End-to-end encryption protects your data while it is being synchronized, but a locally stored database could still be a concern if someone obtains access to your device.
Notesnook's newer versions added encryption at rest by default, encrypting the local database on supported platforms.
The encryption key is stored using the platform's secure key storage mechanisms where available.
This means your notes are protected not only when they leave your device, but also when they are stored locally.
App Lock
Notesnook also includes a dedicated App Lock.
This provides another layer of protection if someone gains access to your unlocked computer or phone.
Instead of relying entirely on the operating system's screen lock, you can require an additional PIN or security key before Notesnook's database can be accessed.
This is particularly useful on shared computers or when you frequently work in environments where someone else might temporarily have access to your device.
A Full-Fledged Note-Taking Application
Privacy would not be very useful if Notesnook were simply a basic encrypted text editor.
Fortunately, it isn't.
Notesnook includes many of the features you would expect from a modern productivity-focused note-taking application.
You can create notes containing:
- Rich text
- Task lists
- Tables
- Images
- Files
- Code blocks
- Mathematical formulas
- Lists and outlines
- Markdown
- Embeds
This makes it suitable for much more than simple text notes.
Rich Text Editor
The editor is one of Notesnook's strongest features.
You get a proper rich-text editing environment rather than having to write everything in plain text or Markdown.
You can format text, create headings, add lists, insert tables, attach files and images, create tasks and use other formatting tools directly within your notes.
The application also supports Markdown shortcuts for users who prefer a faster keyboard-driven workflow.
This makes Notesnook suitable for everything from quick personal notes to longer documents.
Notebooks, Tags and Organization
Notesnook provides several ways to organize your notes.
You can create notebooks, use tags, mark notes as favorites and pin important notes.
This makes it possible to organize large collections of notes without relying on a single flat list.
For example, you could maintain separate notebooks for:
- Work
- Personal projects
- Research
- Travel
- Study
- Ideas
- Important documents
Tags can then be used to connect related notes across different notebooks.
Bidirectional Note Linking
Notesnook also supports bidirectional note linking.
This is particularly useful for people who use their note-taking application as a knowledge base rather than simply as a collection of individual notes.
You can link related notes together and navigate between them.
Because the links work in both directions, it becomes easier to understand the relationship between different pieces of information.
This makes Notesnook interesting for research, project planning and personal knowledge management.
Search
As your collection grows, search becomes increasingly important.
Notesnook provides search functionality that allows you to find information across your notes instead of manually navigating through notebooks.
This is essential for a serious note-taking application and makes the application much more practical once you have accumulated hundreds or thousands of notes.
Tasks and Reminders
Notesnook is not limited to storing information.
You can also create task lists and reminders.
This means you can use the same application for both notes and simple task management.
For example, a project note can contain the relevant information, a task list and reminders without requiring you to move between several applications.
Web Clipper
One of my favorite features is the built-in Web Clipper.
It allows you to save webpages and articles directly into Notesnook.
This is particularly useful for research.
Instead of bookmarking a webpage and hoping it remains available later, you can save the relevant content to your own notes.
And because the Web Clipper is open source and designed around Notesnook's privacy model, you do not have to rely on a proprietary browser extension for this workflow.
Importing Existing Notes
Switching note-taking applications can be difficult because your existing notes are often the biggest reason you stay with the old application.
Notesnook includes import tools designed to make migration easier.
The application specifically supports importing content from applications such as Microsoft OneNote.
This allows users to move their existing notes and associated content into Notesnook rather than starting from scratch.
Sharing Notes
Privacy does not mean your notes have to remain completely isolated.
Notesnook supports sharing notes with other people.
Shared notes can be protected with a password so that only people who have the link and password can access them.
This provides a useful compromise between keeping your notes private and occasionally needing to share specific information with someone else.
Encrypted Notes Vault
For particularly sensitive information, Notesnook provides a Vault feature.
The Vault is designed for protecting important notes with an additional layer of security.
This can be useful for notes containing particularly sensitive information that you do not want sitting alongside ordinary notes without additional protection.
Combined with the application's encryption at rest, app lock and end-to-end encrypted synchronization, it gives Notesnook a strong security-oriented feature set.
Open Source
This is one of the biggest advantages of Notesnook.
The project is not simply open source at the client level.
Notesnook has open-sourced its desktop and mobile applications as well as its web application, sync server, importer and Web Clipper.
The company also makes its encryption implementation and documentation available for inspection.
Notesnook uses an AGPLv3-based open-source licensing model.
For privacy software, this transparency is extremely valuable.
