Over the years, Apple’s default Notes application for the iPhone, the iPad, and the Mac has evolved considerably. What was once a rather bare-bones note-taking experience has grown into a powerful service for jotting down ideas, scribbling reminders, and keeping track of to-dos, event plans, and much more.

Even with several years of updates under its belt, however, Apple Notes remains far from perfect. With its focus on offering a streamlined user interface, it lacks some of the more advanced features that third-party note-taking apps have enjoyed for years by this point. It also suffers from being tethered directly to the Apple ecosystem — you can’t download Apple Notes for Android or Windows, and viewing saved iCloud notes via a web browser can be a hassle.

There’s a massive selection of third-party notes applications available for the iPhone, many of which offer cross-platform compatibility and power-user features that far exceed the scope of Apple Notes. Common alternatives include Microsoft OneNote, Google Keep, Evernote, Obsidian, and Notability, but these are far from the only players worth considering for all your note-taking needs.

Here are five lesser-known alternatives to Apple Notes that offer the perfect balance between simplicity, usability, practicality, and power-user potential.

Napkin Ideas

Your thoughts living in visual harmony

Napkin Ideas is a beautifully-crafted note-taking application for the iPhone that focuses on facilitating moments of reflection. You can either manually type in ideas, quotes, or passages of text, or scan them directly using your camera. Once entered, these notes are automatically connected to one another based on thematic relation using a personalized AI system. Napkin is an indie project, and it currently requires a subscription to get started with. Thankfully, there are no ads or other distractive elements littered throughout the interface, and the tranquil tone of the app is ideal for introducing digital mindfulness into day-to-day life.

Bear

Journal and markdown the organized way

Bear is a slick markdown and note-taking app that aims to provide an organized environment for all your written thoughts to reside in. Whether it’s journaling, list creation, idea sketching, or table building, Bear makes the process simple without sacrificing on features. The app is packed with utilities like formatting tools, organizational tags, themes, and more, and it plugs into the Apple ecosystem with support for Spotlight Search, Apple Pencil and Apple Watch compatibility, Siri and Shortcuts integration, and Face ID / Touch ID note locking. Bear is available in one of several subscription plan options, including both monthly and yearly options. A free mode is also available that offers the basics to get started with.

Craft

A creative free flow at the tip of your fingers

OS

iOS, macOS, iPadOS, Web

CPU

N/A

Memory

N/A

What’s included?

N/A

Professional monitoring

N/A

Compatibility

iOS 17.0 or later, iPadOS 17.0 or later, macOS 12.0 or later

Craft is a powerful iPhone app designed with optimizing creativity and productivity in mind. The app is filled with options for creating structured documents, managing tasks, and organizing information. It works entirely offline, with instant syncing across iDevices the moment you’re connected to the internet once again. Other notable additions include a built-in AI research assistant, a version history tool, and an attractive user interface that manages to maintain a clean aesthetic while retaining quick access to powerful writing tools. Craft offers a free Starter plan with all its core features intact, and a premium version is available via a recurring subscription fee, with various renewal options available to choose from.

Anytype

Type anything and everything your heart desires

Anytype is more than just a note-taking application — it’s a flexible digital workspace for organizing notes, tasks, bookmarks, files and even conversations. With a focus on privacy through end-to-end encryption, Anytype is perfect for creating memos, lists, and even full-blown documents. It offers collaborative features for working with colleagues, using a peer-to-peer syncing system that allows you to add content while offline. The app is free to get started with, and it includes an optional paid subscription version that adds in additional features and capabilities.

Joplin

Free and open-source note-taking at its best

Joplin is a free and open-source (FOSS) alternative to Apple Notes that gets the fundamentals right. Both typed and handwritten notes are supported here, in addition to a speech-to-text option for added accessibility. The app’s notebook paradigm makes organization easy, and its privacy-first mantra is ideal for storing sensitive notes and information. Joplin can synchronize via a dedicated Joplin Cloud service, with options for Dropbox and OneDrive also available. Notes are fully accessible while offline, and a supplementary desktop app and web clipper extension allow for convenient cross-device compatibility that doesn’t lock you into any one tech ecosystem.