My Thoughts on Note-Taking Apps đź“ť
From Notion to Apple Notes to Evernote, I've tried 'em all. While they each have strengths, none of them is my ultimate note-taking app. It's not just about the coolest features, it's about what works best for you.
Hello there, digital professionals, productivity geeks, and just about anyone stuck to their computer most of the day! I wanted to share a few insights on a topic I find myself constantly thinking about: note-taking apps. After going through a 'Goldilocks' trial of Evernote, OneNote, Notion, Obsidian, and even Apple Notes, I found that none of them is the perfect fit for my needs.
Update — August 2026: Three years and one AI wave later, my ranking changed for a reason I didn’t see coming. New section at the end.
Notion's Double-Edged Sword
Notion wooed me with its promising database features and near-instant syncing. Yet, despite its shiny functionalities, I found it less reliable as a note-taking app. When I needed it most, it seemed to hiccup and fail me. Functionality is great, but stability is the game-changer in the realm of note-taking apps.
The Trusty Apple Notes
After my misadventure with Notion, I circled back to a simpler tool — Apple Notes. It's a stable, straightforward platform that works across all my devices. It might not have all the bells and whistles, but it certainly gets the job done.
Pick your fighter. pic.twitter.com/Guzs5lxrL2— Francesco D'Alessio (@FrancescoD_Ales) June 23, 2023
Evernote: Love and Fear
Evernote holds a special place in my heart. It has always been a solid option. But here's the catch — the uncertainty of its future holds me back. The threat of the company going bankrupt and the risk of losing all my data is a gamble I'm not willing to take.
Making Sense of the Madness
In conclusion, while each of these apps has its strengths, none stands out as the ultimate choice for me. Every time I see a tweet asking about the best note-taking app, my answer is none of the above. It's a complex dance of features, stability, and trust. The journey to finding 'the one' continues.
The world of note-taking apps can be a whirlwind, especially for us digital professionals who are online 24-7. Hopefully, my experience will help shed some light on your quest for the perfect app. Remember, it's not just about the coolest features — it's about what works best for you.
The 2026 re-rank: capture beats organize
Everything above was written when the job of a notes app was to store and organize. That job quietly disappeared. In 2026 my notes are raw material — they get picked up, summarized, turned into drafts and posts by AI tooling downstream. Organizing lost its value; capture won completely.
Which settles my old dilemma in Apple Notes’ favour. The messy pile I apologized for turned out to be the right architecture: zero friction in, and the sorting happens later, by machine. Notion’s structure — the thing I admired and feared — is exactly what I no longer need to build by hand.
The through-line from this post runs to publishing straight from a notes folder, journaling in Apple’s Journal app, and the mental model that ties it together: working memory is not a hard drive. Capture everything; keep almost nothing in your head.