The Best Standard Notes Alternative in 2026 (Honest Picks)
If you want a Standard Notes alternative in 2026, the best all-round pick is Notesnook: it keeps the zero-knowledge, end-to-end encrypted model you chose Standard Notes for, but adds rich text editing on the free tier and costs less when you upgrade. Standard Notes is still a solid, privacy-first app, but two things push people to look elsewhere. First, it is now a Proton subsidiary after Proton AG acquired it on April 10, 2024, which matters if you would rather not consolidate more of your data under one owner. Second, its free plan is deliberately basic. Below I compare the best apps like Standard Notes by the one thing you actually care about: how much privacy each one preserves, and what it costs.
Why people leave Standard Notes
Most people leave Standard Notes for one of three reasons: the free tier is too limited (rich text and advanced editors are paywalled), the paid plan feels expensive, or they do not want another app under Proton after the 2024 acquisition. A good alternative fixes at least one of these without giving up encryption.
Standard Notes was built around end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and a minimalist, distraction-free design, and it has promoted multiple independent security audits. That is a genuinely good foundation, and if it works for you, there is no urgent reason to switch.
The friction shows up on the free plan. It is plain text by design, and rich text plus the advanced editors sit behind the paid tier. One reviewer switched away specifically because "the free plan of Standard Notes didn't include this basic feature," meaning rich text editing, per It's FOSS. The paid Professional plan was cited at roughly $84 per year in that 2023 review. Standard Notes' pricing page blocks automated checks, so treat that number as a rough guide and confirm the live figure on standardnotes.com/plans before you decide; budget around $80 to $90 per year.
The other factor is ownership. Since the Proton acquisition, Standard Notes sits alongside SimpleLogin, and Proton launched Proton Docs "in collaboration with the Standard Notes team" in July 2024. If you are consolidating under Proton anyway, that is fine. If you would rather spread your trust across different owners, that alone is a reasonable push toward an alternative.
Standard Notes alternatives compared (2026 pricing)
Notesnook is the closest like-for-like swap (open source and E2EE with a usable free tier). Joplin is the best self-hostable option. Obsidian is the best free, local-first choice. Ainotely is the only AI-first pick here, and it is not end-to-end encrypted.
Every price below links to its source. Notesnook, Joplin and Obsidian all support end-to-end encryption in some form; Ainotely does not, and I have flagged that plainly.
| App | Model | Free tier | Paid (cheapest) | E2EE? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Notes | Account-based E2EE | Plain text only | ~$80 to $90/yr (verify) | Yes |
| Notesnook | Open source, account E2EE | Rich text, 50MB/mo, 50 notebooks | $22.99/yr (Essential) | Yes |
| Joplin | Open source, markdown, self-host | Full app free (optional sync) | Cloud €2.99/mo (Basic) | Yes |
| Obsidian | Local-first markdown | Full app, no limits | Sync $4/mo (annual) | Yes (with Sync) |
| Ainotely | Cloud AI | Free AI note app | Free | No |
1. Notesnook: the closest match to Standard Notes
Notesnook is the best Standard Notes alternative for most people. It is 100% open source, end-to-end encrypted, and gives you the same level of privacy on free and paid. Unlike Standard Notes, rich text editing is available on the free plan.
If you chose Standard Notes for zero-knowledge encryption, Notesnook is the swap that changes the least about your threat model. The client apps are open source, the sync server is self-hostable, and notes are encrypted at rest and in transit. Notesnook is explicit that "free or pro, you get the same level of privacy," which is exactly the guarantee a privacy-first user wants.
The free plan is genuinely usable: $0, with rich text editing, 50MB of monthly storage, a 10MB max file size, 50 notebooks, 50 tags, and 100 note versions. That directly fills the gap that pushed the It's FOSS reviewer off Standard Notes.
Paid pricing from the Notesnook pricing page: Essential is $2.29/mo or $1.92/mo billed at $22.99/yr (1GB monthly storage, 100MB files, app lock). Pro is $8.04/mo or $4.79/mo billed at $57.49/yr (10GB monthly storage, 1GB files, unlimited notebooks, tags and versions). Believer is $10.34/mo or $8.62/mo billed at $103.49/yr (25GB monthly storage). Paid tiers include a 14-day money-back guarantee. A quick warning: older reviews list stale figures (one 2023 piece says roughly $12/yr, another says $49.99/yr), so use the current pricing page, not blog memory. I go deeper in my Notesnook review.
2. Joplin: open source, markdown, self-hostable
Joplin is the best choice if you want a free, open-source app you can fully self-host. The app supports end-to-end encryption and self-hosting with no subscription, and Joplin Cloud is an optional paid sync layer.
Joplin is markdown-based and appeals to people who want control. The app itself is free and open source, supports E2EE, and can sync through your own infrastructure with no ongoing fee. If you are comfortable pointing it at your own storage, you can run it end to end at zero cost.
If you would rather not self-host, Joplin Cloud handles sync. Pricing is in euros on the Joplin plans page: Basic €2.99/mo (€2.40/mo billed yearly) with 2GB and 10MB per note, Pro €5.99/mo (€4.79/mo yearly) with 30GB and 200MB per note, and a Teams plan at €7.99/user/mo (€6.69 yearly, minimum two users).
The tradeoff is polish. Joplin is more utilitarian than Standard Notes or Notesnook, and the mobile editing experience asks more of you. If that friction outweighs the flexibility for you, my Joplin alternatives guide covers who should pick something else.
3. Obsidian: free and local-first
Obsidian is the best free Standard Notes alternative if you are happy to keep notes on your own devices. The core app is free with no limits and no sign-up, and your data stays local unless you buy the optional Sync add-on.
