Android

Great list! I've tested almost all of these.

Some questions I think need addressing: How are notes/notebooks stored/synchronized with these apps? Are the files encrypted? Do they have Android/Windows/Linux/iOS versions? Do they have self-hostable versions?

OneNote is really hard to beat. It is in fact my "killer app" that is keeping me from moving to Linux for my personal computer. So I tend to use it as a comparison for note apps. It's major downside is your data isn't encrypted, and I really don't trust Microsoft. If you keep your notebooks local and don't use Onedrive, you can sync between PCs, but not Android or iOS.

After several years of testing, Joplin is the best candidate/competitor to OneNote in the open-source, self-host category for me, since it does pretty much everything OneNote does, including having an iOS client, and (IIRC) a web-enabled interface.

Looking at your list, Wenote seems to be Google Keep-like, but all data is local (that's good! Your data isn't on someone else's server). Any idea how to keep that data backed up/synchronized somewhere?

Standard Notes is probably the best of the web-hosted note apps. It has a lot of features/capability, your notes are E2E encrypted, it's an open-source app (meaning the code is auditable), and IIRC, they have multiple clients. My only concern is sync is dependent on their infrastructure, so what happens if they shut down (as often happens)? I don't remember them offering a self-host option, though they may have it today.

Bundled is another Keep-like app. With these types of apps, organization is really challenging (and using tagging/search doesn't really fix that). It has a lot of interesting features that some people may find useful (like a Kanban board, neat!). I don't believe your data is encrypted (it's been a bit since I tested it), so I'd tend to shy away. Data security is important.

Notally is also a keep-type app. All data is device-only (👍), no sync available that I know of, so your data is at risk if you lose/break your phone.

Obsidian is another open-source notebook app that is fully encrypted and self-hostable. It supports markdown (great for people who are familiar with it, and easy to learn). There are clients for Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. You can use their servers if you want, or self-host. It and Joplin are being actively developed.

Notesnook is a really great note taking app. It's opensource, and cross platform available.

Joplin is my daily driver. Although the interface isn't nearly as polished as the others, it's feature-packed and the fact that you can E2E encrypt means you are essentially free to use any cloud provider to sync. Safe to store sensitive personal info as well. Been running solid for 2+ years.

Logseq is FOSS and easily one of the best notetaking apps out there. It's got whiteboards, interlinking at the block level, a big ecosystem of extensions and multiple panes so you can derive context as you write.

It's my choice for the majority of writing I do in my day to day and hasn't let me down once. My only wish list feature is multiplayer but that's coming soon.

I use Joplin and really like it. I sync it between my devices using nextcloud on my home server, but it seems like there are quite a few other options for syncing.

I used OneNote all thru grad school and while I had complaints with the app, the ability to have notes on my surface that updated on my phone and desktop, accessible anywhere, without tons of notebooks and paper, and the PowerPoints included in the one note pages with my diagrams and notes alongside... It was great! I don't need a notes app anymore but man what a useful concept. I hope they get better with time

I just use an empty WhatsApp group 🙃

An addition to the list in case you are still looking. Logseq with syncthing. Fully off the cloud.

That's okay, my phone keep pre-installed with a notes app

D-Notes is what works best for me. It's more or less the default google keep app on steroids.

markdown is a little too much overhead for note keeping on a phone IMO

I use noteshelf on my tablet for quick n' dirty notes, and then I write them down on obsidian so they're tidy.

Hey, thanks for the write up. This comment doesn't add to the conversation but I felt like this post deserved more than just an upvote.

Where does one note stack up against the options suggested here?

Signal's "Note to Self".

What are all you people taking notes about? Is everyone here still in school? Why not just remember things?