Evernote Dropbox Paper

Why thoughts about switching

All of what I’ve explored below is premised on me wanting to migrate away from Evernote and Google Drive. I don’t have a particularly strong desire to move away from either service, although there are reasons for me to have a Plan B in mind if it becomes necessary to make the moves:

Get organized and productive with the leading note-taking app. Download Evernote for Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android and create your free account. Evernote underwent this transformation at an interesting time. A new generation of productivity and note-taking tools, like Notion and Roam and Dropbox Paper, were becoming popular choices in part because Evernote had lost its way a bit. Many of these new tools built Evernote importers, specifically hoping to capture dissatisfied users.

Evernote seems to be struggling to maintain momentum, and although recent Behind the Scenes videos show some encouraging directions, I have invested a lot in Evernote and want to make sure I have another option for my data if the company runs into major trouble;
Google is, well, Google. I’m mostly comfortable entrusting Google with my data, and practically everything I do in some form or another, but who knows what lies ahead in the future.
Lastly, and totally superficially, I like cool new things. The new Dropbox looks pretty interesting, and I’ve been using it (albeit passively) for quite some time. Moving to Dropbox would simplify some workflows for me.

How I’ve been using Dropbox and Google Drive

I haven’t actively used Dropbox for managing my files for many years. At the same time, I have a number of background processes, mostly using IFTTT, that capture things like tweets, app data, and so on into my Dropbox folders.

For the most part, I’ve been using Google Drive as my shared file system. I keep various documents there that I share with my wife, and access using various devices. I recently upgraded my personal Drive account to the Google One account where I have just over 200GB of storage space for about $3.50 a month. Before that, I was paying for a 100GB upgrade.

The idea was to make this space available to my family to use, too, but they’re using G Suite addresses on two domains I own, so they can’t join my Google One profile. 😳

Still an Evernote user

I also still use Evernote to capture stuff. “Stuff” is a pretty broad category. I’ve been capturing information that I may want to reference into Evernote for about 11 years, and I have almost 28,500 notes. Most of those notes are containers for documents, photos of interesting things, and other documents.

I don’t really use Evernote for plain text notes. For that I create, well, plain text notes with Markdown syntax, and my personal directory for those notes is a synced folder on Dropbox. I then sync that with another folder on my laptop that I push to GitHub to a private repo. I’m all about the multiple, redundant backups.

I’m using the Evernote Premium plan that costs me $69.90 a year (about $5.84 a month).

The new Dropbox

I saw an announcement that Dropbox has been updated with some interesting collaboration features. Here’s the announcement video:

It was interesting, but more of a curiosity for me until I watched the video from the launch event, here:

The event is pretty similar to any other launch event these days (“I’m excited to announce the new <insert name>. It’s the best <insert name> we’ve ever made …”), but it’s worth watching the demos in the second half of the event.

What makes the new Dropbox pretty compelling for me is how I can still use Drive documents, add in integrations with Zoom and Slack, and add shortcuts to other links that may be helpful. It looks like new Dropbox is using a white labelled version of Google Drive to enable users to create Docs, Sheets, and Slides that use the Google Drive apps, but save on Dropbox.

Microsoft Office users will also be able to use the Google Drive apps to view and edit their docs on Dropbox too. In this sense, the experience is probably pretty similar to just using Google Drive natively.

One of the areas in which Evernote has an edge, at least for me, is that I can use Evernote notes to add a combination of text, media, and documents to a single note. This enables me to maintain a coherent context for my information that relates to that particular topic.

You can create a Google Doc, but the format isn’t that easy to use, and there isn’t a convenient Web Clipper like you have with Evernote to capture stuff on the Web into a Google Doc. I poked around in Dropbox Paper, and it’s the closest I’ve seen to what Evernote can do, and surpasses Evernote in some respects. Here’s a demo where I added a couple items to a Dropbox Paper document:

What I didn’t demonstrate here is that you can also add a YouTube preview to your note that plays inline. I was a little disappointed that this isn’t possible with Evernote, and then realised that Evernote needs to take into account offline and mobile screens too. That said, if I view a Dropbox Paper document with embedded videos on my Android phone, the embed is available there.

What I don’t see just yet is something like the Evernote Web Clipper for Dropbox, so capturing stuff from the Web isn’t as easy with Dropbox.

