--- title: "9 Best Free Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Ranked)" url: "https://dupple.com/learn/best-free-note-taking-apps" description: "The best free note taking apps for 2026: Notion, Obsidian, NotebookLM, Apple Notes, OneNote, Joplin and more, ranked by what their free tier actually does." published: "2026-06-16" updated: "2026-10-26" llms_txt: "https://dupple.com/llms.txt" --- # The 9 Best Free Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Ranked, No Paywall Tricks) Trusted by 790,000+ Techpresso subscribers · Editorial policy · How we make money Written by Louis Corneloup Founder at Dupple, covering AI tools and strategies for 790K+ readers. How our guides are researched . June 16, 2026 · Updated October 2026 13 min read **Key facts9 tools compared: Notion, Obsidian, Bluedot, NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook), Apple Notes, Google…** - **Updated:** October 26, 2026 - **Prices as of:** June 2026 - 9 tools compared: Notion, Obsidian, Bluedot, NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook), Apple Notes, Google Keep, OneNote, Joplin, Simplenote - Notion (best for: All-rounder, docs + databases): Free; Plus $10/mo billed yearly - Obsidian (best for: Privacy, owning your files): Free; Sync $4/mo - Bluedot (best for: Notes that start as meetings): Free (5 meetings); paid from $14/mo - NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) (best for: Research and reading): Free; more with Google AI plans **Notion** is the best free note-taking app for most people in 2026: its free plan gives a solo user unlimited blocks and full databases, with no trial timer. **Obsidian** is the pick for owning your files, and **NotebookLM** (renamed Gemini Notebook by Google in July 2026) is the best free tool for research. Updated October 2026: prices re-checked on vendor pages, NotebookLM's new name added, and ratings refreshed. **Toolradar data:** of the 210 note-taking tools Toolradar evaluated as of October 2026, 9 of its 10 top picks have a free plan. "Free" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in this category. Half the note apps that call themselves free are really a 14-day trial wearing a costume, and the other half hide the feature you actually wanted behind a $10/month wall the moment you have a second device. So I compared these apps on their pricing pages, documentation, and public user reviews. I cared about one thing above the marketing copy: what does the free tier genuinely let you do before it nags you to pay? ## Quick comparison *Quick comparison: The 9 Best Free Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Ranked, No Paywall Tricks). Last updated October 2026.* | Tool | Best for | Price (Oct 2026) | Standout | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Notion | All-rounder, docs + databases | Free; Plus $10/mo billed yearly | Unlimited blocks solo, real databases | | Obsidian | Privacy, owning your files | Free; Sync $4/mo | Local Markdown, thousands of plugins | | Bluedot | Notes that start as meetings | Free (5 meetings); paid from $14/mo | Bot-free meeting capture with video | | NotebookLM (Gemini Notebook) | Research and reading | Free; more with Google AI plans | Grounded AI answers from your sources | | Apple Notes | Apple users | Free | Fast capture, scanning, Apple Intelligence | | Google Keep | Quick capture, lists | Free | Instant sticky notes, voice memos | | OneNote | Structured notebooks | Free | Freeform canvas, deep cross-platform | | Joplin | Open-source sync | Free; Cloud €2.99/mo | Encrypted, self-hostable sync | | Simplenote | Pure minimalism | Free forever | Zero friction, version history | Prices were read in October 2026 on [Notion pricing](https://www.notion.com/pricing), [Obsidian pricing](https://obsidian.md/pricing), [Joplin Cloud plans](https://joplinapp.org/plans/), [Goodnotes pricing](https://www.goodnotes.com/pricing) and Google's [Gemini Notebook plans page](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16213268). ## What the aggregated ratings show Scores below come from [Toolradar](https://toolradar.com), which aggregates across G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, SourceForge, TrustRadius and PeerSpot rather than quoting one platform. *What the aggregated ratings show: The 9 Best Free Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Ranked, No Paywall Tricks). Last updated October 2026.