What makes Standard Notes a great Evernote alternative
Evernote was acquired by Bending Spoons in November 2022.
- Bending Spoons is an app development studio focused on developing camera and fitness apps for mobile devices.
- Prior to their acquisition, Evernote struggled to reconcile their venture capital backed nature with the natural and organic development pace necessary to nurture a user experience that prioritizes user peace of mind versus rapid capitalization.
- In 2016, Evernote introduced a controversial amendment to their privacy policy that would allow employees to read user notes and use them for AI training purposes. This move was rolled back after mass user upheaval.
Standard Notes was built piece-by-piece to be a more respectful, private, and safe place for your notes.
Features Comparison Table
| Evernote | Standard Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Employees can read your notes | ✅ | ❌ |
| Hackers can read your notes | ✅ | ❌ |
| End-to-end encrypted | ❌ | ✅ |
| On-device encryption | ❌ | ✅ |
| Encryption in transit | ✅ | ✅ |
| Encryption at rest | ❓ | ✅ |
| Third-party security audited | ❓ | ✅ |
| Two-factor authentication | ✅ | ✅ |
| Source code is publicly viewable | ❌ | ✅ |
| Password Protection for Notes | ❌ | ✅ |
| App Lock (Passcode, Face ID, Fingerprint) | ✅ | ✅ |
| End-to-end encrypted file storage | ❌ | ✅ |
| Text Notes | ✅ | ✅ |
| Rich Text | ✅ | ✅ |
| Markdown | ❌ | ✅ |
| Tasks & Todos | ✅ | ✅ |
| Nested Folders | ❌ | ✅ |
| Note Pinning & Archiving | ✅ | ✅ |
| Easy Data Import & Export | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom Smart Views | ❌ | ✅ |
| Inline images | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bi-directional note linking | ❌ | ✅ |
| Plugin support | ❌ | ✅ |
| Daily email backups | ❌ | ✅ |
| Integrated Blogging Platform | ❌ | ✅ |
| Desktop application | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web application | ✅ | ✅ |
| iOS application | ✅ | ✅ |
| Android application | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web clipper | ✅ | ✅ |
Detailed Comparison
- Security and Privacy: Standard Notes leads in security with end-to-end encryption, on-device encryption, and being third-party security audited. In contrast, Evernote lacks these advanced security features, highlighting Standard Notes as the better choice for users concerned about data privacy.
- Encryption Strength: Both apps offer encryption in transit, but Standard Notes takes it a step further with encryption at rest and end-to-end encrypted file storage, ensuring superior data protection at all stages.
- Transparency and Trust: Standard Notes provides publicly viewable source code, affirming its commitment to transparency and trustworthiness. Evernote's source code, on the other hand, is private and proprietary.
- Functionality and Usability: Standard Notes supports markdown, nested folders, custom smart views, inline images, and bi-directional note linking, features absent in Evernote. These functionalities offer more flexibility and control over note organization and presentation.
- Extended Features: Standard Notes stands out with unique features like plugin support, daily email backups, and an integrated blogging platform, providing a comprehensive note-taking ecosystem. These features are not available in Evernote.
Conclusion
Considering the comprehensive feature set, advanced security, and privacy-focused design, Standard Notes emerges as the superior choice over Evernote, particularly for users who prioritize data security, transparency, and a rich array of functionalities in their digital note-taking experience.
Resources
Switch from Evernote today to enjoy a richer, more private note-taking experience
Start using Standard Notes completely free on all your devices, with full end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication. Upgrade only when you need more power.