Switching costs

Leaving aside the Evernote Web Clipper, I can see the new Dropbox being a pretty effective replacement for both Google Drive and Evernote (well, you’d still potentially be using the Google Drive apps to access many of your documents, just not on Google Drive itself). The Dropbox Plus plan is $11.99 a month (if you pay monthly), and you receive 2TB of storage space. The equivalent Google One plan costs about $11 (converting from my local currency).

If I compare the costs of a Dropbox Plus plan ($11.99 if I pay monthly) with the combined costs of my Google One and Evernote Premium plans (about $9.34, although this is a blend of annual pricing for Evernote, and monthly for Google One), it’s not far off.

If I paid for an annual Dropbox Plus plan, the monthly breakdown is around $9.99.

Worth switching to Dropbox?

At a fairly high level, it may be worthwhile switching to the new Dropbox from Evernote and Google One. That said, there are a couple challenges to resolve:

Can I coherently migrate my Evernote notes to Dropbox? Sure, I can export all of my content, but how accessible will it all be when exported into HTML documents with attachments in folders?
Can I migrate my Google Drive documents across to Dropbox? More specifically, if I move them across to Dropbox, will they open on Drive, or in Dropbox? I suppose this may not matter as Google Drive documents aren’t factored into Drive storage, as far as I remember. Also, it looks like this type of migration is possible.
Moving away from Evernote means giving up the Web Clipper. Is there an alternative for Dropbox? I’m not sure about that.
Another disadvantage of moving away from Evernote is that you lose OCR for your documents. That option is only available with the Dropbox Professional plan that costs $16.58 a month, if you opt for annual billing (so you’re paying about $198 upfront). Google Drive and Evernote both provide OCR for your documents, in varying degrees.

Featured image by chuttersnap

The days of writing notes in various notebooks, furiously scribbling research on notecards, and jotting down ideas on sticky notes that end up in unexpected places are on their way out. Electronic note-taking tools have become more popular for students, professionals, and, well, anyone with ideas, notes, or to-dos.

While some of us diehards still like putting pen to paper (you can pry my notebook from my cold, cramped hands), there’s no denying that note-taking apps make it easy to organize, save, and share notes with others in a way you just can’t do with physical notes.

Evernote has become synonymous with note-taking from its inception in 2008. But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s the right tool for you.

An Overview of Evernote

Used by 225 million people worldwide, Evernote is a leading note-taking app, with cross-platform syncing so you can update notes on any device. A widely used Evernote feature is the Web Clipper, which allows you to save website screenshots, articles, and PDFs directly to your account.

Features:

Find templates for notes like goal tracking, weekly planning, and budgeting.
Go paperless with document scanning.
Include information from the web with web clipping.
Upload and search handwritten notes from Post-it notes, whiteboards, etc.
Use centralized team spaces for shared team notes and resources.
Compatible with Browser, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS.
Integrates with Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce, Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams.

Best for: Anyone looking for a free version that’s packed full of value, or businesses that need an easy-to-use option for team sharing and collaboration.

Cost: Evernote Basic offers note-taking features for free. Premium ($7.99/month) and Business ($14.99/month) provide advanced features for organizing, sharing, and collaborating.

Top Evernote Alternatives for Better Note-Taking

Whether you’re looking for something feature-rich and complex or a simple text-based app where you can dump your ideas, you’ll love these Evernote alternatives.

1. Ideanote

AppSumo Deal: Ideanote

Collect, develop, and prioritize the right ideas with the right people in one platform.

$59.00 | ~~$2,988.00~~

Marketed as the world’s #1 all-in-one innovation platform, Ideanote gives you one central hub to capture and manage your ideas, notes, and to-dos. This app makes it easy to collaborate with your team (or anyone else!) while developing, managing, and tracking ideas. Ideanote offers a customizable and intuitive workflow that makes note-taking easy and helpful.

Features:

Use 100+ idea-collection templates for situations including efficient meetings, new customers, expansion, resources, and processes.
Crete goal-oriented idea collections centered around a challenging question.
Each member gets their own profile to manage ideas, see progress, and customize settings.
Move, copy, edit, and archive your notes for better organization.
Get real-time notifications on updated notes.
Drag and drop files from your desktop to an Ideanote card.

Best for: Large teams that need an innovative and immediate way to exchange ideas and notes.

Cost: Starter ($249/month), Business ($649/month), and Enterprise ($2,899/month) plans all include unlimited members and their own innovative workspace, with different numbers of admins, ideas, criteria for each plan.

