Best Note-Taking Apps in 2026
Nine note apps compared on the yearly bill for one person and for a five-person team, including the free-plan limit that forces the upgrade.
Notion Plus is the plan most small teams should buy, at $10 a member a month billed yearly. Obsidian Sync is the add-on when notes must stay as files on disk. Evernote Starter is $99 a year when the job is clipping the web and scanning paper. Bear Pro is $29.99 a year for writing on Apple devices.
A five-person team on Notion Plus pays $600 a year, which is the shared-workspace bill. The same five people on Obsidian Sync pay $240, and they do not get an admin console, so the lower total is not a team plan. Each of those prices was read on the vendor's own page on 18 October 2026.
Key facts9 tools compared: Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, Bear, Capacities, Anytype…
- 9 tools compared: Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, Microsoft OneNote, Bear, Capacities, Anytype, Amplenote, Roam Research
- Obsidian (best for: People who want notes as plain files on disk, and will pay only if they need sync): Sync $4/user/mo billed yearly ($5 monthly). The notes app itself is free.
- Evernote (best for: Solo users who clip the web and scan paper into one searchable inbox): Starter $99/yr or $14.99/mo. Advanced $249.99/yr or $24.99/mo.
- Microsoft OneNote (best for: People who already pay for Microsoft 365, or who will, for the desktop apps): No separate OneNote price. Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99/yr or $9.99/mo.
Most note apps look the same until a second person joins, and that is when the bill changes. A solo archive can live in a Markdown file on one computer. A team needs a shared workspace, which is a different product and a different invoice.
Toolradar data: of the 203 note-taking tools we track as of 17 October 2026, Notion is listed as an alternative to 118 other tools, and Obsidian drew 465 compare-page visits in the last 30 days against Notion's 440. Buyers put those two side by side, so the ranking opens there.
This page prices the paid step, so you can tell a seat worth buying from a free cap you can live with. Free caps, including Apple Notes, Google Keep, and Joplin, are in our free note-taking apps ranking.
Meeting bots and summary tools are in the AI note-taking ranking. The figures come from each vendor's pricing page, and the category counts come from Toolradar's note-taking statistics.
Top Picks
Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.
The shared workspace most small teams should buy, with AI held back on the higher Business plan.
Plus $10/member/mo billed yearly, or $12 monthly. Business is $20/member/mo yearly.
Small teams that need shared notes, docs, and databases in one workspace
A free local app, with paid encrypted sync and a commercial license you do not have to buy.
Sync $4/user/mo billed yearly ($5 monthly). The notes app itself is free.
People who want notes as plain files on disk, and will pay only if they need sync
The capture app for clips and scans, cheaper on yearly Starter and nearly twice that if you pay monthly.
Starter $99/yr or $14.99/mo. Advanced $249.99/yr or $24.99/mo.
Solo users who clip the web and scan paper into one searchable inbox
| Tool | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Plus $10/member/mo billed yearly, or $12 monthly. Business is $20/member/mo yearly. | Small teams that need shared notes, docs, and databases in one workspace |
| Obsidian | Sync $4/user/mo billed yearly ($5 monthly). The notes app itself is free. | People who want notes as plain files on disk, and will pay only if they need sync |
| Evernote | Starter $99/yr or $14.99/mo. Advanced $249.99/yr or $24.99/mo. | Solo users who clip the web and scan paper into one searchable inbox |
| Microsoft OneNote | No separate OneNote price. Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99/yr or $9.99/mo. | People who already pay for Microsoft 365, or who will, for the desktop apps |
| Bear | Bear Pro $29.99/yr or $2.99/mo, with a 7-day trial. | Writers on iPhone, iPad, and Mac who want Markdown and one subscription for every device |
| Capacities | Pro $119.88/yr or $11.99/mo. Basic is free. No team plan. | One person building a linked knowledge base, not a shared company workspace |
| Anytype | Plus $4/mo, Pro $8/mo, Ultra $16/mo. Yearly billing is marked 20% off. | People who want local-first notes and a small step up in shared remote storage |
| Amplenote | Pro $5.84/mo billed annually. Unlimited is $10.00/mo billed annually. | One person who wants notes, tasks, and a two-way calendar sync in the same app |
| Roam Research | Pro $15/mo or $165/yr. Believer is $500 for five years. | Researchers who live in a linked outliner and will pay the yearly Pro rate |
Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.
Notion
The shared workspace most small teams should buy, with AI held back on the higher Business plan.
- Pricing
- Plus $10/member/mo billed yearly, or $12 monthly. Business is $20/member/mo yearly.
