Notesnook
Open-source, zero-knowledge note taking — end-to-end encrypted notes that sync across every platform, recommended by Privacy Guides
Website: https://notesnook.com/ · License: GPLv3 · Type: Open-source app by Streetwriters (Pakistan)
Why it exists
Most of us keep genuinely sensitive things in a notes app — passwords, medical results, recovery codes — and never check who can read them. Mainstream notes apps either lock your notes in a proprietary silo or scan them under the banner of convenience. Notesnook's founders (the Streetwriters team) built the alternative: a notes app where the server mathematically cannot read your notes, the clients are open source so you can verify it, and exporting your life's notes back out is a first-class feature instead of a punishment.
Main features
- Zero-knowledge end-to-end encryption — notes, notebooks, tags and attachments are encrypted on-device; the sync server only ever sees ciphertext.
- True cross-platform sync — native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS plus a web app; start on the laptop, finish on the phone, seconds apart.
- App lock — fingerprint, PIN or password on top of the system lock, so handing over your phone doesn't hand over your notes.
- Rich editor — checklists, tables, code blocks, math, embeds; everything stays exportable as Markdown, HTML, PDF and plain text.
- Web clipper — browser extension to save pages into your vault.
- Importer — one-way migration tools for Evernote and other note apps.
- Self-hostable sync server — run your own notesnook-sync-server if you'd rather not use the hosted infrastructure at all.
Who it's for
- Anyone who writes things down they wouldn't want a cloud vendor to read — health, money, work secrets, journals.
- Evernote/OneNote refugees who want privacy and a real editor rather than a bare-bones minimalist app.
- Open-source users who want every component (clients, clipper, sync server) auditable under GPLv3.
- Teams of one across many devices who want free unlimited notes with paid tiers only for storage and extras.
How it compares
- Evernote / OneNote — mature and searchable, but proprietary formats, ads/AI upsells, and servers that can read everything; Notesnook is zero-knowledge with a real importer path out.
- Obsidian — superb local markdown vault, but sync is a paid add-on and cloud endpoints aren't E2E-encrypted; Notesnook is encrypted sync first.
- Standard Notes — the closest philosophical sibling: both open-source and E2EE; Notesnook's editor is richer out of the box while Standard Notes leans ultra-minimal.
- Joplin — open-source and flexible, but E2EE sync requires extra setup; Notesnook encrypts by default with nothing to configure.
Notes
- Free tier is genuinely usable — unlimited encrypted notes, no card required; Pro (~$1.67/mo billed yearly) and a "Believer" supporter plan add storage and power features.
- An account is needed for syncing; you can use the app locally, but the vault model assumes a Notesnook account exists.
- Recommended by Privacy Guides — one of the few note apps that clears their encryption and openness bar.
- 14.3k+ GitHub stars and 300k+ users; development is active and public (release notes and technical tradeoffs are blogged openly).
- GPLv3 covers the clients and tooling; the hosted sync infrastructure is the company's business, with the server code published for self-hosting.
Useful links
- Official site: https://notesnook.com/
- Downloads: https://notesnook.com/downloads
- Pricing: https://notesnook.com/pricing
- GitHub: https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook
- Self-hosting the sync server: https://github.com/streetwriters/notesnook-sync-server