Evernote3.8- Best for
- People archiving notes and clippings
- Pricing
- Freemium · $10.83/mo
6 Best AI alternatives to Microsoft OneNote
OneNote is Microsoft's free-form note-taking app, organizing notes into notebooks, sections, and pages with handwriting, audio, and web clipping support. It integrates deeply with Microsoft 365.
Side-by-side comparison
Every AI alternative to Microsoft OneNote we recommend, at a glance.
Evernote3.8
Notion4.7- Best for
- Team knowledge bases
- Pricing
- Freemium · $0
Mem4.3- Best for
- Individuals drowning in notes
- Pricing
- Freemium · $0
Obsidian4.6- Best for
- Power users who want a linked knowledge base
- Pricing
- Freemium · Free
Google Keep4.2- Best for
- Quick personal notes and reminders
- Pricing
- Free · Free
Bear4.5- Best for
- Apple users who value design and writing focus
- Pricing
- Freemium · $2.99/mo
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | From | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evernote | People archiving notes and clippings | Freemium | $10.83/mo | 3.8 | Try Evernote |
| Notion | Team knowledge bases | Freemium | $0 | 4.7 | |
| Mem | Individuals drowning in notes | Freemium | $0 | 4.3 | Try Mem |
| Obsidian | Power users who want a linked knowledge base | Freemium | Free | 4.6 | Try Obsidian |
| Google Keep | Quick personal notes and reminders | Free | Free | 4.2 | Try Google Keep |
| Bear | Apple users who value design and writing focus | Freemium | $2.99/mo | 4.5 | Try Bear |
The alternatives in detail
Evernote
Classic
Classic note-taking and web clipping
Evernote popularised digital note-taking with web clipping, notebooks and powerful search. Many users have drifted away as pricing rose and the app slowed.
Note capture
Web clipper
OCR search
Freemium · from $10.83/mo
Notion
Classic
All-in-one workspace for notes and docs
Notion combines documents, databases and wikis in a single flexible workspace used by millions of teams.
Docs
Databases
Wikis
Freemium · from $0
Mem
AI
Self-organising AI notes
Mem captures notes and automatically links, tags and surfaces them, removing the manual database upkeep that workspaces like Notion require.
Automatic organisation
AI chat over your notes
Smart search
Freemium · from $0
Obsidian
Classic
A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files
Obsidian stores notes as local Markdown files and lets users build a linked 'second brain' with backlinks and graph view. Plugins extend it with AI and other capabilities.
Local Markdown storage
Backlinks/graph view
Plugin ecosystem
Freemium · from Free
Google Keep
AI
Quick notes and lists, synced everywhere
Google Keep is a lightweight note-taking app for quick text, checklist, and voice notes, integrated with Google Workspace and Gemini AI suggestions. It's aimed at simple capture rather than deep organization.
Sticky-note style capture
Voice-to-text notes
Labels and reminders
Free · from Free
Bear
AI
Beautiful, focused notes for Apple devices
Bear is a Markdown-based note-taking app for Mac, iPhone, and iPad with tag-based organization and an AI writing assistant. It focuses on a clean writing experience.
Markdown editing
Tag-based organization
AI writing tools
Freemium · from $2.99/mo
Which Microsoft OneNote alternative is right for you?
Most people arrive here asking one of four things. Here's the short answer to each, based on our own testing — read how we review tools if you want the full method.
What's the best overall AI alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Notion scores highest in our testing (4.7/5). All-in-one workspace for notes and docs.
Is there a free alternative to Microsoft OneNote?
Yes — Evernote has a freemium option, so you can try the workflow before paying anything.
Which one is easiest to switch to?
Evernote is the gentlest landing — best for People archiving notes and clippings. You can get a usable result on day one.
Which works best for a team?
Notion (best for Team knowledge bases) handles shared work best, starting at $0.
Keep looking
Know a better Microsoft OneNote alternative?
Tell us about it and we'll review it for inclusion.
Submit a tool