Three Evernote Alternatives for Apple Users
Evernote was once the 🐐 of note-taking apps, but years of mismanagement took a toll. In November 2022, Bending Spoons acquired the company and has made some improvements, but it recently raised prices dramatically and severely limited the free tier. As a result, many long-time users have finally hit their breaking point and are looking to get out.
If you’re shopping around (Evernote user or not), here are three great options for a new home for your notes.
BEAR
Bear is my primary app for taking notes. It’s a beautiful and elegant app with a strong set of features. It also supports a wide variety of formats for exporting notes.
Runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, watchOS
iCloud sync
Encryption for notes
OCR search inside photos and attachments
Linking to other notes inside of a note
Powerful and flexible tagging system (similar to folders)
Apple Pencil support on iPad
No collaboration or shared notes
Imports Evernote Export files (.enex files)
Exports to Plain Text, Markdown, TextBundle, Bear Note, Rich Text, HTML, Word, PDF, JPEG, and ePub
Price: Free version (limited features), Bear Pro $2.99/mth or $29.99 /year.
Web: https://bear.app
CRAFT
I left Evernote for Craft in 2020, and I left Craft for Bear last year because I prefer Bear’s interface and it feels better to me. That said, Craft is a powerful app that focuses more on teams and collaboration but is still really good for an individual user.
Runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, Windows, and web
Craft sync with support for local storage spaces
Slash ( / ) commands to quickly insert tables, images, formatting, etc.
Powerful collaboration and document linking
Daily Notes with Calendar Integration
To-Do lists with notifications
Apple Pencil support on iPad
Does not support Evernote Export files; you’ll need to convert to Markdown and then import
Exports to Markdown, TextBundle, PDF, and Word
Price: Free version (limited docs allowed), paid plans start at $8/mth.
Web: https://www.craft.do
APPLE NOTES
Over the years, Apple has consistently updated the Notes app and it’s become an excellent app. And it’s free and comes loaded on every new Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro.
Runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, visionOS, and web
iCloud sync
Quick Notes
Easy to share notes and collaborate with others
Scan documents directly into a note
Lock notes for privacy
Apple Pencil support on iPad
Imports Evernote Export files (.enex files)
Only exports to PDF; this will make it difficult to get your notes out
Price: Free, but you may need to upgrade iCloud storage if you’re on the 5GB plan.
Web: Apple Notes User Guide
If you have any questions on Bear, Craft, or Notes, don’t hesitate to reach out on Threads! I’d be happy to help!
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