Encyclopedia
Please note this is a comparison between Version 2 by Beatrix Zheng and Version 1 by Beatrix Zheng.
The tables below compare features of notable note-taking software.
- note-taking
1. General Information
| Name | Developer(s) | License | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllMyNotes Organizer | Vladonai Software | Proprietary, Freemium | Microsoft Windows |
| BasKet Note Pads | KDE | Open source (GPL) | Unix-like (KDE) |
| CintaNotes | Cinta Software | Proprietary, Freemium | Microsoft Windows |
| ConnectedText | Eduardo Mauro | Proprietary, Commercial | Microsoft Windows |
| Day One | Bloom Built | Proprietary, Commercial | macOS, iOS |
| DéjàClick | AlertSite | Proprietary, Commercial | Linux, macOS, Unix, Microsoft Windows (Mozilla add-on) |
| Dropbox Paper | Dropbox | Proprietary, Freemium | Android, IOS, web-based |
| Evernote | Evernote Corporation | Proprietary, Freemium for personal use, per-seat licensing for business | Android, iOS, macOS, Microsoft Windows 7/8/10, Microsoft Windows Phone, and web-based |
| Gnote | Aurimas Černius | Open source (GPL v3) | Linux |
| Google Keep | Proprietary, no-cost | Android, iOS, Chrome OS, browser based | |
| KeyNote NF | Marek Jedliński, Tranglos Software | Open source (MPL) | Microsoft Windows |
| Memonic | Nektoon AG | Proprietary, Freemium[1] | Android (not released yet), iOS, macOS, Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7/Mobile web-based |
| Microsoft OneNote | Microsoft | Proprietary, Shareware/Freeware/Freemium[2] | Android, macOS, iOS (iPad, iPhone), Microsoft Windows 7/8/10, Microsoft Windows Server 2008R2/2012R2/2016, Microsoft Windows Phone 8/8.1/10, web-based, mobile web |
| MyInfo | Milenix Software | Proprietary, Shareware | Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 |
| MyNotex | Massimo Nardello | Open source (GPL) | Linux |
| Notational Velocity | Zachary Schneirov | Open source (GPL v3) | macOS |
| Notes | Apple | Proprietary | macOS, iOS, web-based |
| Notizen .NET | ? | No-cost, unknown license | Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7 |
| Okular | Okular Team (KDE) | Open source (GPL) | KDE-enabled Linux, Unix, Microsoft Windows, macOS, *BSD[3] |
| Open-Sankoré | Sankoré | Open source (GPL) | Linux, macOS, Unix, Microsoft Windows |
| Org-mode (Emacs) | Carsten Dominik, et al. | Open source (GPL) | Linux, macOS, Unix, Microsoft Windows (Emacs mode) |
| Outline | Gorillized Corporation | Proprietary, Commercial | macOS, iOS |
| PDF Studio | Qoppa Software | Proprietary, Shareware | Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, web-based |
| Personal Knowbase | Bitsmith Software | Proprietary, Commercial | Microsoft Windows |
| QOwnNotes | Patrizio Bekerle | Open source (GPL) | GNU/Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows |
| Qiqqa | Quantisle Ltd. | Proprietary, Freemium | Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/7/8, Web-based, Android |
| Simplenote | Automattic inc. | Open source | Cross-platform |
| TagSpaces | TagSpaces UG | Open source (AGPL) | Cross-platform (browser, web-based) |
| TiddlyWiki | Jeremy Ruston | Open source (BSD) | Cross-platform (single html file, runs in browser, on a nodeJS server, on Android and IOS) |
| Tomboy | Alex Graveley | Open source (LGPL) | Cross-platform (Mono/GTK+) |
| TreeDBNotes | ? | Proprietary, Freemium | Microsoft Windows |
| Ulysses | The Soulmen | SaaS | macOS, iOS |
| Whizfolders | AvniTech Solutions | Proprietary, Commercial | Microsoft Windows |
| WikidPad | Michael Butscher | Open source (BSD) | Cross-platform (Python) |
| Microsoft Windows Journal | Microsoft | Proprietary, Commercial | Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC edition, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows 7/8/10 (included with OS) |
| Zim | Jaap Karssenberg | Open source (GPL) | Cross-platform (Python, GTK+) |
| ZOHO Notebook | ZOHO Corporation | Proprietary, Commercial, Freemium | Self-hosted. SaaS. |
2. Basic Features
| Name | Organizing principle(s) | Outline bulleting with indent | Tabbed sections | Sync | PDF annotate and save [unclear] |
Whiteboard | Ink-pen input | Handwriting recognition | Spell check | Search | Replace | Printing | File save/export/import formats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AllMyNotes Organizer | Tree | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Proprietary, encrypted; import: plain text, RTF, CSV, images, HTML; exports: plain text, HTML, RTF, images |
