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What’s the best note-taking app currently out there?

Looking for a note-taking app, preferably that I could use straight from a browser. I’m currently using Standard Notes. Not sure if that one is any good, but E2EE and open-source which at least checks those boxes. I don’t store anything too sensitive and I don’t need a whole bunch of features, though I suppose I’d use them if they were available.

I’m honestly not too picky but maybe discussion here could help someone else out who may be looking for the same thing with higher expectations? I’ll switch over to a better option if there’s something considerably better.

Thanks in advance

55 comments
  • I kind of love note taking apps so I can rundown a few:

    • Logseq (FOSS, can technically run in a browser but it’s very limited and literally called “demo”)
    • Obsidian (not FOSS but local md first, very mature and a huge community)
    • Joplin (FOSS and probably general go-to for cross-platform open source notes in general but is a bit of a memory hog)
    • StandardNotes (you already described this one)
    • notesnook (very new offering probably most similar to SN but I don’t know)
    • AnyType (also very new and striving for more of a Notion-like experience but I think still needs time to mature)

    I use Logseq most often, although I prefer Joplin on mobile. Obsidian and Logseq are more “personal knowledge management” and may be overkill for simple note-taking, plus I feel they are a little bloated on mobile. Honestly not sure which ones work in a browser, but I agree that’s a feature I’d like more of. All of these though I believe are cross-platform so should be usable on mobile or desktop.

  • I personally use Notesnook. It's E2E, Open Soure and Cross Platform.

  • idk maybe notesnook?

    • Just checked it out, seems solid. I’m going to use a few for a bit and see which I like best, but that one seems to be a pretty good choice. Thanks for the recommendation

  • I enjoy notesnook. Free, Foss, e2ee, with cloud sync. Available on izzyondroid and fdroid.

  • Notesnook for sure. I really disliked Joplin. Particularly the Android app. Just really poorly designed.

    Acreom promise but it's new enough they don't have E2EE or even local only on mobile. Both are on the road map. Dev seems engaged and cool though.

    Edit: I didn't see the open source req, acreom isn't. But it's still a cool app. And I'd they can get local only on mobile, then you can sync however you want as it's just flat Markdown, similar to Obsidian.

  • You're putting yourself in a tough position by asking for both E2EE and the ability to use from a browser. You have to trust the web app each time you open the page, and hope that they haven't altered the deal to simply grab your data after it's been decrypted by your password. I have no idea how likely it is that Standard Notes would do that but I'd reconsider the browser requirement specifically if E2EE is non-negotiable for you - an offline open source client program would be a much stronger position.

    For my money, I use local text files and SyncThing but it's probably not spiffy enough for many people/purposes.

    • Fair enough. I’m fairly new to caring about my online privacy so I’m still learning. Browser was more of just a preference since I don’t like having an app for everything I use, but if that’s the better way to go for something like this then that’s fine. I like the idea of everything stored locally, but at the same time I like the convenience of having access on my pc and phone. And as I said I don’t store anything secure in notes. If I did need something secure in notes I could use Bitwarden for that I suppose. I appreciate your reply, it’s how folks like me learn. Thank you for your time writing it out

55 comments