You do not have to take the application's privacy claims entirely on faith.
Self-Hosting
Advanced users can go one step further.
Notesnook's sync server is open source and can be self-hosted.
This means users who want complete control over their infrastructure can run their own synchronization server instead of relying on Notesnook's hosted infrastructure.
Self-hosting is obviously not necessary for normal users, but having the option is a major advantage for technically inclined users and organizations.
Where Is Your Data Stored?
For users who choose Notesnook's hosted infrastructure, the company currently states that user data is stored in Germany.
Notesnook says that user data is stored encrypted and that attachments are also stored in Germany.
The company has previously moved its infrastructure between providers and countries, so this is something that can change over time.
The important point is that Notesnook's privacy model does not depend solely on where its servers are located because the actual note contents are encrypted before they are uploaded.
Cross-Platform Support
Notesnook is available across the major desktop and mobile platforms.
You can use your notes on:
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- Android
- iOS
- Web browsers
This makes it practical as a primary note-taking application rather than a niche privacy tool that only works on one operating system.
Offline Support
Notesnook is designed to work even when you do not have an internet connection.
Your notes remain available locally, and changes can be synchronized when connectivity is restored.
This is important for a note-taking application because you should not lose access to your own notes simply because your internet connection is unavailable.
Paid plans also provide additional synchronization and offline controls.
Notesnook Free
The free version is surprisingly capable.
You can create and manage notes without paying for a subscription, use Notesnook across your devices and benefit from the application's core privacy architecture.
This makes it possible to try Notesnook properly before deciding whether you need a paid plan.
There is no requirement to enter a credit card simply to start using the free version.
Notesnook Essential, Pro and Believer
Notesnook now offers several paid tiers for users who need additional storage and features.
The current plans are Essential, Pro and Believer.
Essential starts at $1.99 per month, Pro at $6.99 per month and Believer at $8.99 per month when billed monthly. Annual and five-year options are also available.
The exact price in your country can vary because of taxes and currency conversion.
One particularly useful aspect of the subscription system is that a subscription applies across your devices. You do not need to purchase a separate license for every phone or computer.
Storage Limits
The paid plans mainly become relevant when you start attaching large amounts of files and images to your notes.
| Plan | Storage | Maximum File Size |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free tier | Limited |
| Essential | 1 GB/month | 100 MB |
| Pro | 10 GB/month | 1 GB |
| Believer | 25 GB/month | 5 GB |
The storage allowance resets on the first day of each month for the paid plans.
This is an important change from Notesnook's older pricing model, which previously advertised unlimited storage on Pro.
Notesnook vs OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is an excellent productivity application, but Notesnook takes a fundamentally different approach to privacy.
| Feature | Notesnook | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end encrypted notes | Yes | No general E2EE for notebooks |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Web app |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| iOS/iPadOS | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable sync server | Yes | No |
OneNote remains a very powerful productivity tool, particularly for users deeply invested in Microsoft's ecosystem.
But if privacy and open-source software are priorities, Notesnook has a significant advantage.
Notesnook vs Evernote
Evernote popularized the idea of storing your entire digital life inside a cloud-based notebook.
Notesnook takes the same general productivity concept but places privacy much higher on the priority list.
You still get rich notes, attachments, organization, search, synchronization and web clipping, but your note contents are encrypted before they leave your device.
For someone looking for an Evernote-like experience without giving up end-to-end encryption, Notesnook is an interesting alternative.
Notesnook vs Notion
Notion is much more focused on databases, collaborative workspaces and project management.
Notesnook is simpler.
It is primarily a note-taking application with productivity features rather than a full workspace platform.
That can actually be an advantage if you do not need complicated databases and collaborative project-management features.
Notesnook focuses on writing, organizing and protecting your information rather than turning your notes into an entire business workspace.
Security and Privacy
Notesnook's security architecture is arguably its most important feature.
The application uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 for encryption and Argon2 for password-based key derivation and hashing.
Your password is not sent to the server in plaintext.
Instead, the client derives the necessary authentication and encryption material locally.
Notes are then individually encrypted before being synchronized.
The encrypted data is uploaded to the server, where Notesnook says it cannot decrypt the actual contents.
This is a much stronger privacy model than simply encrypting the connection between your device and the server.
Verify the Encryption Yourself
Notesnook also provides an open-source verification tool called Vericrypt.
The tool is designed to demonstrate and verify the encryption process using data from your own account and works offline.
This is a nice touch because it allows technically inclined users to inspect the encryption process instead of simply reading a marketing statement saying that their notes are encrypted.