| BasKet Note Pads | Tree, tags | ? | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | No | Rich text; export as HTML; import text files |
| CintaNotes | Notebooks, sections, tags | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | Proprietary; export to Unicode text, XML and HTML |
| ConnectedText | Wiki, Tree and Categories | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Proprietary (SQL); Export to text, XML, CHM and HTML. Import from text, HTML, XML and RTF |
| Day One | Chronological, tags | Yes | No | Yes[4] | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes[5] | Markdown (in GUI), XML (data file); Export as: pdf, txt, md |
| DéjàClick | ? | ? | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes[6] | XML; notes may include rich text or HTML |
| Org-mode (Emacs) | tree, tags | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | LaTeX, HTML, DocBook, Taskjuggler, PDF, Freemind, XOXO, iCalendar |
| Evernote | tags, Notebooks, Stacks | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Partial[7] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Notes stored as XML; both free and paid versions allow notes of any file type |
| Gnote | Notebooks | ? | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | NoteXmlFormat, HTML, PDF |
| Google Keep | tags, colors | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | ? | Partial[8] | Yes | ? | No | Proprietary; export to Google Doc and thence to PDF, Word, ODT etc. |
| KeyNote NF | Notebooks, notes and tree | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Internal: combination of TXT and RTF; import/export: TXT, RTF, HTML, Treepad |
| Memonic | ? | ? | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Notes stored as XML; can attach any filetype |
| Microsoft OneNote | Notebooks, sections, pages | Yes | Yes | Yes[9] | Yes[10] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Open, XML,[11] import from web pages and other applications[clarification needed] |
| MyInfo | ? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Proprietary, encrypted; import: plain text, RTF, CSV, MS Word, images, web pages; exports: plain text, HTML, RTF, CSV, MS Word |
| MyNotex | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | Sqlite based, zipped attachments; export to HTML; copying as LaTeX; import text files, OpenOffice.org documents |
| Notizen .NET | tree | ? | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | Yes | ? | No | TXT (ANSI/Unicode), RTF, ALX |
| Okular | ? | ? | ? | No | Yes[12] | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | Yes | PDF, PS, TIFF, CHM, DjVu, DVI, XPS, ODF, others; export PDF+notes for sending to other Okular users |
| Open-Sankoré | tree, notebooks | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | ? | Yes | Save/export: PDF, IWB, UBZ; Import: PDF, IWB, UBZ, images, image directories |
| Outline | Tree-structured notebooks, sections, pages | Yes | Yes | Yes[13] | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | MS OneNote format, export/import as PDF |
| PDF Studio | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | |
| Personal Knowbase | tags | ? | ? | ? | No | No | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Export to RTF, HTML, TXT, CSV |
| Qiqqa | tags, brainstorm | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | Proprietary, PDF, Brainstorm; export to RTF and Word |
| Simplenote | tags | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Export to XML |
| TagSpaces | tags, files, directories | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | ? | Yes | PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, ICO, WEBP, SVG, PDF, HTML, MHT, MHTML, MARKDOWN, TXT, XML, JSON, OGG, OGV, WEBM, ODT, ODS, ODP, ODG, EPUB, ZIP |
| TiddlyWiki | tags (wikiwords) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Via plugin | No | ? | No | Yes(via browser) | Yes | ? | Yes | HTML, json, txt,csv |
| Tomboy | ? | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | NoteXmlFormat, HTML, PDF, wiki-formats |
| TreeDBNotes | tree | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | RTF, HTML, txt |
| Ulysses | Notebooks, sections, tags | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Rich text; export as HTML; import text files; markdown editing. |
| WikidPad | tags (wikiwords) | ? | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | ? | ? | Yes | HTML |
