176 tools · 94 open-source · 82 SaaS
The best note-taking tools. Ranked by real activity.
The top-ranked open-source note-taking tool on Enlisted is AppFlowy (77k GitHub stars), followed by AFFiNE and Memos. Among SaaS products, other tools on Enlisted are most often compared with Notion, Obsidian and Evernote.
Enlisted lists 176 note-taking tools: 94 open source and 82 SaaS. 82 of the open-source ones can be self-hosted on your own server or computer. The most common open-source licences here are MIT (23 tools), AGPL-3.0 (21) and GPL-3.0 (13). The open-source ones are most often listed as alternatives to Obsidian, Evernote and Notion.
Last updated October 3, 2026 · ranked by GitHub stars, growth and recent commits
The top 48 of 176 note-taking tools
AppFlowy
Note Taking
AppFlowy is the AI collaborative workspace where you achieve more without losing control o
AGPL-3.0vs Notion★ 77k
AFFiNE
Note Taking
There can be more than Notion and Miro. AFFiNE(pronounced [ə‘fain]) is a next-gen knowledg
OSSvs Notion★ 73k
Memos
Note Taking
Your own timeline for quick notes, private by default.
MITvs Google Keep★ 63k
MarkText
Note Taking
📝A simple and elegant markdown editor, available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
MITvs Typora★ 62k
Joplin
Note Taking
Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Li
OSSvs Evernote★ 57k
SiYuan
Note Taking
思源笔记 - 隐私优先的个人知识管理系统，支持 Markdown 排版、块级引用和双向链接
AGPL-3.0vs Notion★ 47k
Logseq
Note Taking
A privacy-first, open-source platform for knowledge management and collaboration. Download
AGPL-3.0vs Notion★ 45kOpen Notebook
AI Tools
An Open Source implementation of Notebook LM with more flexibility and features
MITvs NotebookLM★ 40k
Trilium Notes
Note Taking
Trilium Notes is an open-source note-taking and personal knowledge base app that runs loca
AGPL-3.0vs Evernote★ 38k
Foam
Note Taking
A personal knowledge management and sharing system for VSCode
OSSvs Roam Research★ 17k
Zotero
Productivity
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, annotate, cite, and shar
OSSvs Readwise★ 15k
Notesnook
Note Taking
Express yourself with freedom — no spying, no tracking, only private notes. Unlike Evernot
GPL-3.0vs Evernote★ 15k
Zettlr
Note Taking
Your One-Stop Publication Workbench
GPL-3.0vs Typora★ 14k
NoteGen
Note Taking
Capture first. Organize later. A local-first Markdown app that turns scattered records int
GPL-3.0vs Mem★ 13k
VNote
Note Taking
A pleasant note-taking platform in native C++.
LGPL-3.0vs Typora★ 13k
Anytype
Note Taking
Official Anytype client for MacOS, Linux, and Windows
OSSvs Notion★ 8.9k
TiddlyWiki
Note Taking
A self-contained JavaScript wiki for the browser, Node.js, AWS Lambda etc.
OSSvs Notion★ 8.7k
FSNotes
Note Taking
Fast Markdown note-taking app for Mac and iPhone
MITvs Bear★ 7.5k
HedgeDoc
Docs & Wikis
HedgeDoc - Ideas grow better together
AGPL-3.0vs Google Docs★ 7.5k
Jrnl
Note Taking
Collect your thoughts and notes without leaving the command line.
GPL-3.0vs Day One★ 7.3k
Standard Notes
Note Taking
Think fearlessly with end-to-end encrypted notes and files. For issues, visit https://stan
AGPL-3.0vs Evernote★ 6.6k
SilverBullet
Note Taking
The malleable knowledge base for you and your team. Powered by Markdown and Lua.
MITvs Obsidian★ 6.2k
QOwnNotes
Note Taking
QOwnNotes is a plain-text file notepad and todo-list manager with Markdown support and Nex
GPL-2.0vs Evernote★ 5.9k
Simplenote
Note Taking
Simplenote for Web, Windows, and Linux
GPL-2.0vs Evernote★ 5.3k
Obsidian Second Brain
AI Tools
Persistent memory for Claude Code and 6 other CLI agents, stored as plain markdown in your
MIT★ 4.7k
Blinko
Note Taking
An open-source, self-hosted personal AI note tool prioritizing privacy, built using TypeSc
GPL-3.0vs Google Keep★ 11k
Freeplane
Whiteboards
Application for Mind Mapping, Knowledge Management, Project Management. Develop, organize
GPL-2.0vs Xmind★ 4.4k
Personal Management System
Productivity
Your web application for managing personal data.
