Best OneNote Alternatives in 2026

OneNote has been Microsoft's note-taking solution since 2003, and it shows. The freeform canvas, unlimited notebooks, and deep Office integration made it popular with students and professionals who needed digital notebooks without subscription fees.

But honestly? OneNote feels stuck in time. I used it heavily in college (back around 2018), and when I opened it again in late 2025, the interface looked almost identical. Meanwhile, tools like Notion and Obsidian have redefined what note-taking apps can do with databases, backlinks, and modern collaboration features.

The sync issues drive people crazy. OneNote uses OneDrive for syncing, which works fine when it works, but conflicts and failed uploads happen more than they should. I've lost note edits because the app couldn't resolve sync conflicts between my laptop and phone. For something as important as notes, that's unacceptable in 2026.

Organization is another pain point. OneNote's structure (notebooks, sections, pages) makes sense conceptually, but navigating deep hierarchies feels clunky compared to apps with search-first approaches or bidirectional linking. Finding old notes means remembering which notebook and section you put them in, rather than just searching or following links.

That said, OneNote still has strengths. It's completely free, works offline reliably (once synced), and the freeform canvas lets you position notes, images, and drawings anywhere. For visual thinkers or people who sketch alongside text, that flexibility is hard to replicate in structured markdown editors.

If OneNote meets your needs and you're comfortable in the Microsoft ecosystem, there's no urgent reason to switch. But if sync issues, outdated UX, or limited organizational tools are pushing you away, there are compelling alternatives worth exploring.

Why Look Beyond OneNote?

OneNote works until it doesn't. After testing alternatives for months, here are the actual reasons people switch.

Sync Conflicts and Reliability

OneNote syncs through OneDrive, which usually works but occasionally creates conflicts that are genuinely frustrating to resolve. You'll open a note and see "This page has conflicting changes" with duplicate sections to manually merge. For critical notes (meeting agendas, project plans, research), these conflicts create anxiety about data loss.

Alternatives like Notion handle sync more elegantly with real-time collaboration and conflict resolution that feels invisible. Obsidian avoids the problem entirely by storing notes locally and letting you choose your sync method (iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, whatever).

Outdated User Interface

OneNote's design hasn't meaningfully evolved in years. The ribbon interface, the clunky section tabs, the dated icons: it all feels like software from 2010. This isn't just aesthetics. Modern apps use keyboard shortcuts, quick capture, and streamlined workflows that make OneNote feel sluggish by comparison.

Apps like Notion, Obsidian, or even Google Keep offer cleaner interfaces that get out of your way. Less clicking through menus, more focus on actual note-taking.

Limited Organization and Search

OneNote's hierarchy (notebooks > sections > pages) worked in the era before tags and backlinks. But once you have hundreds of notes, finding information becomes tedious. You can search, but there's no tagging system, no bidirectional links, no saved searches or smart filters.

Obsidian and Notion both support tags, backlinks, and graph views that show connections between notes. This makes information retrieval faster and helps surface related content you forgot about. Check out our guide to PKM apps for more on this.

Collaboration Feels Bolted On

You can share OneNote notebooks, but the collaboration experience is rough. Simultaneous editing sometimes works, sometimes creates conflicts. There's no comment threads, no @mentions, no granular permissions. It's fine for read-only sharing but painful for active team collaboration.

Notion, Nuclino, and even Google Keep handle team collaboration better with real-time updates, commenting, and permissions that actually work reliably.

Ecosystem Lock-In

OneNote data lives in proprietary format on OneDrive. You can export to PDF or Word, but there's no clean way to export your entire notebook structure with formatting intact. If you ever want to switch tools or move your notes elsewhere, you're facing manual copy-paste work.

Markdown-based tools like Obsidian store notes as plain text files you own forever. Even if the app dies, your notes remain readable in any text editor. That long-term portability matters if you're building a knowledge base over years.

What Makes a Good Alternative?

Switching note-taking apps is a big decision since you're migrating your thoughts, projects, and knowledge. Here's what actually matters.

Data Portability and Ownership

Can you export your notes in a standard format? Do you own the files, or are they locked in a proprietary database? OneNote traps your data in OneDrive. Alternatives like Obsidian store notes as Markdown files on your computer, which you own forever. Notion stores data in their cloud, but at least exports to Markdown or CSV.

This matters more than you think. Apps get acquired, change pricing, or shut down. Notes you wrote years ago should remain accessible regardless of what happens to the company.