* | App | Aggregated rating | Reviews | | --- | --- | --- | | Microsoft OneNote | 4.0 | 3,864 | | Joplin | 4.4 | 73 | | Notion | 3.5 | 407 | The other apps have samples too small to rank by: Apple Notes shows 4.1 from 14 reviews, Obsidian 4.5 from 12 and Simplenote 4.2 from 54, because free downloads and bundled apps rarely produce the verified purchases a review directory indexes. Notion's 3.5 breaks down as **2.5 on Trustpilot across 287 reviews, 4.4 on TrustRadius across 85 and 4.1 on PeerSpot across 35**. That two-point spread reflects which population is reviewing rather than the software, and it shows why a single number misleads. OneNote's 4.0 across 3,864 reviews is the largest sample here, and the split explains it: G2 gives 4.5 across 1,852 reviews and Capterra 4.6 across 1,982, while Trustpilot's 1.8 rests on just 30 reviews. The free app bundled with software you already have is often genuinely good rather than merely present. 1 ## Notion: the free tier that doesn't feel free [Notion](https://www.notion.com) is the app I open first, and it earns the top spot because of one detail people miss: a solo user gets **unlimited blocks** on the free plan. No 1,000-block cap, no page limit, no clock counting down. You can build a meeting log, a personal wiki, a reading tracker, and a CRM in one workspace and never hit a wall. **Who it's for:** anyone who wants notes plus structure. If your "notes" tend to grow into systems (linked databases, tagged tasks, a content calendar), nothing else here competes. Verdict The best pick for anyone whose notes grow into systems, thanks to real relational databases and unlimited blocks for a solo user. The free plan caps uploads at 5MB and 7 days of history, and with 2+ members it becomes a teaser. Pricing Free forever for individuals. The [Plus plan](https://www.notion.com/pricing) is **$10** per member/month billed yearly (**$12** billed monthly) if you need a team. Students and educators can use Plus free with a school email. **The standout:** databases. A Notion table is a real relational database with filters, rollups, and views (board, calendar, gallery). That's the feature that turns a notes app into an operating system for your life. **The catch:** the free plan caps file uploads at 5MB each and keeps only 7 days of page history. The bigger limit is collaboration. The moment a workspace has 2+ members, that generous block limit drops and you'll be pushed toward Plus. Notion can also feel heavy if all you wanted was a place to jot a phone number. For a deeper look at where it fits among AI-native options, see our guide to the [best AI note-taking apps](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-note-taking-apps). Our review Visit Notion 2 ## Obsidian: your notes, your files, forever [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) stores every note as a plain Markdown file in a folder on your computer. That sounds boring until the day a startup shuts down and takes your second brain with it. With Obsidian there's no lock-in, because the files are already yours. **Who it's for:** privacy-minded people, writers, and anyone building a long-term knowledge base they intend to keep for a decade. Verdict The choice for privacy-minded people, writers and long-term knowledge builders, since notes are plain Markdown files you own. Linking and plugins are superb, but sync costs **$4/month** and the blank vault demands you build your own structure. Pricing the core app is [free with no limits](https://obsidian.md/pricing). Optional add-ons: Sync at **$4/month** billed annually (**$5** billed monthly) for encrypted cross-device syncing, Publish at **$8/month** per site billed annually to turn notes into a website. Obsidian is also free for commercial use; a commercial license is optional. **The standout:** linked notes and the graph view. You connect ideas with `[[wiki links]]` and watch a map of your thinking form. Pair that with thousands of community plugins and the new Bases feature (lightweight databases over your notes), and it bends to almost any workflow. **The catch:** sync isn't free. You either pay **$4/month** for the official add-on or rig up your own using iCloud, Dropbox, or Git, which is fiddly. There's also a learning curve. Obsidian hands you a blank vault and expects you to build the structure, which is freedom for some people and paralysis for others. If you're using it to wrangle research, our roundup of [AI knowledge management tools](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-knowledge-management-tools) pairs well with it. Visit Obsidian 3 ## Bluedot: when your notes come from meetings [Bluedot](https://www.bluedothq.com/) is a privacy-first AI note-taker that records, transcribes and summarizes online and in-person meetings without sending a bot into your calls. It captures audio and video straight from your device on Chrome, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android and Apple Watch. It is GDPR-compliant, SOC 2 Type II audited, and doesn't use customer data to train its models. **Who it's for:** people whose notes start as conversations, whether client calls or in-person meetings, and who'd rather not type while someone talks. Verdict Bluedot is the odd one out on a free