8 Best Note-Taking Apps for Windows 11 in 2026 (Free Options Included)
The note-taking app category has more options than it needs. Evernote used to dominate, but years of price hikes and declining quality pushed millions of users to alternatives — and the replacements are genuinely better.
This guide covers the eight apps that actually deserve your attention in 2026, with clear guidance on who each one is best for.
Quick Comparison
| App | Price | Best For | Offline? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion | Free / $8/mo | Workspace builders, freelancers | Partial |
| OneNote | Free | Students, Microsoft users | Full |
| Obsidian | Free | Power users, linked thinking | Full |
| Evernote | Free / $14.99/mo | Legacy users only | Yes |
| Joplin | Free (open source) | Privacy-conscious users | Full |
| Standard Notes | Free / $90/yr | Encrypted notes | Full |
| Notesnook | Free / $4.99/mo | Encrypted + modern UI | Full |
| Simplenote | Free | Just fast text, nothing else | Full |
1. Notion — Best for Building a Workspace
Notion is more than a note-taking app — it's a workspace that can replace your to-do list, project board, and team wiki as well. Notes in Notion are structured: you organise them with databases, tags, and properties, then view them as lists, calendars, or boards.
Best for: Freelancers, remote workers, and students who want to manage their whole work life from one app.
Free plan limits: 7-day page history, 5MB file uploads. Most personal users won't hit the limits.
Paid plan ($8/month, annual): Unlimited history, unlimited uploads, better collaboration.
The honest downside: Notion requires setup time. The learning curve is real — expect 2–3 weeks before it clicks. If you want something that works immediately, scroll down to OneNote or Simplenote.
Notion
Takes longer to set up than any other app on this list, but replaces more apps once you do. The best workspace tool for Windows users who want notes, tasks, and projects in one place.
Try Notion Free →2. Microsoft OneNote — Best Free Option for Windows
OneNote comes pre-installed on Windows 11 and is free with any Microsoft account. It syncs via OneDrive, works fully offline, and integrates with the rest of Microsoft 365 (Outlook calendar notes, Teams meeting notes, SharePoint pages).
The interface is a freeform canvas — click anywhere and start typing. This is either liberating or chaotic depending on how you think. Students love it for lecture notes with stylus/handwriting support. Professionals use it for meeting notes. Quick thinkers love it for brain-dumping without worrying about structure.
Best for: Students (especially with a Surface or stylus), Microsoft 365 users, anyone who wants zero setup.
Free plan: Genuinely free. 5GB OneDrive storage included. No feature walls.
The honest downside: OneNote gets messy fast without discipline. No tags, no properties, no filters — just notebooks, sections, and pages. If you have more than 50 notes, search becomes your only navigation.
3. Obsidian — Best for Power Users and Linked Thinking
Obsidian stores your notes as plain Markdown files on your own computer — no cloud account required, no subscription needed for the core app. Its defining feature is bidirectional links: every note can link to other notes, and Obsidian shows you a graph of how your ideas connect.
This "second brain" approach is powerful for researchers, writers, and anyone who wants their notes to build into a knowledge base over time.
Best for: Researchers, writers, academics, developers who want local-first notes.
Free tier: Completely free for personal use on Windows (and every other platform). Sync between devices costs $4/month. Publishing notes publicly costs $8/month.
The honest downside: The learning curve is the steepest on this list. You'll spend time configuring plugins, understanding Markdown, and thinking about your folder vs. tag structure. For people who just want to type notes, this is overkill.
4. Joplin — Best Free Open-Source Option
Joplin is the Obsidian alternative for people who want open-source and free but don't need the graph-based linking. It's a straightforward Markdown note-taking app that syncs via your own cloud (OneDrive, Dropbox, Nextcloud, or a self-hosted server).
Best for: Privacy-conscious users who want full control of their data, Evernote refugees who want something familiar.
Free: Yes, completely. Sync is self-managed (use your own OneDrive or Dropbox).
The honest downside: The UI hasn't kept pace with Notion or Obsidian. It's functional but dated. The mobile app lags behind the desktop.