Best for: Small teams that need shared notes, docs, and databases in one workspace
Pros
- Plus at the yearly rate is $120 a person, with unlimited uploads and blocks past the free cap.
- Guests are free, so a client can see one page without taking a paid seat.
- Business adds the Notion Agent, AI meeting notes, and SAML single sign-on when IT needs a real login standard.
Cons
- A second member on the free plan hits a block limit, and uploads stop at 5 MB, so a pair sharing files outgrows free.
- Full AI is not on Plus, so the step up is Business at $20 a member a month billed yearly.
Obsidian
A free local app, with paid encrypted sync and a commercial license you do not have to buy.
- Pricing
- Sync $4/user/mo billed yearly ($5 monthly). The notes app itself is free.
Best for: People who want notes as plain files on disk, and will pay only if they need sync
Pros
- The core app has no seat fee, sign-up, or note cap, so a solo archive costs nothing until a second device.
- Sync is end-to-end encrypted, with version history and shared vaults, for when files must move between computers.
- A commercial license is $50 a user a year, and the pricing page says you are not required to buy it.
Cons
- Five people who each want Sync pay $240 a year and still have no admin console, so this is not a company workspace.
- Publish, the public-site add-on, is a separate subscription from Sync, so a public notebook is a second bill.
Evernote
The capture app for clips and scans, cheaper on yearly Starter and nearly twice that if you pay monthly.
- Pricing
- Starter $99/yr or $14.99/mo. Advanced $249.99/yr or $24.99/mo.
Best for: Solo users who clip the web and scan paper into one searchable inbox
Pros
- Starter raises the free plan from 50 notes and one device to 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, and 3 devices for one inbox.
- Advanced removes the note, notebook, and device caps, aside from safeguard limits, which is the plan when Starter is too small.
- Paid plans include a 7-day trial, so you can test clipping and scanning before the yearly charge.
Cons
- Paying monthly makes a year of Starter $179.88, nearly twice the yearly plan, for the same limits.
- The free plan is 50 notes, one notebook, one device, and 1 GB, so a busy month ends it.
Microsoft OneNote
OneNote has no plan of its own, so the desktop app comes only inside a Microsoft 365 seat.
- Pricing
- No separate OneNote price. Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99/yr or $9.99/mo.
Best for: People who already pay for Microsoft 365, or who will, for the desktop apps
Pros
- Microsoft 365 Personal includes desktop OneNote, 1 TB, and 5 devices for one person, the bundle you actually buy.
- Family is $129.99 a year for up to six people and 2 TB when a household already wants Office.
- The US plan's one-month trial becomes a 12-month subscription unless you cancel, so it is a delayed charge.
Cons
- You also buy Word, Excel, Outlook, and Copilot, so a notes-only user pays for apps they will not open.
- On Family, AI stays with the subscription owner, not the other five people on the plan.
Bear
A Markdown app for Apple devices, with one subscription for every device on a single Apple ID.
- Pricing
- Bear Pro $29.99/yr or $2.99/mo, with a 7-day trial.
Best for: Writers on iPhone, iPad, and Mac who want Markdown and one subscription for every device
Pros
- One subscription covers every device on that Apple ID, and it is the lowest yearly price on this list.
- Pro adds iCloud sync, note encryption, advanced export, and OCR search, which the free app does not include.
- A 7-day trial lets you confirm iCloud sync before the yearly charge.
Cons
- There is no Windows or Android app and no team plan, so skip it if the team mixes devices.
- The monthly rate is $2.99, so paying monthly for a year costs more than the yearly plan.
Capacities
An object-based notebook for one person, with a free core and Pro for AI, tasks, and calendar links.
- Pricing
- Pro $119.88/yr or $11.99/mo. Basic is free. No team plan.
Best for: One person building a linked knowledge base, not a shared company workspace
Pros
- Basic stays free, with unlimited objects, sync, offline use, and view-only sharing, so you can build a library before paying.
- Pro adds an AI assistant, tasks, calendar integration, and version history for a personal knowledge base.
- The Pro trial does not ask for a credit card, so you can try AI and tasks before a charge.
Cons
- The company says it has no organizational plans, so five colleagues means five subscriptions and no admin seat.
- Basic media runs to 5 GB, then 100 MB a month, which is what pushes a file-heavy library onto Pro.
Anytype
A local-first workspace where paid plans buy remote storage and shared channels, not a company admin console.
- Pricing
- Plus $4/mo, Pro $8/mo, Ultra $16/mo. Yearly billing is marked 20% off.
