I must admit I am a big Notion fan.
I have written a few articles on Notion as it is my favorite note-keeping and productivity app, that that allows me to manage tasks, projects, notes, and more in one place.
Notion has become extremely popular over the last years and has over 30 Million users and more and more organizations using the tool.
But for some, Notion might NOT be the perfect tool. This is why I want to give you an overview of the top alternatives for Notion.
The Evergreen — Evernote
Evernote is probably the most popular note-taking tool available on the market and I have also used it for quite some time. One of the advantages is that it is really simple to use so it can be more approachable for beginners.
Its design is focused on keeping notes, so you can also record audio files and use the web clipper function which is really useful.
It also comes with a great search function and, high cross-platform compatibility and integration into different productivity tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Drive.
Personally, I stopped using Evernote a while ago as the free version does not offer all the functions that I like (and as many functions as Notion does).
However, I still think it is a great and powerful tool that can basically do anything to help you organize your life.
The Streamlined — Google Keep
I have used Google Keep for a long time and I really like the simplicity and cross-platform compatibility of the tool.
And the best thing — it is completely free.
What I also really like about Google Keep is the way it looks, it is clean but also playful — it is just fun to use it.
The simplicity and clean interface could be an advantage compared to Notion if you don’t want to spend too much time setting up your productivity system.
On the other hand, it does not offer some more advanced features and functionalities as Notion does. So it really depends on your personal preferences.
The Corporate — Microsoft OneNote
This Note-Keeping tool by Microsoft is my personal preference for my office job. OneNote is offered by most companies as it is part of the Office 365 Suite.
Most companies don’t allow downloading and installing external tools from the internet, for these cases OneNote is the perfect tool as it is already installed on most company laptops.
One big advantage of OneNote is that it is easy to use and integrates seamlessly with other Office applications such as Outlook and Teams.
This is why it feels familiar to use OneNote as it is similar to other Office applications.
If you have already installed it on your computer it is worth a try.
However, I prefer the advanced functionalities (e.g. databases) and formatting options that Notion offers.
The Open-Source — Joplin
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app, where you can share notes and add multimedia files such as videos, audio, and PDFs. You can also use the web-clipper function which lets you save web pages to your notes.
I have also tried Joplin a while ago when it did not integrate with other platforms so I ended up using it only on my Mac for specific notes.
What I really like about Joplin is that it is free and open-source and still has immense capabilities. It also has a nice, clean look which is comparable to Notion.
These are my top alternatives to Notion as a note-keeping app — I think it really depends on your use case which apps work best for you. I would be interested in what tools you are using so please share your thoughts in the comments section.
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