Notesnook

Notesnook is an encrypted note-taking app for people who want their notes synced across devices, with extra protections for private material. Its strongest case is the combination of end-to-end encryption and a genuinely usable free tier; its main trade-off is that attachments and full offline access are more constrained unless you pay.

Overview

Made by Streetwriters (Private) Ltd., Notesnook encrypts notes on the device before they leave it. Its apps and sync server are open source under GPLv3, which makes the software itself open to inspection. Notesnook says more than 300,000 people write in the app each day.

The app supports note sharing and lets you publish a single note as a web page, with an optional password. Those options make it useful for moving from private notes to deliberate sharing, though published notes should be treated differently from material kept private.

Key features

• Layered protection: Lock the app with a fingerprint, PIN, or password, and give especially private notes a separate password. The extra controls suit users who want protection beyond device sync encryption.
• Generous note limits, modest attachment allowance: Free users get unlimited notes across unlimited devices, but only 50 notebooks and 50 tags, plus 50 MB of attachment storage per month and a 10 MB cap per file. That is ample for text-heavy use, less comfortable for people who routinely store large files.
• Inbox integrations: Zapier, IFTTT, or a custom script can send notes through the Inbox API. This is useful for capturing information from other services without making Notesnook only a manual notebook.
• Offline access: Web-clipped content can be read offline; full offline mode is part of paid plans. Users who need reliable offline access to their whole note library should account for that upgrade.

Pricing

Notesnook is freemium. The free plan costs nothing, lasts forever, and requires no card. Its unlimited notes and devices are a strong starting point, but the 50-notebook, 50-tag, 50 MB monthly attachment, and 10 MB per-file limits can matter as a library grows.

Essential costs $1.99 a month including tax. It raises attachment storage to 1 GB per month, the file-size limit to 100 MB, and the notebook and tag caps to 500 each. This is the sensible paid step for someone hitting the free caps without needing unlimited organization.

Pro costs $6.99 a month including tax, with 10 GB monthly attachment storage, a 1 GB file-size limit, and unlimited notebooks and tags. It fits heavier attachment use and larger libraries. Believer costs $8.99 a month including tax and increases storage to 25 GB per month and the file cap to 5 GB, while retaining unlimited notebooks and tags; it is aimed at users with especially large attachment needs.

Annual and five-year options are also offered. Pro Yearly is billed annually at ₹3,961.57 including tax, with a 14-day free trial; Pro 5-Year is billed every 5 years at ₹33,964.82 including tax, prepaid, with no trial. Essential Yearly is billed annually at ₹2,263.26 including tax with a 14-day trial, while Essential Monthly requires a payment method for its 14-day trial. Believer Yearly is billed annually at ₹10,188.65 including tax with a 14-day trial; Believer 5-Year is billed every 5 years at ₹45,286.82 including tax, prepaid, with no trial. Pro Monthly and Believer Monthly also have 14-day trials. Subscriptions can be cancelled at any time without fees, and notes remain readable and exportable; refund requests can be made to support within 14 days of purchase.

Platforms

Notesnook is available on Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. That breadth suits people moving between phone and desktop, while the distinction between clipped-content offline reading and paid full offline mode is important for travel or unreliable connections.

Who it's for

Choose Notesnook if encrypted notes across several platforms, app and note-level locks, and a no-card free plan are priorities. It is a particularly good fit for text-first users who want unlimited notes without a subscription. Look elsewhere if you need full offline access on the free plan, or if your everyday workflow depends on attachments beyond its free monthly and per-file caps.

Pros and cons

• Pro: End-to-end encryption happens before notes leave the device, and the apps and sync server are GPLv3 open source.
• Pro: Unlimited notes and device sync are free forever, so a text-heavy personal archive need not require a paid plan.
• Pro: Fingerprint, PIN, or password app locks and a separate password for selected notes provide distinct privacy controls.
• Con: Free attachment storage is 50 MB per month and individual files are capped at 10 MB, a meaningful constraint for file-heavy use.
• Con: Full offline mode requires a paid plan, limiting the free tier for people who need their whole library away from a connection.

Alternatives

Cryptee is another freemium, cross-platform option; consider it if independently reviewable open-source software and its free tier are the deciding factors.

PrivacyNotes is worth comparing if you want a freemium, cross-platform app whose web, desktop, and mobile apps and encryption code are published on GitHub under AGPL.

Standard Notes offers a free plan with end-to-end encryption, unlimited device sync, plain-text notes, and offline access; choose it if those free-plan basics matter more than Notesnook's published attachment tiers and inbox integrations.

Dash is a cross-platform alternative for someone who wants a free web PWA or iPhone option that works offline without an account.

Notyra is a free alternative whose site says every line of code is auditable and that no account is needed to begin.

Turtl may suit readers looking for spaces with collaborators: its Basic plan allows three collaborators per Space and 50 MB of storage, while Premium costs $3 a month and includes 10 GB note storage.

Binderus is a free desktop app for Linux, macOS, and Windows with every feature included and no account required.

SilentNotes is a free, open-source choice for readers who only need Windows and Android apps.

For broader browsing, see Secure Notes Apps and Note-taking apps.

Verdict

Notesnook is a strong choice for privacy-minded note takers who want end-to-end encryption, inspectable software, and unlimited free notes across devices. Its free tier is most compelling for text-first libraries; pay for larger attachment allowances and full offline mode, or choose another app if those are essential without a subscription.