# Evernote alternatives: where to take your notes, and how > Leaving Evernote: Joplin, Obsidian, Notesnook, Standard Notes and nTilia compared, with how each imports your ENEX notes and its limits. Canonical: https://ntilia.com/en/alternatives/evernote Updated: 2026-09-27 ## The short answer Since Evernote’s free plan was limited to 50 notes and one notebook, many are leaving. To bring everything over in one go: Joplin (free, open source) or Obsidian (free, Markdown files on disk). For end-to-end encrypted notes: Notesnook or Standard Notes. For field work (interviews transcribed on the device, Travel Mode, a published journal): nTilia, which imports Markdown rather than Evernote files directly. ## Why leave Evernote Evernote is still complete: web clipping, search inside images and PDFs, tasks, calendar. But the free plan is limited to 50 notes, one notebook and one synced device, and paid plans cost $99 (Starter) or $249.99 (Advanced) a year. Notes live in Evernote’s cloud, without end-to-end encryption. > **First step, whatever the tool** — In Evernote for desktop, export each notebook as ENEX (.enex). That is the file the import tools below read. ## The five alternatives at a glance - Joplin: free and open source, end-to-end encrypted sync, built-in ENEX import. - Obsidian: free, Markdown files on your disk, Evernote import through the official Importer plugin. - Notesnook: open source, end-to-end encrypted, imports from Evernote; from €1.76/mo for more storage. - Standard Notes: end-to-end encrypted, owned by Proton; ENEX import, but without attachments. - nTilia: offline field notes, on-device transcription, published journal; Markdown import. ## Joplin: the closest to Evernote Joplin feels like Evernote: notebooks, tags, web clipping, apps on every system. Its ENEX import brings over notes, tags, attachments and metadata (author, location); text is converted to Markdown, and complex formatting can be imported as HTML. - Pros: free, open source, end-to-end encrypted sync (Joplin Cloud from €2.99/mo, or Dropbox, OneDrive…). - Cons: plainer interface; Evernote colors and fonts are lost when importing as Markdown. ## Obsidian: your notes as files Obsidian keeps each note as a Markdown file on your disk. The official Importer plugin converts .enex files, puts attachments next to the notes and recreates notebook stacks as folders. - Pros: free, even for work; links between notes, graph view, thousands of plugins. - Cons: sync is paid (Obsidian Sync from $4/mo billed yearly) or up to you; files are unencrypted on disk. ## Notesnook: private and affordable Notesnook end-to-end encrypts everything, publishes its code (apps and server) and imports straight from Evernote. A second-password vault, app lock and web clipper are included. - Pros: encryption, open source, low prices (Essential from €1.76/mo billed yearly). - Cons: free plan limited to 50 MB of uploads a month; no audio transcription. ## Standard Notes: security first Standard Notes, owned by Proton, end-to-end encrypts notes from the free plan and has been audited. Its import tool reads ENEX files. - Pros: security reputation, apps on every system. - Cons: the import leaves attachments behind and skips notes over 3 MB; plain text on Free, Markdown from $90/yr. ## nTilia: if your notes come from the field nTilia is not another Evernote: it is a notes app for reporting and field research. Missions per trip, photo, audio and place inside the note, on-device Whisper transcription, Travel Mode before a checkpoint, a journal published in French and English. - Pros: everything works offline; interviews transcribed without sending the audio; a bilingual citable journal and a Zenodo deposit with a DOI (Pro), which no other alternative on this list offers. - Cons: no direct ENEX import — convert your .enex files to Markdown with Joplin or Obsidian’s Importer first, then import the .md files; no web clipper; sync not end-to-end encrypted, so the published journal stays readable (the vault encrypts what stays on the device). ## How to choose 1. **You want to keep everything as is** — Joplin, whose ENEX import keeps attachments and metadata. 2. **Your notes are confidential** — Notesnook or Standard Notes, end-to-end encrypted; nTilia if the threat is a search of your phone. 3. **You want files you own** — Obsidian, or nTilia, which exports each Mission as a ZIP of Markdown files. 4. **You work in the field** — nTilia, to record, transcribe and publish in one place. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best free Evernote alternative? Joplin and Obsidian are free with no note limit. Joplin is the closest to Evernote; Obsidian keeps your notes as Markdown files on disk. ### How do I export my Evernote notes? In Evernote for desktop, export each notebook as ENEX. Joplin, Obsidian, Notesnook and Standard Notes can read that file. ### Can I import Evernote into nTilia? Not directly. Convert your .enex files to Markdown with Joplin or Obsidian’s Importer, then import the .md files into nTilia. ### Which Evernote alternative encrypts notes? Notesnook, Standard Notes and Joplin end-to-end encrypt sync. Evernote does not. Neither does nTilia, by choice: an article published in its journal has to be readable; what you don’t publish can stay on the phone, encrypted by the vault. ## Go further - [Comparison: nTilia or Evernote](https://ntilia.com/en/compare/evernote) - [Comparison: nTilia or Joplin](https://ntilia.com/en/compare/joplin) - [Comparison: nTilia or Notesnook](https://ntilia.com/en/compare/notesnook) - [Guide: take notes without a network](https://ntilia.com/en/guides/take-notes-without-a-network) ## Sources, checked on September 27, 2026 - [Evernote — Compare plans](https://evernote.com/compare-plans) - [Evernote Help — Free and Starter plan limits](https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/23565231682323-Understanding-Evernote-Free-and-Starter-plans-limits-note-and-notebook-limits-explained) - [Evernote Help — Export notes and notebooks as ENEX or HTML](https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209005557-Export-Notes-and-Notebooks-as-ENEX-or-HTML) - [Joplin — Importing and exporting](https://joplinapp.org/help/apps/import_export/) - [Obsidian Help — Import from Evernote](https://obsidian.md/help/import/evernote) - [Notesnook Help — Import notes from Evernote](https://help.notesnook.com/importing-notes/import-notes-from-evernote) - [Standard Notes — How can I import my notes from Evernote?](https://standardnotes.com/help/10/how-can-i-import-my-notes-from-evernote)