| Microsoft Windows Journal | ? | ? | No | ? | No | ? | Yes | Yes[14] | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Proprietary |
| Zim | tags (wikiwords) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, using installed web browser | Stored in modified DokuWiki Markdown; export: HTML, LaTeX, Pandoc Markdown, Sphinx RST (reStructuredText) |
| Name | Organizing principle(s) | Outline bulleting with indent | Tabbed sections | Sync | PDF annotate and save | Whiteboard | Ink-pen input | Handwriting recognition | Spell check | Search | Replace | Printing | File save/export/import formats |
3. Advanced Formatting and Content
| Name | Drawing atop text [unclear] |
Text box, flow diagram [unclear] |
Text and paragraph formatting | Insert hyperlink [unclear] |
Insert image | Resize image | Insert table | Insert audio | Insert video | Insert SWF | Attachment [unclear] |
Other objects | Remarks / other features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AllMyNotes Organizer | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Alarms, check-boxes, bullets, phones, advanced links, autosaving; last cursor position memory,passwords on tree folders,failure-resistant self-healing DB engine | |
| BasKet Note Pads | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | Yes | tags (check boxes, etc.) | Adding, managing notes by category, autosave |
| Cherrytree | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | |
| CintaNotes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | No | No | No | No | Yes | Links to notes | Tagging and searching for tags, tag hierarchy |
| ConnectedText | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Scripting of pages with Python and other scripting languages. | LaTex, Scripts, RSS Feeds, Transclusion, Directed Graphs and Flowcharts by GraphViz, many other features. |
| Day One | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | tags, bullets, numbering, line, programming code snippets | editable note metadata (date/time, location, weather, motion activity, music playing, step count) |
| DéjàClick | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Annotate live web pages via DéjàNotes and share scripts |
| Org-mode (Emacs) | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Advanced linking,[clarification needed] bullets, tags, checkboxes, full spreadsheet, embedding of programming code, formulas, markup | Major mode of Emacs; uses plain-text; includes ToDos, spreadsheet, deadlines, encryption, reminders, agenda, calendar |
| Evernote | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes (at least Microsoft Windows version (06/2016)) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Check-box, line, tags | Business and personal notes integrated in same client; businesses have control over business notes, but cannot see personal notes |
| Gnote | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | ? | Port of Tomboy to C++; wiki-style linked notes |
| Google Keep | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Partial[15] | Yes | ? | No | No | Google Calendar reminders | Notes can be shared with other Google Keep users. |
| IPython Notebook | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Part of IPython shell; allows for programming code, output and annotation to be combined in single interactive environment |
| KeyNote NF | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes[16] | Yes | Yes[17] | No | No | No | Yes | OLE objects; "virtual nodes" which integrate and edit the content of external plain-text or rich-text files; internal links; mirror nodes. | Text processing; tree numbering and sorting; custom tree icons; node checkboxes; checkbox filtering; search filtering; reminder alarms; compressed or encrypted notebooks; auto-minimize and/or auto-lock when idle; quick access key for fast notes; additional scratchpad; autosave of up to 9 previous file versions; automatic clipboard capturing; read-only notebooks or notes; macros; templates; text shortcuts; plug-ins; bookmarks; custom keyboard shortcuts; program can be made portable through "Options" setting |
| Memonic | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Microsoft OneNote | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[18] | Yes | Yes | Yes | OLE, bullets, line, flags, formulas | No local storage of notebooks on Mac |