Best for: People who want local-first notes and a small step up in shared remote storage
Pros
- Plus adds a larger remote allowance and unlimited shared channels, with a 30-day refund once the free tier runs out.
- Pro at $8 a month raises remote storage to 10 GB, and Ultra at $16 a month raises it to 100 GB, so you buy storage rather than admin tools.
- Unlimited private channels are free, so a solo vault needs no card until you share remote storage.
Cons
- Free remote storage is 100 MB and shared channels stop at 10, so a second device with real files is the paid step.
- The business workspace, with SSO and self-hosting, publishes no list price, so a company cannot compare that tier.
Amplenote
Notes tied to tasks for one person, with a low annual Pro rate and a free plan that already publishes.
- Pricing
- Pro $5.84/mo billed annually. Unlimited is $10.00/mo billed annually.
Best for: One person who wants notes, tasks, and a two-way calendar sync in the same app
Pros
- Pro at $5.84 a month billed annually is $70.08 for the year, with two-way Google or Outlook calendar tasks.
- Every account gets a two-week trial of Pro, long enough to test calendar sync before you pay.
- Personal is free and includes vault notes and publishing, so you can share notes before paying for sync.
Cons
- It is a personal task-and-note app with no admin console, so it should not be a company standard.
- Unlimited is $10.00 a month billed annually, and Founder is $20.00 a month billed annually, still a personal plan.
Roam Research
A networked outliner for researchers, with unlimited graphs on a personal Pro subscription.
- Pricing
- Pro $15/mo or $165/yr. Believer is $500 for five years.
Best for: Researchers who live in a linked outliner and will pay the yearly Pro rate
Pros
- Pro includes unlimited private or public graphs, unlimited collaborators, and API access without a per-seat price.
- The yearly price is $165, against $15 a month, after a 31-day trial that ends in a charge.
- Believer is $500 paid today for five years if you already live in the app and want the price locked.
Cons
- The trial charges you after 31 days, and only a first-time subscriber gets it.
- $165 a year costs more than one Notion Plus seat and far more than Bear Pro, so this is a specialist buy.
What it is
A note-taking app stores writing, clips, and files, then syncs them so you can search them later. The paid decision is which of three jobs you are buying: a shared workspace, a folder of files on your own disk, or a capture inbox.
A workspace charges per member, so every colleague raises the yearly bill. A local app is often free, then charges people who want the files on a second device.
A capture inbox charges one person and costs more month to month. If the notes are really a company wiki, start with our knowledge base software ranking instead of a personal app.
Why it matters
Five people for a year is the comparison that sorts this list, because the yearly total is the budget that matters. Notion Plus, billed yearly, is $600 for those five seats, a shared workspace rather than five separate apps.
Notion Business, the tier with the full AI agent and meeting notes, is $1,200 for the same five seats, so AI is a second, larger bill. Obsidian Sync at the yearly rate is $240 for five people, less than half of that Plus bill, because you pay for encrypted sync rather than a managed workspace.
Five separate Evernote Starter accounts are $495, which is five personal inboxes rather than one shared workspace. Five Capacities Pro subscriptions at the yearly price are $599.40, sixty cents under the Notion Plus total, and Capacities still has no shared team account.
One person on a Mac pays Bear's yearly price, or $48 for Obsidian Sync if the notes must leave that computer. The full Notion seat math is in our Notion pricing guide, and the file-versus-workspace trade is in Notion vs Obsidian.
Key features to look for
Pricing
How we chose: we compared nine note apps a professional or a small team would actually pay for. We read each vendor's pricing page on 18 October 2026 and ranked them by who the paid plan fits.
Prices for Notion, Obsidian, Evernote, Bear, Capacities, Anytype, Amplenote, Roam, and Microsoft 365 are the ones in the table below. Of the 203 tools in the category, 33 are strictly paid.
Use the solo yearly rows for one person, and the five-person totals when a colleague is involved. Five shared Notion Plus seats are that team bill, and five Sync seats cost less because they buy encrypted sync rather than member permissions.
Craft sells a Family bundle for 2 to 6 accounts and a Team bundle for up to 10, on a free plan capped at 1,500 blocks and a storage limit. The price is set by country, so confirm it on Craft's site before you compare it with a per-seat workspace.
