Best open-source alternatives to Evernote

Memos is an open-source, self-hosted note-taking application designed for quick capture and lightweight personal knowledge management. It is aimed at users who want a simple, timeline-first interface for creating Markdown notes without the overhead of folders or complex organization. The project emphasizes portability and self-hosting: notes are stored in Markdown, the app can be deployed with a single Go binary or via Docker, and it supports SQLite, MySQL, and PostgreSQL. It also presents itself as extensible through documented REST and gRPC APIs, making it suitable for integrations and custom workflows.

Joplin is an open source note-taking and to-do application for people who want to organize a large number of notes across devices. It stores notes in Markdown, supports notebooks, tagging, search, and editing from the app or an external text editor, making it suitable for users who prefer flexible, plain-text note workflows. The project is designed as an offline-first application, so users can access their notes even without internet connectivity. When synchronization is desired, Joplin can securely sync data with cloud services such as Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Joplin Cloud using end-to-end encryption. It also extends into browser-based clipping via its Web Clipper and can be customized with plugins and themes.

SiYuan is a personal knowledge management system designed around privacy and local control. It targets individuals who want to organize notes and knowledge using block-based editing, fine-grained references, and a Markdown-based WYSIWYG workflow rather than a traditional document-only model. The project emphasizes a broad feature set that includes large-document editing, databases, flashcards, export options, snippets, OCR, and an API for extension and integration. It also has a wider ecosystem of companion apps and components for mobile, desktop, marketplace content, and data repositories, suggesting it is aimed at users who want a cross-platform knowledge workspace with both local and deployment-oriented options.

Logseq is an open-source knowledge management and collaboration platform aimed at people who want a privacy-focused way to organize notes, tasks, and related information. It supports common note formats such as Markdown and Org-mode, and it emphasizes user control, longevity, and extensibility through plugins and themes. The README presents Logseq as suitable for students, professionals, and anyone managing personal or team knowledge workflows. It is available as a desktop application, has a web version for testing the DB version, and includes mobile apps. The DB version adds graph-based data, a new sync approach called RTC for real-time collaboration, and automated or SQLite database backup guidance because the feature set is still in beta/alpha.

Outline is a team knowledge base application whose source code is hosted in this repository. The README presents it as a collaborative product for organizing internal documentation, and it points users to a hosted version at getoutline.com for trying the service without self-hosting. The repository is mainly intended for people who want to run their own copy of Outline or contribute to development. The README directs operators to the hosting documentation for production setup and to a separate local-development guide for contributors. It also mentions debugging, testing, and database migrations, indicating that the project is a full-stack application with a server-side component and a frontend built around React and Node.js.

Trilium Notes is a cross-platform note-taking application aimed at people who want to organize large personal knowledge bases in a deeply structured way. It presents notes as a hierarchical tree, supports cloning notes into multiple places, and includes tools for navigation, search, and advanced organization through note attributes and scripting. The project also provides a web interface, mobile access through a server installation, synchronization with a self-hosted sync server, and sharing/publishing notes to the public internet. It is designed for users who want a capable personal knowledge base system with rich editing, encryption, automation, and extensibility, while still being usable as a desktop app or via the browser.

Khoj is a personal AI application designed to extend a user’s capabilities as a "second brain." It combines conversational AI, document retrieval, semantic search, and agent creation so people can work with their own notes, files, and online information in one place. The project is aimed at individual users as well as teams and enterprises, with support for self-hosting, a cloud app, and enterprise deployment models. It can be used from multiple clients such as browsers, note-taking apps, desktop, mobile, and chat platforms, and it supports both local and online LLMs. The README emphasizes privacy and flexibility, highlighting that it can run on a personal computer or be accessed through the hosted service.

Open Notebook is a self-hosted, privacy-focused notebook application positioned as an alternative to Google NotebookLM. It is intended for people who want to keep research and source materials under their own control while still using modern AI workflows to organize, search, and transform information. The project supports a wide range of content types, including PDFs, videos, audio, web pages, and office documents, and it can work with many AI providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, and LM Studio. Users can create notebooks, search across their content, chat with context, and generate multi-speaker podcasts. The README emphasizes deployment flexibility, with Docker-based setup, local AI via Ollama, and a full REST API for automation.

Karakeep is a self-hostable bookmark manager designed for people who want to save, organize, and revisit links and other digital content. It combines traditional read-it-later features with richer capture options such as notes, images, PDFs, full-page archival, and automatic metadata fetching. The project is positioned as a self-hosting-first alternative for users who want control over their own data. The app is aimed at individual users as well as people collaborating on shared lists. It supports browser extensions, mobile apps, RSS hoarding, bulk actions, OCR, and AI-assisted tagging and summarization, including support for local models through Ollama. It also exposes a REST API and multiple clients, making it useful for automation and integrations. The README points to a managed cloud offering, but the core project is intended to be self-hosted.

Linkwarden is a self-hosted, open-source bookmark manager built for people who want to collect, organize, and preserve web content in one place. It targets individuals and teams who need more than a basic “read later” app, combining bookmarking with archiving and annotation so saved pages remain useful even if the original content changes or disappears. The project stores screenshots, PDFs, and single-page HTML copies of saved webpages, and it offers a reader view for highlighting and notes. It also supports sharing and collaboration, with member permissions, public link sharing, multi-user use, API keys, browser sync integrations, uploads, RSS subscriptions, and mobile apps. An official cloud offering is available, but the README emphasizes self-hosting as an alternative.