Best Notes and knowledge in 2026
Note-taking apps now range from simple notebooks to full team workspaces, and the right choice depends on where you want your notes to live and who needs to edit them. This category compares popular note-taking apps, including Notion, Obsidian and Evernote, on the features that separate them: offline use, local-first files, databases, backlinks, real-time collaboration, an API, publishing to the web, encryption and AI features.
Three broad approaches show up. Cloud workspaces such as Notion put notes, wikis and databases in one shared space with live co-editing. Local-first apps such as Obsidian keep notes as Markdown files on your own device and charge for optional sync. Capture-focused apps such as Evernote center on clipping, scanning and searching, with AI search built in.
Prices on these pages come from each vendor's own pricing page and are shown in US dollars. Plans change often, so confirm the current offer on the vendor's site before you buy.
Our ranking
Cloud workspace that combines notes, docs, wikis and databases, built for teams that edit together.
Compare: vs Obsidian · vs Evernote · vs Superhuman Docs · vs Microsoft OneNote
Private, local-first note-taking app that keeps your notes as Markdown files on your own device.
Compare: vs Notion · vs Microsoft OneNote · vs Logseq
Cloud note-taking app for capturing web clips, scanned documents and meeting notes, with AI search built in.
Compare: vs Notion · vs Microsoft OneNote
Collaborative doc workspace, formerly Coda, that combines pages, connected tables, formulas and built-in AI.
Compare: vs Notion
Google's free app for quick notes, checklists and reminders that sync across phone, web and watch.
Compare: vs Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft's free digital notebook for typed, handwritten and drawn notes, synced through OneDrive across devices.
Compare: vs Notion · vs Obsidian · vs Evernote · vs Google Keep · vs Goodnotes
Handwriting-first note-taking app for iPad and other devices, with PDF markup, whiteboards and built-in AI.
Compare: vs Microsoft OneNote · vs Notability
Handwriting and PDF note-taking app with synced audio recordings, live collaboration and AI study tools.
Compare: vs Goodnotes
Free notes app built into iPhone, iPad and Mac, with iCloud sync, live sharing and end-to-end encrypted locked notes.
Open-source outliner for linked notes, with tags, queries and table views, that keeps your graph on your own device.
Compare: vs Obsidian
Top 5 compared
| Feature | Notion | Obsidian | Evernote | Superhuman Docs | Google Keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offline use | Partial · Desktop/mobile apps only; downloaded pages; first 50 rows of a database's first view | Yes · Local app, works without internet | Yes · Offline notes on all plans, incl. Free | Partial · Keeps working in docs already open; a connection is needed to open a doc; changes lost if reloaded offline | Yes · Edit notes offline; changes sync when you reconnect |
| Local-first files | No · Cloud workspace; export to Markdown, CSV, HTML, PDF | Yes · Markdown files in a local folder (vault) | No · Cloud sync; export to ENEX or HTML (desktop app) | No · Cloud docs; export to PDF, CSV tables, or .txt/.csv files of docs you own | No · Notes stored in your Google Account; export through Google Takeout |
| Databases | Yes · Table, board, list, calendar, gallery, timeline, chart, map, feed and form views (1 chart on Free); dashboard view on Business and Enterprise | Yes · Bases core plugin: table, cards, list, kanban views; map via official Maps plugin | No · In-note tables sort and filter rows (no formulas or nested tables); tasks can be viewed by note, assignment or due date, with filters; no database or table views listed | Yes · Tables with connected views (cards, calendar, timeline, charts, forms); Superhuman Databases in closed beta | No · Notes, lists, photos, drawings and audio; no tables or database views listed |
| Backlinks | Yes · Created automatically by @-mentions | Yes · Core plugin; linked and unlinked mentions | Yes · Lists notes that link to the open note | Partial · No page backlinks documented; a linked relation column you add lists the table rows that reference a row | No · No note-to-note links listed; notes are organized by labels, colors and pins |
| Real-time collaboration | Yes · No limit on simultaneous editors | Partial · Shared vaults via Sync (up to 20); no live co-editing | Yes · Team members can edit notes simultaneously; invite with Can edit access or share an "anyone with the link can edit" link (no account needed); which plans get live editing is not stated | Yes · Live edits and presence on all plans, incl. Free; Editors are free | Yes · Several people can edit the same note in real time |
| API | Yes · REST API and webhooks | Partial · TypeScript plugin API and CLI; no hosted web API | Partial · MCP server in beta (Starter and up); legacy API deprecated | Yes · REST API for all users; Docs MCP server, limited on Free to 30 requests a week (60 a month) | Partial · REST API for apps that let enterprise admins manage notes (domain-wide delegation) |
| Publish to web | Yes · Notion Sites; custom domain on paid plans, $8/month per domain billed yearly | Add-on · Obsidian Publish, $8/site/month billed yearly | Partial · Public note links, view or edit | Yes · View, play or edit mode; new published docs are unlisted (not search-indexed) by default; custom domains on paid plans | No · Shared with named people, email addresses, Google Groups or a family group; no public link listed |
| Encryption | Partial · AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2+ in transit | Yes · AES-256 end-to-end for Sync by default; standard encryption is optional | Partial · In-note encryption (Mac & Windows), Starter and up | Partial · AES-256 at rest, TLS 1.2 in transit; BYOK listed as coming soon for Enterprise | Partial · Encrypted at rest and in transit; Keep is not covered by Workspace client-side encryption |
| AI features | Yes · Business plan and up; limited trial on Free and Plus | Partial · Web Clipper Interpreter (own provider key or local Ollama); community plugins | Yes · AI Assistant, semantic search, AI Transcribe, AI Edit on all plans | Yes · Docs AI (beta) included for paid Doc Makers; limited trial on Free and for Editors | Partial · Gemini list and title help in the Android app (AI Pro/Ultra or Pixel); Gemini app can create and find notes |