list, because its free plan is really a 5-meeting trial. I still think it earns its spot: nothing else here captures a conversation for you, so it sits well next to your main notes app if most of your notes start in meetings. Pricing Free to start, with the free plan capped at 5 recorded meetings. Paid plans are **$14** (Basic), **$20** (Pro) and **$32** (Business) per user per month, billed annually, and the mobile app lets you try Pro free for 3 days. **The standout:** speakers are labeled automatically, by name in online meetings, and you get a replayable recording rather than just a transcript. Data is stored primarily in Frankfurt. **The catch:** the free plan is a taste, not a home. Five recorded meetings go quickly, and video recording needs Pro. It's also a meeting tool, not a place to jot a to-do or build a wiki, so pair it with one of the apps above. Visit Bluedot 4 ## NotebookLM (now Gemini Notebook): the free research tool I now refuse to give up [NotebookLM](https://notebook.google.com), renamed Gemini Notebook by Google in July 2026, is Google's AI notebook, and it's a different animal from the others here. You upload sources (PDFs, Google Docs, URLs, even YouTube videos), and it answers questions using only those documents. Every claim links back to the exact passage it came from. No hallucinated citations, because it can only quote what you gave it. **Who it's for:** students, analysts, anyone who reads dense material for a living and wants to interrogate it instead of just highlighting it. Verdict A research companion for students and analysts that answers only from your sources, with each claim linked to its passage. It is not a daily note app and is tied to a Google account, so use it alongside another app. Pricing genuinely free. The [free tier gives you](https://support.google.com/notebooklm/answer/16213268) 100 notebooks, 50 sources per notebook, and a daily quota of chats and Audio Overviews (the feature that turns your sources into a podcast-style conversation). Google AI Plus raises that to 200 notebooks and 100 sources per notebook, and Google AI Pro to 500 and 300. **The standout:** Audio Overviews. Feed it three research papers and get a 10-minute audio summary you can listen to on a walk. It still feels like magic. Mind maps, video overviews, and flashcard generation round it out. **The catch:** it's a research companion, not a daily note app. You can't jot a quick to-do or build a wiki here. And it's tied to a Google account, so privacy-first users will balk. It also fits neatly with the broader [AI research tools](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-research-tools) we cover separately. If you're stitching several of these AI tools into one workflow, [Dupple X](https://dupple.com/dupple-x) bundles premium access to the heavy hitters so you're not juggling six logins. Visit NotebookLM 5 ## Apple Notes: the default that quietly got great If you live on a Mac and iPhone, [Apple Notes](https://www.icloud.com/notes) is probably the right answer and you don't even have to install anything. **Who it's for:** people fully inside Apple's ecosystem who value speed over flexibility. Verdict The right answer if you live entirely in Apple's ecosystem and value speed over flexibility, with instant capture and a built-in scanner. It only works in Apple's world and organization is shallow, so it is a notebook, not a knowledge system. Pricing free, included with any Apple ID. **The standout:** capture speed and document scanning. Swipe on the lock screen and you're writing in under a second. The built-in scanner turns a paper receipt into a clean PDF. **The catch:** it only works in Apple's world. There's a barebones web version at iCloud.com, but no Android app and no Windows app worth using. Organization is also shallow. You get folders and tags, but nothing close to Notion's databases or Obsidian's linking. It's a great notebook, not a knowledge system. Visit Apple Notes 6 ## Google Keep: the fastest place to dump a thought [Google Keep](https://keep.google.com) is the digital equivalent of a pad of sticky notes. It doesn't try to be your knowledge base. It tries to capture a thought before you lose it, and at that one job it's the best on this list. **Who it's for:** quick-capture people. Shopping lists, a phone number, a half-idea you'll flesh out later. Verdict The fastest place to dump a thought, ideal for quick-capture people with shopping lists, phone numbers and half-ideas. It has almost no depth, and Keep is a brilliant inbox but a terrible place to store anything you need to find in a year. Pricing free with any Google account. Keep is part of your Google account, with nothing extra to install. **The standout:** instant capture in every format. Type, dictate a voice memo that auto-transcribes, snap a photo, draw, or