| MyInfo | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | OLE, bullets, numbering, page breaks, advanced links | Tags; filters; calendar; reminders |
| MyNotex | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | Activity lists; tags; notes management by subject; encryption with AES or GPG; multilingual |
| Notational Velocity | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Instant open and searching |
| Okular | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Open-Sankoré | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | plug-ins, web pages, applications | Annotate live desktop applications and web pages; autosave; plug-in system; audio recording |
| Outline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Tags | Password protection, insert web pages, local storage, MS OneNote compatibility, text highlighting, bulleted and numbered lists, free placement of notes on a page |
| PDF Studio | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Personal Knowbase | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | ? | Passwords; portable[clarification needed] |
| Qiqqa | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | ? | No | No | No | No | No | PDF, brainstorm, citations | |
| TagSpaces | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | Tags, plugins | Plugins, you can present your local images, videos and music to your TV via ChromeCast. You can create a personal "wiki" for tracking of your projects, ideas or memories. |
| Simplenote | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | ? | No | No | No | No | No | ||
| TiddlyWiki | ? | Yes(with plugin) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | HTML, LaTeX, markdown plugins | Plugins; user scripts |
| Tomboy | Partial | No | Partial | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Note Links, highlighting, fixed-width | Reminders; to do-lists; formulas in LaTeX |
| TreeDBNotes | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | ? | |
| WikidPad | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | personal wiki software |
| Microsoft Windows Journal | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Zim | No | Yes[19] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Plugins; Versioning; LaTeX integration (formulas, export); HTML export (including slideshow); GNOME's Zeitgeist integration; Lilypond music sheet integration | ASCII diagram drawing; Tags; Tasks; Table of Content navigation; SQLite3 search indexing; Autosaving; Last cursor position memory; Tabbed multi-documents |
| Name | Drawing atop text | Text box, flow diagram | Text and paragraph formatting | Insert hyperlink | Insert image | Resize image | Insert table | Insert audio | Insert video | Insert SWF | Attachment | Other objects | Remarks / other features |
References
- Free users limited to 100 notes.
- Depends on platform and version.
- "Okular home page". http://okular.kde.org/. Retrieved 19 June 2013. "... Okular works on multiple platforms, including but not limited to Linux, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X [macOS], *BSD, etc."
- Data is synced between devices by Dropbox or iCloud.
- Printable via exported pdf files.
- Note may be printed and saved as web pages via the Firefox browser.
- No support for ink notes in Mac version. Cannot mix ink with text
- On android and Chrome OS uses platform's spell checker.
- Can sync with OneDrive and SharePoint.
- OneNote 2010 and OneNote 2007 Service Pack 2 and beyond have it built in. A Save As PDF add-in is available for earlier versions of OneNote 2007. Can save to PDF with add-in.[1]OneNote 2010 and OneNote 2007 Service Pack 2 and beyond have it built in. A Save As PDF add-in is available for earlier versions of OneNote 2007. Can save to PDF with add-in.
- http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd924743(v=office.12).aspx
- Saved in separate file.
- Notes can be synced between devices via Box, Dropbox, OneDrive, SharePoint and iCloud.
- Handwritten notes are searchable.
- Lists only, with check-box facility.
- As the RTF format stores pictures internally as bitmaps (.bmp), this leads to large notebook files.
- Tables must be created in another program. After pasting the table into Keynote NF, one can edit the cells and add new rows, but changing the size of the columns and adding or removing columns is not possible. These operations can be done by pasting the table into another program (for example, MS Word).
- Can also search in audio.
- Using plugins
More