MIT★ 4.2kCherryTree
Note Taking
cherrytree
OSSvs Microsoft OneNote★ 4knb
Note Taking
CLI and local web plain text note‑taking, bookmarking, and archiving with linking, tagging
AGPL-3.0vs Obsidian★ 8.4k
MrDoc
Docs & Wikis
mrdoc,online document system developed based on python. It is suitable for individuals and
GPL-3.0vs Confluence★ 3.2k
NoteDiscovery
Note Taking
Your Self-Hosted Knowledge Base
MITvs Notion★ 2.8k
zk
Note Taking
A plain text note-taking assistant
GPL-3.0vs Obsidian★ 2.8k
Alexandrie
Note Taking
📚 The open-source, offline-first Notion, Obsidian & Confluence alternative. Advanced Mark
MITvs Notion★ 2.8k
Butterfly
Note Taking
🎨 Powerful, minimalistic, cross-platform, opensource note-taking app
AGPL-3.0vs GoodNotes★ 2k
Jotty
Productivity
Lightweight but powerful alternative for managing your personal, file based, notes and che
AGPL-3.0vs Google Keep★ 2k
TidGi
Note Taking
TidGi is an privacy-in-mind, automated, auto-git-backup, freely-deployed knowledge managem
MPL-2.0vs Evernote★ 2k
EdgeEver
Note Taking
Open-source, AI-native knowledge base & Evernote alternative with native MCP. Zero-cost on
AGPL-3.0vs Evernote★ 2k
IWE
Note Taking
Markdown knowledge graph — LSP for your editor, CLI + MCP memory for your AI agents
Apache-2.0vs Obsidian★ 1.7k
Neuron
Note Taking
Future-proof note-taking and publishing based on Zettelkasten (superseded by Emanote: http
AGPL-3.0vs Obsidian★ 1.6k
VimWiki
Note Taking
Personal Wiki for Vim
OSSvs Obsidian★ 9.5k
Hubble.md
Note Taking
The best notepad for you and your agents
MITvs Notion★ 1.5kFlatnotes
Note Taking
A self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown f
MITvs Evernote★ 3.2k
Dnote
Note Taking
A simple command line notebook
Apache-2.0vs Evernote★ 3.1k
Journiv
Note Taking
Journiv - Self hosted private journaling app
OSSvs Day One★ 1.2k
Moe Memos Android
Note Taking
An app to help you capture thoughts and ideas
GPL-3.0vs Google Keep★ 1.2k
SoloMD
Note Taking
A markdown editor — and the bridge to your LLM. Local-first, MIT, ~15 MB. Bundled MCP serv
MITvs Typora★ 1.1k
Organice
Productivity
An implementation of Org mode without the dependency of Emacs - built for mobile and deskt
AGPL-3.0vs WorkFlowy★ 2.7k
Note-taking tools: questions
- What is the best open-source note-taking tool?
- AppFlowy is the top-ranked open-source note-taking tool on Enlisted, with 77k GitHub stars. It is followed by AFFiNE, Memos and MarkText.
- What are the best free note-taking tools?
- The top-ranked open-source note-taking tools with a standard licence are AppFlowy (AGPL-3.0), Memos (MIT) and MarkText (MIT), so their code is free to use. 52 of the 82 SaaS products here have a free plan, including Notion, Obsidian and Evernote.
- Which note-taking tools can be self-hosted?
- 82 of the 94 open-source note-taking tools on Enlisted can be self-hosted on your own server or computer; the top-ranked are AppFlowy, AFFiNE and Memos.
- How are these note-taking tools ranked?
- Open-source tools are ordered by a score built from GitHub stars, star growth over the last 30 days and how recently the code changed; 57 of the 94 had new commits or a release in the last 30 days. SaaS products have no public repository, so they get a fixed baseline score. GitHub data is refreshed daily, and nobody can pay to move up.