Best Note-Taking Apps 2026: BAR Leaderboard
Eight note apps, one 100-point rubric. Obsidian tops the board at 92 for people who want to own their notes; Notion sits three points back as the pick for shared work.
The Leaderboard
Obsidian
Top PickLocal-first notes stored as plain Markdown files in a folder you control, with backlinks, a graph view and a very large community plugin library.
- Notes are ordinary Markdown files, readable by any editor and easy to back up
- Free on every platform, including for work use
- Backlinks and graph view make linked notes genuinely useful
- Thousands of community plugins and themes
- Syncing between devices needs the paid add-on or a do-it-yourself setup
- Plugin ecosystem has a learning curve and varies in quality
- No real-time co-editing
Best for: Individuals who want to own their notes long-term and build a linked personal knowledge base
BAR #1. Plain files, no lock-in and free core use on every platform win it.
Notion
An all-in-one workspace that combines notes, wikis and databases, with the strongest real-time collaboration on this leaderboard.
- Databases turn notes into trackers, boards and calendars
- Best-in-class real-time collaboration and sharing
- Large template gallery for getting started
- Generous free plan for a single user
- Cloud-first; offline support is more limited than in local-first apps
- Large workspaces can feel slow
- Exported databases lose much of their structure
Best for: Teams, students and anyone who wants notes, tasks and wikis in one shared workspace
BAR #2. The best collaborative workspace; ownership and offline use keep it just behind Obsidian.
Apple Notes
The fastest way to capture a note on Apple devices, with folders, tags, smart folders, checklists, document scanning and shared notes.
- Zero setup and instant sync across Apple devices
- Document scanning, sketching and checklists built in
- Tags and smart folders keep large collections manageable
- Free
- No native Windows or Android apps (web access only)
- Export options are limited
- Little structure for long-form or linked notes
Best for: iPhone and Mac users who want quick capture without managing another app
BAR #3. Unbeatable convenience inside Apple's ecosystem, limited outside it.
Microsoft OneNote
A freeform digital notebook organized into notebooks, sections and pages, with the best pen and handwriting support on this leaderboard.
- Freeform canvas: type, draw or paste anywhere on the page
- Strong stylus and handwriting support
- Free on every major platform
- Fits naturally alongside Microsoft 365
- Freeform pages can become messy over time
- Sync conflicts are an occasional complaint
- Export to open formats is awkward
Best for: Students and tablet users who write by hand, and Microsoft 365 households
BAR #4. The best notebook for pen input; structure and export hold it back.
Google Keep
Sticky-note style capture with checklists, reminders, color coding and labels, tightly connected to Google Docs and Android.
- Fastest capture on Android and the web
- Time and location reminders built in
- Easy sharing of lists with other Google users
- Free
- Labels only, no nested folders or notebooks
- Minimal formatting for longer notes
- No desktop apps beyond the browser
Best for: Shopping lists, quick ideas and reminders for Android and Google users
BAR #5. Superb for quick capture, too thin for a long-term archive.
Joplin
An open-source Markdown notebook with end-to-end encrypted sync through Joplin Cloud or your own storage, such as Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive or WebDAV.
- Open-source with end-to-end encryption
- Sync through your own cloud or server at no cost
- Web clipper for saving pages
- Plain Markdown export
- Looks plainer than the commercial apps above it
- Setting up self-managed sync takes some effort
- Smaller plugin ecosystem than Obsidian
Best for: Privacy-minded users who want encrypted sync without a subscription
BAR #6. The best fully open-source option; polish trails the leaders.
Bear
A beautifully designed Markdown writing app for Apple devices, organized with nested tags instead of folders.
- One of the nicest writing experiences on Mac and iPad
- Nested tags are flexible and fast
- Markdown-based with clean export options on Pro
- No Windows or Android apps
- Sync between devices requires the subscription
- Limited collaboration
Best for: Writers on Apple devices who care about the writing experience
BAR #7. Best-in-class design, held back by being Apple-only and subscription-gated sync.
Evernote
The veteran of the category, still strong at web clipping, document scanning and searching text inside images and PDFs.
- Excellent web clipper
- Search finds text inside images and PDFs
- Mature apps on every major platform
- Free plan is now very restricted
- Repeated price increases and plan changes have eroded trust
- Heavier and slower than lighter rivals
Best for: Long-time users with large archives who rely on clipping and in-image search
BAR #8. Still capable, but the free tier and pricing history push it down the board.
How the Scores Were Built
Each app gets up to 100 points across five criteria. Reliability carries the most weight for this category, 30 points, because a notes app is only useful if what you write is still there, in sync and exportable years later. Features are worth 25, the day-to-day experience of capturing and editing notes 20, cost 15 and support 10. Scores draw on the vendors’ own documentation, help centers and plan pages; the general rubric is explained on our methodology page.
A notes app works best next to a place for tasks. Our to-do apps board covers the task managers that pair well with any app below, and if your notes are mostly drafts, the AI writing apps board is the next stop.
Why Obsidian Wins
Obsidian scores 92, three points clear of Notion at #2. The decisive factor is ownership: every note is a plain Markdown file in a folder you choose, so nothing is locked into a proprietary database, and any text editor can open your notes years from now. Its core app is free on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and since 2025 that includes work use. Backlinks and the graph view reward linking ideas together, and the community plugin library covers almost any workflow. Notion beats it on collaboration and structured databases, which is why the gap is small.
Bottom Line
For most individuals in 2026, start with Obsidian; the free app already covers what most people need, and your notes stay yours. For teams and shared projects, Notion at #2 is the better fit. Apple users who want zero setup should simply use Apple Notes at #3, and people who write with a stylus will be happiest in OneNote at #4. For quick lists and reminders, Google Keep at #5 is hard to beat, and Joplin at #6 is the pick for open-source encrypted sync.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the BAR rubric score a notes app?
Five weighted criteria add up to 100. For notes, the heaviest one (30 points) is reliability: does sync hold up, do notes survive app changes, and can they leave the app in a usable format. Features count for 25, the editor and capture experience for 20, cost for 15 and support for 10. The general rubric lives on our methodology page.
Why is Obsidian #1?
Obsidian stores every note as a plain Markdown file in a folder on your own device, so your notes outlive the app, and its core features are free on every major platform, including for work use. Backlinks, the graph view and a huge plugin library make it the strongest tool for building a linked knowledge base. Its main weakness is that syncing between devices needs the paid add-on or your own setup.
Obsidian or Notion: which one should I pick?
Obsidian if you mostly write alone, want offline access and want your notes as files you own. Notion if you collaborate with others, want databases for tasks and projects, and are comfortable keeping everything in the cloud. Many people use both: Notion for shared work, Obsidian for personal notes.
What is the best free note-taking app?
Obsidian for a full-featured free app on every platform, Apple Notes for Apple users who want zero setup, Google Keep for quick lists and reminders on Android, and Joplin for a free open-source app with encrypted sync to your own storage.
When does this board get updated?
The top three get a fresh look every quarter and the rest twice a year. A change to an app's free plan or pricing triggers an update sooner.
Why aren't some apps on this list?
This leaderboard covers general-purpose note apps. Outliners such as Logseq and Workflowy, and team wikis such as Confluence, are tracked separately because they solve narrower problems.