Best Free List / Note Apps 2020
I love taking notes and making lists and so I did a hunt for the best free app. For these reviews I only looked at the free version of any app, but many offer paid (always subscription based) options.
The things I looked for in a list/note taking app were
- minimalism
- ease of use
- extensive free version
- available on mac, windows, mobile and web
- lists that are nested / folding /collapsible (whatever you call them)
So here are the best list / note taking apps I’ve tried(so far)
(1) Dynalist.io
The best thing about Dynalist is its extensive free version. It has a clean, easy to use interface with some nice extras like highlighting lines. It offers the same amazing nested lists ability as Workflowy without the annoying 250 items/month limit. It also has a mac, windows and mobile app, plus you can just use it straight from your browser if you want. Some of the nicer features like tagging list are only available in the paid subscription version however.
(2) WorkFlowy.com
Workflowy is excellent, and what I was using for quite some time before discovering other options. Like Dynalist it is super clean, and focused around nested lists. In fact, it’s hard to tell the difference between Workflowy and Dynalist they’re both great. What makes Workflowy annoying though is the 250 items/month limit on the free version. Basically it was me reaching this limit that drove me to on the hunt for a replacement app.
(3) Notable.md
Totally free and great for longer form notes, Notable is less of a list making app and more of a markdown editor. There is no nested lists, or list folding at all. But it is lightweight, clean, and the notes you make are saved to a directory on your computer as .md files, so you are not tied down to using notable in the future. This also makes it easy to upload notes to github to share with others. One downside is that you keep needing to switch between editor view (cmd+e) and note view (cmd+s) which can get annoying.
(4) Bear.app
A nice and clean note taking app, but only for mac and iOS. Better for taking longer form notes rather than lists, it has a lot of nice markdown like text formatting features and is easy to use. However I’m not a massive fan of the style (stop putting ‘H1’ beside the heading!!), it could be cleaner in my opinion. Also basic features like sync is not available in the free version, and paid version is subscription only.
(5) FoldingText.com
This lightweight and very minimal app is fun to use but kind of limited. It is almost more like a text editor than a note or list taking app and despite the name, only folds text once (i.e. is not endlessly nested). Also it’s mac only.
(6) Evernote.com
I downloaded this app and after about 2 minutes I deleted it. Look at the screen you are presented with when you open it first. I’m sure it has some good features but judging by the massive orange ‘upgrade’ button on screen I can only imaging the good ones are locked behind a subscription. It is also the only app that makes you agree to terms and conditions before you can even open it. I’d rather use the default apple notes app than this.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR GREAT LIST / NOTE APPS
CHEERS!