make a checkbox list. Color-coded cards and labels keep the chaos manageable,. **The catch:** it has almost no depth. No notebooks, no nested structure, no rich formatting beyond bold-free bullet lists. Visit Google Keep 7 ## Microsoft OneNote: the freeform notebook that does everything [OneNote](https://www.onenote.com) is the most flexible canvas here. You're not stuck typing in a top-to-bottom document. You can click anywhere on the page and start writing, drop an image beside it, scribble with a stylus, and embed a spreadsheet. It mimics a physical binder: notebooks, sections, pages. **Who it's for:** students, researchers, and anyone who thinks in messy spatial layouts rather than tidy linear lists. Verdict The most flexible canvas here, for students and researchers who think in messy spatial layouts, with excellent handwriting and searchable OCR. Sync is tied to OneDrive with a 5GB free cap, and the freeform freedom needs structure you impose. Pricing free with a Microsoft account, and it's truly cross-platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and web all get a real app, not a stub. **The standout:** the infinite freeform canvas plus handwriting. Combined with a tablet and stylus, OneNote is one of the best digital handwriting experiences you can get for **$0,** with OCR that makes your scrawl searchable. **The catch:** sync runs through OneDrive, so you're tied to Microsoft's cloud and its 5GB free storage cap (notes are small, but attachments add up). The interface is also cluttered compared to the minimalists below, and the freeform freedom can turn into a disorganized mess if you don't impose your own structure. For meeting-heavy workflows, pair it with one of the [AI meeting assistants](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-meeting-assistants) that auto-capture the call. Visit Microsoft OneNote 8 ## Joplin: open-source notes you actually control [Joplin](https://joplinapp.org) is what you reach for when you want Obsidian's "own your data" philosophy but with sync built in and a friendlier on-ramp. It's fully open source, stores notes in Markdown, and runs everywhere. **Who it's for:** the privacy-conscious and the tinkerers. People who'd rather self-host than trust a startup's roadmap. Verdict Pick Joplin if you want Obsidian's own-your-data philosophy with sync built in. It offers end-to-end encryption and self-hostable sync, with Joplin Cloud at €2.99/month, but the interface looks built by developers and the free sync setup takes patience. Pricing the app is free on every platform. Sync is the choice point: use Joplin Cloud at €2.99/month (priced in euros, €2.40 a month billed yearly) for the easy path, or wire up your own sync through Dropbox, OneDrive, or a Nextcloud server for free. **The standout:** end-to-end encryption plus self-hostable sync. Your notes can live entirely on infrastructure you control, encrypted, with a healthy plugin ecosystem on top. For sensitive work notes, that's hard to beat at this price. **The catch:** the interface looks like a developer built it for developers, because one did. It's functional, not pretty, and the free sync setup takes patience. Visit Joplin 9 ## Simplenote: when you want nothing but the writing [Simplenote](https://simplenote.com) is the antidote to feature bloat. It's notes, tags, and search. That's the whole app, and that restraint is the point. Made by Automattic (the WordPress company). **Who it's for:** minimalists and fast typists who find Notion exhausting and just want a clean text box that syncs. Verdict The antidote to feature bloat for minimalists and fast typists: notes, tags and search, free forever, with full version history. There are no images, attachments or folders, so it is a brilliant scratchpad and nothing more. Pricing free forever, no tiers, no upsell. **The standout:** speed and version history. It opens instantly, syncs across every platform without thinking about it, and keeps a full history of every note so you can scrub back to an earlier draft. Markdown is supported if you want light formatting. **The catch:** there's almost nothing to it. No images, no attachments, no folders, no rich media. If you ever need to paste a screenshot or build a table, you'll outgrow it immediately. Visit Simplenote ## How to choose in under a minute Skip the feature-matrix paralysis. Answer these in order: - **Do you want your notes to grow into systems (wikis, databases, trackers)?** Go Notion. It's the best free all-rounder and the only one whose free tier won't fight you as a solo user. - **Do you care about owning your files forever, no company in between?** Go Obsidian (local Markdown) or Joplin (if you want built-in encrypted sync). - **Is your real problem reading and research, not jotting?** Go NotebookLM, on top of whichever daily app you pick. - **Are you all-in on one ecosystem?