Obsidian uses a different privacy model from Standard Notes, and understanding that difference is the whole decision. Standard Notes gives you account-based E2EE sync out of the box. Obsidian is local-first: your notes are plain markdown files stored on your device, inaccessible to Obsidian itself because they never leave your machine by default. The core app is free without limits and needs no account.
Sync across devices is a paid add-on. Obsidian Sync is $4/mo (annual) or $5/mo (monthly) and adds AES-256 end-to-end encryption, version history and shared vaults. Publish is $8/mo per site. A commercial license is $50/user/year. Worth noting: Obsidian is 100% user-supported with no investors, which some privacy-minded users prefer over a venture-backed owner.
The catch for a Standard Notes user: without buying Sync, you are managing files and cross-device syncing yourself. That is more setup than SN's turnkey encrypted sync. If the plugin-heavy, power-user surface feels like overkill, see my Obsidian alternatives breakdown.
Want your notes organized for you instead of by hand? Ainotely auto-tags, summarizes and lets you ask questions across everything you have written. It is free, but read the honest privacy note below first.
Try Ainotely free4. Ainotely: the AI pick (not for privacy purists)
Ainotely is a free AI second-brain app that auto-tags, summarizes, and answers questions across your notes. Be clear on the tradeoff: Ainotely uses cloud AI and is not end-to-end encrypted or zero-knowledge. If E2EE is your top priority, skip it and choose Notesnook.
I build Ainotely, so I will be straight with you, because pretending otherwise would defeat the point of this guide. If you came to this page because you value Standard Notes' zero-knowledge encryption, Ainotely is not a like-for-like replacement. It runs cloud AI over your notes, which means it is not end-to-end encrypted and not zero-knowledge. On the encryption question, Notesnook, Joplin and Obsidian all beat it.
What Ainotely trades that privacy model for is organization you do not have to do. It auto-tags notes, writes summaries, and lets you ask questions across everything you have saved, which is the kind of thing an encrypted, minimalist app deliberately cannot do because it cannot read your content. If your actual bottleneck is "I have hundreds of notes and can never find anything," an AI second brain app solves a different problem than Standard Notes ever tried to.
So the honest recommendation: choose Ainotely only if you rank AI organizing above zero-knowledge privacy. If you want both, you cannot have them in one app today, and you should pick encryption. For a wider look at the AI category, see my best AI note-taking app comparison.
How to choose your Standard Notes alternative
Pick Notesnook for a near-identical encrypted swap with a better free tier. Pick Joplin to self-host. Pick Obsidian for a free local-first vault. Pick Ainotely only if AI features matter more to you than encryption.
Match the pick to your reason for leaving:
- You want the same privacy but a richer free tier or cheaper upgrade: Notesnook. It is the closest thing to Standard Notes with the paywall removed from rich text.
- You want to own your infrastructure: Joplin, self-hosted and free, or Joplin Cloud from €2.99/mo.
- You want zero cost and are fine keeping notes local: Obsidian, with Sync at $4/mo only if you need encrypted cross-device sync.
- You are switching from Evernote-style clutter and want AI to organize it: see my Evernote alternative guide, and consider Ainotely if you accept the no-E2EE tradeoff.
For most readers leaving Standard Notes, Notesnook is the safe, honest answer: it preserves the encryption you signed up for and removes the limitation that likely sent you looking. Everything else on this list is about a specific tradeoff you are consciously choosing to make.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Standard Notes alternative in 2026?
Notesnook is the best all-round Standard Notes alternative for most people. It is 100% open source, end-to-end encrypted, and offers the same level of privacy on free and paid tiers, while adding rich text editing to the free plan (something Standard Notes paywalls). Its cheapest paid tier, Essential, is $22.99/yr per the Notesnook pricing page.
Is Notesnook more private than Standard Notes?
They use a similar model. Both are account-based and end-to-end encrypted, and both have security-focused reputations. Notesnook is 100% open source with a self-hostable sync server, and it applies the same encryption on free and paid plans. For a privacy-first Standard Notes user, Notesnook is the closest like-for-like swap.
Is there a free alternative to Standard Notes?
Yes. Obsidian's core app is free with no limits and no sign-up, storing notes locally on your device. Notesnook and Joplin also have capable free tiers, and Joplin's full open-source app is free including optional self-hosted encrypted sync. Ainotely is free too, but it is not end-to-end encrypted.
Why did Standard Notes get acquired by Proton?
Proton AG acquired Standard Notes on April 10, 2024, making it a Proton subsidiary alongside SimpleLogin, according to Wikipedia. In July 2024, Proton launched Proton Docs in collaboration with the Standard Notes team. The app remains end-to-end encrypted, but some users prefer an alternative not owned by Proton.
How much does Standard Notes cost?
A 2023 review cited the paid Professional plan at roughly $84/year, but Standard Notes' pricing page blocks automated checks, so that figure may be stale. Budget around $80 to $90 per year and confirm the current price directly on standardnotes.com/plans before subscribing. The free plan is limited to plain text.
Which Standard Notes alternative has AI features?
Ainotely is the AI-first option, with auto-tagging, note summaries, and the ability to ask questions across all your notes. The important caveat is that Ainotely uses cloud AI and is not end-to-end encrypted or zero-knowledge. If encryption is your priority, choose Notesnook, Joplin, or Obsidian instead.
Can I self-host a Standard Notes alternative?
Yes. Joplin is open source and fully self-hostable with end-to-end encryption and no subscription required. Notesnook also offers a self-hostable sync server. Both let you keep sync on your own infrastructure, which appeals to users who want maximum control over where their encrypted notes live.