Sync Reliability and Offline Access

Does the app work offline? How does sync handle conflicts? OneNote's OneDrive sync causes enough pain that it's worth prioritizing alternatives with better approaches. Notion requires internet but syncs flawlessly when online. Obsidian works entirely offline and syncs via your chosen method.

Test this before committing. Turn off wifi, try creating and editing notes, then go online and see if sync just works or creates conflicts.

Organization Philosophy

Do you think in hierarchies (notebooks/folders) or networks (links and tags)? OneNote is strictly hierarchical. Alternatives range from rigid folders to flexible tagging to bi-directional linking.

If you like OneNote's structure, Evernote or Google Keep maintain similar approaches. If you want something more fluid, Obsidian or Notion let you organize via links and tags instead of (or alongside) folders. Our PKM apps guide covers this in depth.

Feature Set vs Simplicity

OneNote sits in the middle: more features than simple note apps, less complexity than full-blown knowledge bases. Where do you want to land?

Google Keep is simpler (just notes and lists). Notion is more powerful (databases, projects, wikis). Obsidian is more focused (just notes, but with plugins for everything). Figure out which direction you're leaning before diving deep into alternatives.

Collaboration Requirements

Are you taking notes solo or working with teams? OneNote's collaboration works but feels outdated. If you need real-time co-editing, comments, or permissions, prioritize tools built for teamwork like Notion, Nuclino, or Lark. If you're mostly solo, local-first apps like Obsidian might be better.

Notion

Notion is what everyone suggests when you mention leaving OneNote. It's become the default recommendation for good reason: it's flexible, powerful, and handles way more than just notes.

Notion's building blocks approach lets you combine notes, databases, kanban boards, calendars, and wikis in one workspace. You start with a blank page and add whatever blocks you need: text, to-do lists, tables, embedded files, images, code snippets. This flexibility is both Notion's strength and weakness. You can build exactly what you need, but it takes more setup than OneNote's ready-made notebooks.

The databases are genuinely useful. You can create a reading list with tags, status, and ratings, then view it as a table, kanban board, or calendar. Or build a project tracker that links to meeting notes. This kind of structured organization goes beyond what OneNote offers.

Collaboration in Notion feels modern. Real-time co-editing works smoothly, comments thread properly, and you can @mention teammates. Permissions let you share pages publicly, with specific people, or keep them private. For team wikis or shared projects, Notion beats OneNote easily.

Where Notion frustrates: it's online-only (technically you can work offline but it's limited and clunky). If your internet drops, you're mostly stuck. Performance can lag with large databases or lots of images. And honestly, the learning curve is real. OneNote is simpler: open notebook, take notes. Notion requires understanding databases, relations, and templates before you unlock its potential.

Pricing is free for individuals with some limits on blocks and file uploads. Paid plans start at $10/month per user for teams, which adds up. OneNote is completely free, so this might sting.

Go with Notion if you want more than just notes: project management, wikis, databases. Stick with OneNote if you just need simple digital notebooks without the complexity.

Evernote

Evernote is the OG note-taking app that dominated before OneNote and Notion existed. It's been around since 2008, and that longevity shows in both polish and baggage.

Evernote's core experience is solid: create notes, organize into notebooks, tag everything, search across your library. The web clipper is still the best in the business for saving articles and web content. One click and you've captured the full article, simplified view, or just a bookmark. I use Evernote's clipper even when storing notes elsewhere, then copy them over.

The search is powerful too. Evernote indexes everything including text in images and PDFs (OCR). Type a search, and it finds notes even if the keyword only appears in a photo you took of a whiteboard. OneNote has search but Evernote's feels more thorough.

Where Evernote stumbles: the pricing is aggressive for what you get. Free tier limits you to 60MB uploads/month and two devices. That's tight compared to OneNote's unlimited free tier. The cheapest paid plan (Personal) costs $14.99/month or $129.99/year. For that price, you're competing with Notion, which offers more features.

The app also feels heavy. It's not slow exactly, but it lacks the snappiness of newer tools. And honestly, after years of feature bloat and multiple redesigns, Evernote feels like it's trying to do too much without excelling at any one thing.

One thing I appreciate: Evernote's longevity means it probably won't disappear tomorrow. Your notes from 2010 still work perfectly in 2026. That stability matters if you're building a long-term knowledge base.