For a limited time, you can get a 1-year deal of Ideanote’s Business Plan at $59 on AppSumo.

2. Sticky Notes

AppSumo Deal: Sticky Notes by Ukiv

Lightning fast, easy-to-use browser extension for taking notes in Chrome and Edge.

$49.00 | ~~$120.00~~

Sticky Notes is a browser extension that makes it easy to take notes in both Chrome and Edge. Accessing and organizing notes is also easy, and the app allows you to work offline so you can continue to jot down ideas, to-do lists, and other info at any time. With a range of beautiful themes, this browser extension allows you to personalize your experience while making note taking fun!

Features:

Beautiful handpicked themes to create an experience that’s easy on the eyes.
Open Sticky Notes in just one click inside your browser.
Save your notes with optional Cloud backups and organize them into folders.
Access notes quickly by clicking the extension icon.
Works offline; take notes without an internet connection.

Best for: Busy entrepreneurs and business owners who want an easy and convenient way to store notes, to-dos, and ideas right from their browser.

Cost: The Free Forever plan is limited to three notes but offers basic themes and unlimited lists. Premium Plan ($9.99/month) gives you all nine notes, premium animated themes, automatic backup of notes, and multi-monitor support. Get lifetime access through AppSumo deals for just $49.00.

3. Google Keep

Google Keep is one of the simpler note-taking apps on our Evernote alternative list, with an easy-to-use, clean interface. With Google Keep, you can take notes on your phone, tablet, or computer, syncing across devices or sharing notes with friends and family.

Features:

Label, pin, and color-code notes.
Collaborate on notes in real time.
Speech-to-text functionality for note dictation.

Best for: People looking for a simple note-taking app without all the bells and whistles.

Cost: Free

4. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is marketed as a digital notebook where you can “gather your notes and make them even better.” OneNote makes it easy to organize your thoughts across notebooks, sections, and pages with quick navigation and search to find what you’re looking for.

Features:

Use on unlimited devices for free.
Draw thoughts and annotations with your finger or a stylus.
Use Web Clipper to save web content with one click.
Share notebooks with coworkers, friends, or family.
Include mixed media notes like audio, video, and other files.

Best for: Entrepreneurs already using Windows, Office365, or OneDrive, and those who want a free app with lots of features.

Cost: Free

5. Notejoy

Notejoy has become a well-known product for teams that want to share and collaborate on notes with others. With real-time editing by multiple users and threaded discussions, Notejoy has some of the best team collaboration features of any note-taking app. Integrations with Trello, Slack, and scanner apps also make it a must-have for teams.

Features:

Edit notes in real time with multiple team members.
See who has viewed and added to notes.
Threaded discussions with @mentions and reactions.
Embed Google Docs, Microsoft Office docs, PDFs, videos, and audio.
Clip any webpage or forward emails to Notejoy to create notes quickly.
Organize notes with nested notebooks, nested tags, team libraries, pins, and archives.
Available on a browser, Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Integrates with Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Office, Slack, Trello, HubSpot, and scanner apps.

Best for: Teams looking for a single, well-organized place to collaborate, store, and share knowledge with others.

Cost: Free option includes up to 5 users, 3 team libraries, 5 notebooks, 10MB per file upload, and up to 100MB library storage. Paid plans start at $4/month and offer additional features and more storage.

How To Use Evernote

6. Bear

A newcomer to the note-taking software game, Bear allows you to create and sync notes across your Apple devices. A unique feature of Bear is the hybrid markdown editor that offers a full range of formatting options. This feature, along with the ability to export and get important stats like word/character count, read time, and paragraph numbers, make this app ideal for authors and students.

Features:

Compatible with Mac and iOS.
Format text as you type with a hybrid markdown editor.
Organize notes using hashtags and slashes for nested tags.
Use focus mode to concentrate on the task at hand.
Beautiful themes and typography, including a Dark Mode.
Encrypt individual notes with a password or Face/Touch ID.

Best for: Writers and students who need the option to take notes or write long-form content they can format before exporting.

Cost: Free option: Create notes, add tags and attachments, and export notes. Pro subscription ($1.49/monthly or $14.99 annually): Syncing, themes, and more powerful export options.

7. Simplenote

Simplenote‘s appeal is described in its name — it’s a simple app with a simple user interface. Simplenote offers a no-frills experience with minimal features, making it ideal for those who tend to get overwhelmed or distracted by all the options and functionality of other mobile note-taking mobile applications. If you’re looking for a distraction-free experience with simple text notes, and you don’t need advanced features, Simplenote may be your new go-to program.