** Apple users default to Apple Notes; Microsoft users to OneNote. Both are free and already installed. - **Do you just need to capture a thought before it evaporates?** Go Google Keep or Simplenote. Lower power, zero friction. Most people would be served fine by whatever is already on their phone. If the job is wrangling AI tools and research into one place, the [Dupple X](https://dupple.com/dupple-x) bundle and our list of [AI tools for productivity](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-tools-for-productivity) are the next stops. ## FAQ **What is the best free note-taking app overall in 2026?** For most people it's Notion, because the free plan gives a single user unlimited blocks plus full database features with no trial timer. If owning your files matters more than features, Obsidian wins. If your main need is research, NotebookLM is the strongest free option. **Is Notion really free, or is it a trial?** Notion's free plan is permanently free for individuals, not a trial. A solo user gets unlimited pages and blocks. The real limits are a 5MB cap on file uploads, 7 days of page history, and reduced block allowances once a workspace has multiple members. **Which free note app is best for privacy?** Obsidian and Joplin lead on privacy. Both store notes as Markdown files you control rather than on a company's servers. Obsidian is local-first by default, and Joplin offers end-to-end encryption with self-hostable sync. **What's the best free note app that works on both iPhone and Android?** OneNote, Joplin, Simplenote, and Notion all have real apps on both platforms plus the web. Apple Notes and Google Keep are tied to their ecosystems (Keep has a web version but no native iOS depth). For a consistent cross-platform experience, OneNote and Notion are the strongest free picks. **Can a free note-taking app do AI features?** Yes. NotebookLM is a fully free AI research notebook from Google. Notion includes a trial of its AI on the free plan, and Apple Notes uses Apple Intelligence for summaries. For dedicated AI options, see our guide to the [best AI note-taking apps](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-note-taking-apps). **Is GoodNotes free, and is OneNote or GoodNotes better?** GoodNotes' free plan stops at 3 files, a 5MB import size and 20 minutes of audio recording; Essential is $11.99 billed yearly and Pro $35.99 billed yearly. OneNote is free with a Microsoft account, so on the free tier alone it is the better pick. **What app is replacing OneNote?** None: OneNote continues. Microsoft ended support for the older OneNote for Windows 10 app on October 14, 2025, and calls OneNote on Windows the primary and supported way to take notes on a PC. It is free to use. **What is the best free note app for students, iPad or Android?** Students get the most from Notion, whose Plus plan is free for students and educators with a school email. OneNote is free on iPad, Android and Windows, and Apple Notes is already on every iPad. **Do I need to pay for note-app sync?** Not always. Notion, Google Keep, Apple Notes, OneNote, and Simplenote all sync across devices for free. Obsidian charges $4/month (billed annually) for official Sync (or you can DIY it with iCloud or Git), and Joplin charges €2.99/month for its hosted sync (or self-host for free). Sync is the most common feature that pushes free apps toward paid tiers. ## Related guides - [The Best Note-Taking Apps in 2026 (Compared)](https://dupple.com/learn/best-note-taking-apps) - [The 11 Best AI Note-Taking Apps in 2026](https://dupple.com/learn/best-ai-note-taking-apps) - [Best Free AI Note-Taking Apps in 2026](https://dupple.com/learn/best-free-ai-note-taking-apps) - [Browse the best productivity tools](https://dupple.com/category/productivity) Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links. Dupple pricing data · Productivity 47 tools we price $14 median per month $8 to $20 middle half $1.50 to $990 full range Across our whole catalogue the median is $23.50 a month and 37% of tools advertise a free tier. Figures are the lowest recurring monthly price quoted in our own review of each tool, read on 2026-10-23. [Full method and every category](https://dupple.com/learn/saas-pricing-index). Tools mentioned in this guide Notion → Related Articles Blog Post ### The 8 Best AI Notetakers for Meeting Notes in 2026 AI notetaker pick for 2026: Granola is #1 at $14 per user a month billed monthly, with a free plan. Fathom, Fireflies, Otter and more compared on price. Blog Post ### 12 Best AI Tools for Product Managers in 2026 (Compared and Ranked) The 12 best AI tools for product managers in 2026: ChatGPT, Claude, Notion AI, Linear, Productboard, Granola, Maze, Dovetail, Lovable, with real pricing. 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