Use Evernote if you need powerful search and web clipping, and you're willing to pay for it. Skip it if you want free or prefer modern interfaces.

Obsidian

Obsidian takes a completely different approach: your notes are Markdown files stored locally on your computer. No cloud accounts required, no vendor lock-in, just plain text files you own forever.

This local-first philosophy means Obsidian works perfectly offline. Always. No sync conflicts because there's no automatic sync (you add that yourself via iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, or Obsidian's paid sync service). For people burned by OneNote's sync issues, this control feels liberating.

The killer feature is bidirectional linking. You can link notes to each other using [[double brackets]], and Obsidian automatically creates backlinks. Over time, your notes form a connected web of knowledge. The graph view visualizes these connections, showing clusters of related notes. This is powerful for research, journaling, or building a personal knowledge base.

Plugins extend Obsidian massively. Want a kanban board? Install the plugin. Daily notes? Plugin. Calendar view? Plugin. The community has built hundreds of plugins that add features without bloating the core app. OneNote has zero extensibility.

Where Obsidian requires adjustment: it's Markdown-based, which means learning syntax (though it's simple: # for headings, * for bold, etc.). If you're used to OneNote's freeform positioning and rich text formatting, Markdown feels limiting at first. You can't put text anywhere on a page or draw with a stylus.

Pricing is interesting: the app is free for personal use. Obsidian Sync costs $10/month if you want their hosted sync service (optional). Publishing costs extra if you want to publish notes as a website. But you can use the core app forever without paying.

Go with Obsidian if you want to own your data, love interconnected notes, and don't mind Markdown. Skip it if you need freeform canvases or stylus support.

Nuclino

Nuclino describes itself as "a collective brain for your team." It's lighter than Notion but more collaborative than OneNote, targeting teams who need shared knowledge bases without complexity.

The interface is refreshingly simple. Create pages, organize them into collections or graphs, link pages together. That's it. No databases, no complex formatting options, just clean notes with good search. After hours in Notion or OneNote, Nuclino feels like a breath of fresh air.

Real-time collaboration works flawlessly. Multiple people can edit the same page simultaneously, and you actually see their cursors and changes appear instantly. Comments thread properly, and @mentions notify teammates. For team wikis or documentation, this beats OneNote's clunky shared notebooks.

One unique feature: the graph view shows pages as interconnected nodes. It's similar to Obsidian's graph but built for teams. You can see how your knowledge base connects and find orphaned pages that aren't linked from anywhere.

Nuclino lacks OneNote's freeform canvas or rich formatting. You can't position text arbitrarily or embed complex layouts. It's more structured: headings, paragraphs, lists, images. For some people that's limiting; for others, it forces useful constraints.

Pricing starts free for small teams (up to 50 items), then $5/user/month for unlimited content. That's reasonable for teams, though it adds up. OneNote is free regardless of team size.

Use Nuclino if you're building a team wiki or knowledge base and want something simpler than Notion. Skip it for personal note-taking where OneNote or Obsidian make more sense.

Google Keep

Google Keep is the simplest alternative on this list. It's basically digital sticky notes: create a note, add text or a checklist, maybe attach an image, done. No hierarchy, no complex features, just notes.

This simplicity is both the point and the limitation. Keep excels at quick capture. Grocery lists, random thoughts, reminders, todos. The mobile widget makes it stupid fast to jot something down. OneNote requires opening the app and navigating to the right section. Keep just opens to a blank note.

The color-coding and labels help with organization despite the flat structure. Tag notes with labels (work, personal, ideas, whatever), pin important ones to the top, and use colors to visually group related notes. It's not as structured as OneNote's notebooks and sections, but it works for lighter use cases.

Google Keep syncs perfectly across devices because it's Google. No conflicts, no delays, just reliable sync. The web app, mobile apps, and Chrome extension all stay in sync seamlessly. After OneNote's sync headaches, this reliability is refreshing.

Where Keep obviously falls short: no rich formatting, no file attachments (only images), no hierarchy beyond labels. You can't create complex notes with headers, tables, or embedded documents. Keep is for quick notes, not research papers or project documentation.

It's also completely free with your Google account, which is hard to argue with. No paid tiers, no limits (within reason), just works.

Use Keep if you want simple, fast note capture without complexity. Skip it if you need structured notebooks or rich formatting like OneNote offers.

Nifty

Nifty is primarily a project management tool, but it includes a solid docs and wiki component that can replace OneNote for team contexts.