Features:

Available for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, and web browsers like Chrome.
Automatic and real-time sync.
Add tags to find notes quickly with the instant search feature.
Share notes with others or publish notes online.
Write, preview, and publish notes in markdown format.

Best for: People who prefer simplicity over fancy features or want a distraction-free note-taking experience.

Cost: Free

8. Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is another powerful alternative to Evernote that’s ideal for team collaboration. In addition to allowing you to add and edit notes as a team, Dropbox Paper offers a task management tool that lets you assign to-do lists, add due dates, and mention team members in real time within the document. You can also drop a link to nearly anything in your note — YouTube video, Pinterest board, Google Map, SoundCloud clip, GIF — and Paper displays the preview properly.

Features:

Compatible with Windows, iOS, and Android.
Variety of templates, including meeting notes, launch plan, brainstorming, creative brief, project plan, new hire onboarding, and product spec.
Annotate specific parts of an image with feedback.
Turn Paper docs into professional-looking presentations in one step.
Simplify to-do lists with task management tools like task assignments, due dates, reminders, and task completion.
Integrates with Sketch, Invision, Dropbox, Slack, and more.

Best for: Dropbox customers looking to collaborate on notes, or teams that need task management capabilities for project management.

Cost: Free

9. Notion

Notion is another Evernote alternative focused on team collaboration. One of the best note-taking apps for teams, Notion offers a variety of project management capabilities, including Kanban boards, tables, and lists to customize your workflow. Unique to Notion is the team wiki feature, which allows you to turn your team knowledge into a database of easy-to-find answers. If you’re just looking for a personal note-taking solution, Notion may be overkill.

Features:

Web app, desktop app, and apps for iOS and Android devices.
Turn any type of project into a template, including multi-layered pages.
Use tables to create databases or a team wiki.
Nested hierarchical organization, including dropdowns.
Collaborate in real time, mentioning coworkers when you need input or responses.
Invite others to work on notes or share with your entire company.
Embed 500+ other apps inside your Notion pages to create a hub for your team’s work.

Best for: Teams that need an easy way to collaborate on notes while accessing a team wiki.

Cost: Free plan allows unlimited pages and blocks you can sync across devices and share with five guests. Paid plans start at $4 a month and offer unlimited guests, unlimited team members, admin tools, and advanced permissions.

10. Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a unique Evernote alternative, as it takes a novel approach to creating note types by using different note cards. Zoho offers different formatting for text notes, checklists, audio notes, photos, files, sketches, and smart notes with advanced formatting. Another distinction between Zoho Notebook and other solutions is a beautiful visual experience, with separate images for each notebook and colored backgrounds.

Features:

Available on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux.
Use pinch and swipe gestures to navigate the app and organize notes.
Customize notebooks with image covers and color-coded note cards.
Search for and organize notes using tags.
Secure notes with passcodes or Touch ID.
Automatically sync notes to the cloud across all your devices.

Best for: People who need to manage many different types of notes within the same app, and people who are visually inclined and want a beautiful experience.

Cost: Free

11. Apple Notes

If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you’re probably already familiar with Apple Notes. While simple, Notes makes it easy to capture thoughts, create checklists, and sketch ideas quickly. It comes loaded on your iPhone, iPad, and MacBook, so there’s no need to download the app. To create a note, open the app, tap the “compose” button, create your note, and tap “Done.” Then it’s saved and synced to all your devices. It couldn’t be easier!

Features:

Use iCloud to update your notes across all your devices.
Pin important notes, so they are easier to find later.
Create checklists to mark off as you finish.
Format with headings, bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, and more.
Scan and sign documents within the app.
Add attachments like a website, photo, video, or Google map.
Organize your notes in folders.

Best for: Apple users who want a quick and easy way to save thoughts, ideas, to-dos, notes, and attachments.

Cost: Free

12. Turtl

Turtl is a close all-in-one Evernote competitor, with the biggest difference being that it’s a secure and encrypted open-source application. Turtl works well for any kind of notes or project, including passwords, shopping lists, bookmarks, and more long-form content. It also allows you to gain control of your data by installing your own Turtl server at home or work.

Features:

Sync across devices, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android. An app for iOS is coming soon.
Use bookmark browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
Share and collaborate with teammates or family members who can access your data without compromising security.
Protect note data with Turtl’s high-end cryptography.