5. Standard Notes — Best for Encrypted Notes
Standard Notes encrypts everything end-to-end by default — even the app developers can't read your notes. If you keep sensitive information (passwords, private thoughts, confidential business notes), this is the most trustworthy option.
The free tier gives you basic text notes that sync across all devices with full encryption. The paid plan ($90/year or $4.99/month) adds rich text editing, Markdown, spreadsheets, code editor, and additional themes.
Best for: Users with privacy concerns, journalists, anyone keeping sensitive information in notes.
Free tier: Text notes with full encryption, unlimited devices.
The honest downside: The free tier is plain text only. If you want formatting, you're paying $90/year — more expensive than Notion.
6. Notesnook — Best Encrypted Notes with a Modern UI
Notesnook launched as a "privacy-first Evernote alternative" and delivers on it. End-to-end encrypted like Standard Notes, but with a modern interface that doesn't feel like it was designed in 2012. Rich text, Markdown, tags, notebooks, and Web Clipper are all included.
Best for: Users who want Standard Notes' privacy but Notion's visual quality.
Free tier: Full encryption, unlimited notes, basic features.
Paid ($4.99/month): PDF export, email notes to Notesnook, 10GB attachments, priority support.
The honest downside: Newer app with a smaller community than Standard Notes or Obsidian. Less ecosystem of plugins and extensions.
7. Evernote — Only If You're Already Invested
Evernote used to be the king of note-taking. It's still capable — the Web Clipper remains the best in class, and if you have years of organised notes in Evernote, the search is powerful enough to justify staying.
But the free plan is now severely limited (50 notes, one device), the pricing jumped to $14.99/month in recent years, and development has been slow. For new users in 2026, there are better options at every price point.
Best for: Existing Evernote users with large note libraries. New users should start somewhere else.
8. Simplenote — Best for Just Writing
Simplenote is the app for people who want a place to type, nothing else. No rich text, no databases, no learning curve. Open the app, create a note, write. Notes sync across devices via plain text. It's free, fast, and made by Automattic (the WordPress company).
Best for: People who overthink their note-taking setup. Sometimes the right tool is the simple one.
Free: Yes, completely. No paid tier.
Which Should You Choose?
The right app depends on what you're actually trying to do:
| You want to... | Use this |
|---|---|
| Get started with zero setup | OneNote |
| Replace your task manager + notes + wiki | Notion |
| Build a personal knowledge base over time | Obsidian |
| Keep notes private and encrypted | Standard Notes or Notesnook |
| Self-host your own data | Joplin |
| Export your Evernote library | Joplin or Notion |
| Just write without distraction | Simplenote |
Most Windows users who are looking for their "forever" note-taking app end up choosing between Notion (for structured thinking and project management) and Obsidian (for knowledge building and Markdown-first workflows). Both are free for personal use and worth testing before committing.
Migrating Away from Evernote
If you're leaving Evernote, the easiest migration paths are:
- To Notion: Export from Evernote as HTML → Notion's importer handles
.enexfiles directly - To Joplin: Import
.enexfiles directly — this is the smoothest migration - To Obsidian: Export to HTML/Markdown, use the "Obsidian Importer" plugin
FAQ
What's the best note-taking app for Windows 11 students? OneNote. The stylus support, freeform canvas, and audio recording make it unmatched for classroom use, and it's completely free with Windows 11.
Is there a good free alternative to Evernote?
Yes — Joplin is the most direct replacement with similar structure (notebooks, tags) and a clean import from .enex files. Notion is better if you want more capability.
What happened to Evernote? After several ownership changes, Evernote was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2023. The free plan was heavily restricted, premium pricing increased, and many long-term users migrated. The app still works but is no longer recommended for new users.
Does Notion work on Windows 11? Yes. Notion has a native Windows app (technically an Electron wrapper), works in any browser, and has a Windows 11 widget. Performance is slightly slower than OneNote's native app but acceptable for most users.
Can I use multiple note-taking apps? Absolutely. Many people use OneNote for quick capture and Notion or Obsidian for structured long-term notes. They serve different purposes well.