Nifty's docs support real-time collaboration, nested pages, and rich formatting. You can create team wikis, project documentation, or meeting notes alongside your tasks and timelines. This integration is handy if your notes connect to active projects: take meeting notes and link them directly to tasks or milestones in the same tool.

The editor is clean and functional. Not as fancy as Notion, but more capable than Google Keep. You get headings, lists, code blocks, embeds, and file uploads. Enough to handle most documentation needs without feeling limited.

What sets Nifty apart is the project context. Your notes live alongside tasks, roadmaps, and discussions. For teams managing projects, this centralization beats juggling separate tools for notes (OneNote) and projects (Asana, Trello, whatever).

The downside: Nifty is overkill if you just need notes. It's a full project management suite priced accordingly. Plans start at $49/month for 10 users, which is steep compared to free OneNote. You're paying for the entire platform, not just the docs feature.

Also, Nifty's docs aren't as powerful as dedicated note apps. No bidirectional linking like Obsidian, no databases like Notion. They're functional team documentation, nothing more.

Use Nifty if you're already considering project management tools and want notes integrated. Skip it if you only need note-taking.

Lark

Lark is ByteDance's (the TikTok company) answer to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. It bundles docs, chat, video calls, and calendar in one platform, including a note-taking component similar to OneNote.

Lark Docs supports real-time collaboration, rich formatting, and integrations with the rest of Lark's suite. You can create notes, tag teammates with @mentions, embed files or charts, and organize into folders. The editor is modern and responsive, noticeably faster than OneNote in my testing.

The killer feature is how Lark integrates docs with chat and calendar. You can start a group chat, share a doc in the thread, and everyone edits together while discussing in the sidebar. Or schedule a meeting and automatically generate a shared note for the agenda. This workflow beats switching between OneNote and Slack/Teams constantly.

Lark is completely free for small teams (up to 50 users), which is generous. Paid plans add storage and advanced features, but the free tier covers most use cases. Compare that to Microsoft 365 requiring a subscription, and Lark looks appealing.

The catch: Lark is less known in Western markets, so integration with third-party tools lags behind Google or Microsoft. If you rely on Zapier, browser extensions, or specific app ecosystems, check compatibility first.

Also, Lark is an all-or-nothing platform. You're not just replacing OneNote, you're potentially replacing Slack, Zoom, and Google Calendar too. That might be great for consolidation or overwhelming if you're happy with your current stack.

Use Lark if you're open to switching your entire team collaboration suite. Skip it if you just want a OneNote replacement without changing everything else.

AppFlowy

AppFlowy positions itself as an open-source alternative to Notion, which also makes it a solid OneNote replacement for certain users.

The core experience mimics Notion: pages with blocks, databases, kanban boards, calendars. You get the flexibility to build custom workspaces without being locked into a vendor's cloud. AppFlowy stores data locally or syncs via your own infrastructure, which appeals to privacy-conscious users or teams with strict data requirements.

Being open-source means transparency. You can inspect the code, contribute features, or self-host if needed. For individuals or organizations worried about vendor lock-in or data privacy, this matters more than fancy features.

The reality is AppFlowy is still early. It launched publicly in 2021, and while it's improving fast, it lacks the polish and feature completeness of Notion or even OneNote. The mobile apps are rough, plugin ecosystem is small, and you'll hit missing features if you push beyond basic notes and databases.

But here's the thing: it's actively developed with a passionate community. The roadmap shows AI features, better collaboration, and mobile improvements coming soon. If you're okay with rough edges in exchange for data ownership and open-source principles, AppFlowy is worth watching.

Pricing is free since it's open-source. They're working on paid cloud hosting and AI features, but the core app will remain free forever.

Use AppFlowy if you want Notion-like features with data ownership and don't mind early-stage software. Skip it if you need polish and reliability today.

Notejoy

Notejoy is a lesser-known collaborative note-taking app focused on team knowledge sharing. It sits between OneNote's simplicity and Notion's complexity.

Notejoy organizes notes into notebooks (like OneNote) but adds features like real-time collaboration, @mentions, reactions, and integrations with Slack and Google Drive. The editor supports rich formatting, code blocks, checklists, and embeds without feeling overwhelming.

One feature I appreciate: note discovery. Notejoy surfaces recently updated notes, popular notes, and notes you might have missed. In OneNote, finding old notes means remembering where you filed them. Notejoy's activity feed keeps information flowing.