Best for: Entrepreneurs and individuals who want a secure and encrypted notebook that’s collaborative.

Cost: Free for up to 50MB of note data and 3 collaborators. Paid plans start at $3/month and offer more storage and additional collaborators.

13. Quip

Owned by Salesforce, Quip brings all your notes, docs, and team members into one place where you can collaborate and chat with ease. A unique feature of Quip is its chat feature, which is built into every document. Quick to set up and easy to use, Quip makes it easy to get started with creating and maintaining living documents.

Features:

Integrates with Salesforce’s CRM software so you can create spreadsheets with live Salesforce data.
Streamline your workflow with a built-in chat feature, team chat rooms, and 1:1 messaging.
Templates for sales, service, marketing, manufacturing, project planning, and more to kickstart your workflow.
Collaborate on documents and edit with others in real time.
Out-of-the-box security with encrypted, auditable, and controlled data.

Best for: Teams that need to develop and maintain documents that change over time or organizations already using Salesforce.

Cost: Starter ($10/user/month) plan includes unlimited documents, spreadsheets, and slides with group chat and 1:1 messages. Enterprise ($25/user/month) plan adds single sign-on, enterprise API and customization, and custom live apps.

14. Roam Research

Marketed as a personal knowledge management system, Roam is a note-taking tool that’s ideal for organizing ongoing research and collecting data. Roam was inspired by the Zettelkasten method of note taking, which involves writing lots of small notes on rearrangeable index cards instead of taking pages and pages of notes that you then have to sort through. Roam is unique because it allows you to collect notes using “networked thought,” which helps you discover and create relationships between notes and ideas.

Features:

Available through web browser.
Use bidirectional links to link existing topics or ideas together.
Use in-text links or page links at the bottom of notes to jump from one note to another.
Get a bird’s-eye view of all your pages and how they are linked using the graph overview.
Insert code, images, videos, tables, nested lists, diagrams, and more.

Best for: Students and professionals who need to keep track of research or ideas over time and want to see how the ideas/data interconnect.

Cost: Professional plan ($15/month) offers up to three private or public Roam graphs, unlimited collaborators, and API access. Believer plan ($500/5 years) adds first access to new features, community calls with the team, and priority support.

15. Obsidian

A direct competitor to Roam, Obsidian markets itself as “a second brain” that helps you make connections between your notes and ideas. This knowledge base works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files. Encouraging you to make connections between your ideas, Obsidian makes it easy to connect notes with backlinks and a graph view. The ability to use offline may be a game-changer for those who want to collect ideas or make notes without the distraction of the internet.

Features:

Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Use offline for a distraction-free experience.
Connect ideas and notes using backlinks with a graph view for a bird’s-eye view of connections.
Split panes infinitely, resize, and pin to keep content linked.
Build your own note-taking toolkit with plugins like graph view, page view, backlinks, daily notes, word count, and search.

Best for: Anyone who wants to organize their notes, data, and ideas by connecting and linking based on themes or topics.

Cost: Personal plan is free for personal use; no sign-up or account needed. The Catalyst ($25+ one-time payment) and Commercial ($50/user/year) plans offer additional support and access.

16. Nimbus Note

Nimbus Note is the ultimate note-taking, sharing, and organizing tool for easy collaboration across team members and clients. This powerful platform eliminates the scatterbrained feeling of juggling tools, folders, and those pesky sticky notes on your monitor. With customizable workspaces for team members to get on the same page, simple tracking, seamless embedding, and even live desktop screen recording, productivity for your team just got a whole lot better.

Features:

Use isolated workspaces, each with their own access permissions, branding, and third-party integrations
Unlimited nested folders for each workspace to manage complex projects
Assemble notes with a block editor, which lets you embed files, audio, video, websites, and widgets like Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Drive
Mobile app lets you scan papers and add them straight to your notes
Flexible tables that act as spreadsheets, databases, or both
Nimbus Capture lets you record desktop videos with a live feed from your webcam, with the ability to take on-screen notes
Public pages that you can share with teams and clients with ease
Embeddable code of shared Nimbus Pages for your website or blog

Best for: Project managers of small and large teams looking to consolidate all their documents and info in one collaborative workspace

Cost: Pro Plan ($24.99/year), Business Plan ($70/year).

How to Pick the Best Evernote Alternative