Performance
For everyday note-taking, Notesnook feels much like the modern cloud note applications it aims to replace.
Notes open quickly, editing is responsive and synchronization happens in the background.
Of course, encryption and synchronization add some processing compared with a completely local plain-text editor, particularly when working with large attachments.
For normal notes, however, the privacy overhead is largely invisible to the user.
What I Like About Notesnook
The biggest advantage is that privacy is not treated as a separate optional feature.
Encryption is built into the fundamental architecture of the application.
You do not have to manually encrypt individual notes before synchronizing them.
Everything is designed around the assumption that your notes should remain private.
I also like that Notesnook does not stop at encryption.
The application has grown into a genuinely capable productivity tool with rich text editing, tables, tasks, reminders, web clipping, note linking, file attachments and multiple organization options.
The open-source nature of the entire ecosystem is another major advantage.
And for advanced users, the ability to self-host the sync server is something very few mainstream note-taking applications provide.
What Could Be Better?
Notesnook is not perfect.
The biggest issue is that some of its most useful features and larger storage allowances are now tied to paid plans.
The new pricing structure is considerably more expensive than the old $4.49/month Pro plan, although the free tier remains available and the paid plans continue to support unlimited devices.
The storage model can also take some getting used to because the paid plans use monthly storage allowances rather than simply providing one large permanent storage quota.
Another consideration is that Notesnook is primarily designed as a note-taking application.
If you need Notion-style databases, highly sophisticated project management or extensive team collaboration features, Notesnook may feel limited in comparison.
Its focus is deliberately narrower.
Who Should Use Notesnook?
I would particularly recommend Notesnook to:
- Privacy-conscious users
- People looking for an open-source note-taking application
- Users who want end-to-end encrypted synchronization
- People looking for an alternative to Evernote or OneNote
- Users who regularly keep sensitive personal notes
- Researchers and students
- Writers and people who maintain large collections of notes
- Users who want a cross-platform note-taking application
- Advanced users interested in self-hosting
If you need a complete collaborative workspace with databases, project management and complex team workflows, a service such as Notion may be more appropriate.
Is Notesnook Worth Using?
Yes.
Notesnook occupies an interesting position in the note-taking market.
It provides the convenience of a modern cloud note-taking application while taking a much more serious approach to privacy than most mainstream alternatives.
The important thing is that encryption does not make the application unpleasant to use.
You still get a proper rich-text editor, notebooks, tags, tasks, reminders, attachments, web clipping, search and note linking.
That combination of privacy and convenience is what makes Notesnook stand out.
Final Verdict
Notesnook is one of the few note-taking applications that I would describe as genuinely privacy-first without being unnecessarily complicated.
Its notes are encrypted before synchronization, local databases are encrypted at rest, the application is open source and the sync server can be self-hosted.
At the same time, it still provides the features people actually expect from a modern note-taking application.
You can write rich notes, create tables and tasks, attach files, save webpages, link related notes, set reminders and access everything from your phone, computer or browser.
The free version is also good enough to properly evaluate the application before spending any money.
There are trade-offs. The paid plans are necessary for higher storage allowances and some advanced functionality, and Notesnook does not try to compete with Notion's extensive database and collaboration features.
But if your priority is private, encrypted and open-source note-taking without giving up modern features, Notesnook is one of the strongest options available.
Pros
- End-to-end encrypted synchronization
- Encryption at rest
- Open source
- Self-hostable sync server
- Strong privacy architecture
- Uses XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS support
- Web application
- Rich text editor
- Tables and task lists
- Markdown support
- Web Clipper
- Bidirectional note linking
- Reminders
- Note sharing with password protection
- Encrypted notes vault
- App Lock
- OneNote importer
- Free plan available
- Unlimited devices on paid plans
Cons
- Some advanced features require a paid plan
- Higher storage allowances require a subscription
- New pricing is considerably higher than the older Pro pricing
- Monthly storage allowances can take some getting used to
- Not as feature-heavy as Notion for databases and collaboration
- Self-hosting requires technical knowledge
Bottom line: Notesnook is an excellent choice for anyone who wants the convenience of a modern note-taking application without giving up privacy. Its combination of end-to-end encryption, open-source development, cross-platform support and a surprisingly capable editor makes it one of the best privacy-focused alternatives to mainstream note-taking services.
Download Notesnook
Notesnook is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and the web. A free plan is available, while paid plans add additional storage and features.
You can also view the source code and follow the development of the project on GitHub.
Homepage: https://notesnook.com/