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Notion Free | Free | Unlimited blocks for one person; limited blocks once a second member joins |
| Notion Plus, yearly | $10/member/mo | Unlimited blocks and file uploads, billed yearly |
| Notion Plus, monthly | $12/member/mo | Same Plus features, paid month to month |
| Notion Business, yearly | $20/member/mo | Notion Agent, AI meeting notes, and SAML SSO |
| Notion Business, monthly | $24/member/mo | Business features without the yearly discount |
| Notion Enterprise | Custom | SCIM, audit log, and zero data retention with model providers |
| Obsidian app | Free | Local notes, no sign-up and no note cap |
| Obsidian Sync, yearly | $4/user/mo | Encrypted sync, version history, and shared vaults |
| Obsidian Sync, monthly | $5/user/mo | Same sync service, billed every month |
| Obsidian Commercial | $50/user/yr | Optional license for work use; not required to run the app |
| Evernote Free | Free | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device, and 1 GB |
| Evernote Starter, yearly | $99/yr | 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks, 3 devices, and 5 GB |
| Evernote Starter, monthly | $14.99/mo | Same Starter limits, billed every month |
| Evernote Advanced, yearly | $249.99/yr | Note, notebook, and device caps removed, with safeguard limits |
| Evernote Advanced, monthly | $24.99/mo | Same Advanced limits, billed every month |
| Microsoft 365 Personal | $99.99/yr or $9.99/mo | One person, 1 TB, desktop OneNote and the Office apps |
| Microsoft 365 Family | $129.99/yr or $12.99/mo | Up to 6 people and 2 TB; AI stays with the owner |
| Microsoft 365 Premium | $199.99/yr | Family's bundle plus extensive Copilot usage |
| Bear Pro, yearly | $29.99/yr | iCloud sync, encryption, advanced export, and OCR on one Apple ID |
| Bear Pro, monthly | $2.99/mo | Same Pro features, with a 7-day trial |
| Capacities Basic | Free | Unlimited objects and sync; media is 5 GB, then 100 MB a month |
| Capacities Pro, yearly | $119.88/yr | AI assistant, tasks, calendar, and version history |
| Capacities Pro, monthly | $11.99/mo | Same Pro tools, paid month to month |
| Capacities Believer, yearly | $149.88/yr | Pro's features plus early access to betas |
| Capacities Plus add-on | $8.33/mo billed annually | A larger monthly AI budget on top of Pro or Believer |
| Anytype Free | Free | 100 MB remote storage, 10 shared channels, unlimited private channels |
| Anytype Plus | $4/mo | 1 GB remote storage and unlimited shared channels |
| Anytype Pro | $8/mo | 10 GB of remote storage |
| Anytype Ultra | $16/mo | 100 GB of remote storage |
| Anytype for Business | Contact sales | SSO, an admin panel, and self-hosting, with no list price |
| Amplenote Personal | Free | Vault notes, publishing, and a two-week Pro trial |
| Amplenote Pro | $5.84/mo billed annually | Device sync and two-way calendar task sync |
| Amplenote Unlimited | $10.00/mo billed annually | The heavier personal tier above Pro |
| Amplenote Founder | $20.00/mo billed annually | Unlimited's set plus early access and a founder onboarding call |
| Roam Pro, monthly | $15/mo | Unlimited graphs, unlimited collaborators, and API access |
| Roam Pro, yearly | $165/yr | The same Pro plan, paid once a year |
| Roam Believer | $500 for 5 years | Pro plus early features, community calls, and priority support |
| Craft Plus, Family, or Team | Check the current price on Craft's site | Free plan caps content at 1,500 blocks and 1 GB; Team covers up to 10 accounts |
The bottom line
Buy Notion Plus when two or more people need the same notes, and budget the five-seat yearly total from the comparison above. Buy Obsidian, and add Sync only for the people who need a second device, when the archive has to outlive the vendor.
Buy Evernote Starter on the yearly plan when the work is clipping and scanning, and buy Bear Pro when every device in the chain is Apple.
Skip a Microsoft 365 seat if the notebook is the only reason, because that subscription is the Office suite rather than a notes plan. Skip Capacities, Anytype, Amplenote, and Roam as a company standard: they fit one researcher, and they do not replace an admin console.
Read the Notion review and the Evernote review for the single-product detail. Profiles for Notion, Obsidian, and Evernote are on Toolradar. For tasks next to the notes, see project management software and daily planner apps.
Cite this: Techpresso, "Best Note-Taking Apps in 2026", October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best note-taking app in 2026?
How much does a note app cost for five people?
Is Notion cheaper than Obsidian?
Which note app is under $50 a year?
What should a Microsoft team use for notes?
Evernote or Notion for one person?
Sources
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing page, re-checked by the Toolradar pricing tracker.
- Notion pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Obsidian pricingchecked Sep 2026
- Capacities pricingchecked Sep 2026
Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.
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