The collaboration is smooth. You can share entire notebooks with teams, set permissions (view, comment, edit), and see who's viewing or editing in real-time. For teams transitioning from OneNote's basic sharing, this feels like a meaningful upgrade.

Notejoy is priced reasonably: free for individuals (limited features), $8/user/month for teams. That's less than Notion but more than OneNote's free tier. You're paying for better collaboration and modern UX.

The downsides: smaller user base means fewer integrations and templates. It's not as flexible as Notion (no databases) or as established as Evernote. Notejoy is a solid middle-ground option, but it lacks the "wow" factor that drives viral adoption.

Use Notejoy if you want collaborative note-taking that's simpler than Notion but more modern than OneNote. Skip it if you need advanced features or prefer established tools.

How to Switch from OneNote

Migrating notes is tedious but manageable if you break it down. Here's what actually works based on helping multiple people switch.

Export Your OneNote Content First

Go to File > Export in OneNote and choose your format. You can export as OneNote files (.one), PDF, or Word documents. For most alternatives, exporting to Word (.docx) gives you the most portable format that preserves formatting reasonably well.

This export is manual and slow if you have lots of notebooks. Set aside a few hours and export everything before proceeding. Having local backups prevents panic if something goes wrong during migration.

Choose Your Migration Strategy

Don't migrate everything at once unless you have very few notes. Instead, try this phased approach:

1. Start fresh in your new app for new notes (this week forward) 2. Keep OneNote read-only for reference 3. Migrate specific notebooks on demand as you need them 4. Archive OneNote completely after a few months when you're confident

This reduces upfront work and lets you learn the new tool without pressure.

Recreate Structure Thoughtfully

Don't blindly copy OneNote's notebook/section/page hierarchy into your new app. Different tools have different organizational philosophies. Obsidian uses folders and links. Notion uses pages and databases. Google Keep uses labels.

Take this as an opportunity to rethink your organization. What worked in OneNote might not be optimal in the new tool.

Test Search and Retrieval

Once you've migrated some notes, test whether you can actually find them. Run searches for keywords, browse your hierarchy, and verify that your organizational system makes sense. It's better to discover problems early when you can adjust rather than months later when you have hundreds of notes.

Handle Special Content

OneNote's freeform canvas, audio recordings, and handwritten notes don't migrate cleanly to most alternatives. You might need to: - Convert handwritten notes to text (tedious but necessary for most apps) - Export audio separately and link to files - Screenshot or PDF complex layouts that don't translate

This is the most annoying part of migration, but it's unavoidable if you used OneNote's unique features heavily.

Update Your Workflows

If you had habits around OneNote (keyboard shortcuts, capture workflows, sharing methods), those need updating. Spend time learning your new app's keyboard shortcuts and mobile capture options. The friction will smooth out after a few weeks of consistent use.

Which OneNote Alternative Should You Choose?

The right alternative depends entirely on what frustrated you about OneNote and what you need instead.

If you want more structure and databases: Notion is the obvious choice. It does everything OneNote does plus databases, wikis, and project management. The learning curve is real, but the flexibility pays off.

If you want to own your data: Obsidian stores notes as local Markdown files you control forever. No vendor lock-in, no sync drama, just plain text files. Perfect for building a personal knowledge base that will outlive any app.

If you want simplicity: Google Keep strips away everything complex and just gives you notes. Fast capture, reliable sync, completely free. Great for grocery lists and quick thoughts, less so for research.

If you need team collaboration: Nuclino or Notejoy handle shared knowledge bases better than OneNote. Real-time editing, clean interfaces, proper commenting. Both beat OneNote for team contexts.

If you loved Evernote's glory days: Modern Evernote still works, but the pricing is steep. Only worth it if you rely heavily on web clipping and powerful search.

If you want to replace your whole stack: Lark bundles notes with chat, calendar, and video in one platform. Works great if you're willing to go all-in on their ecosystem.

Honestly, most people leaving OneNote end up choosing between Notion (if they want power and flexibility) and Obsidian (if they want data ownership and simplicity). Both are solid choices with active communities and ongoing development. Check out our Notion alternatives guide and Obsidian alternatives for more options.

The good news: you don't have to commit immediately. Most alternatives have free tiers. Try two or three with a small set of notes, use them for a week, and see which workflow clicks. The best note-taking app is the one you'll actually use consistently.