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Home/Categories/Business & Productivity/Standard Notes
icon of Standard Notes

Standard Notes

Open source alternative to Evernote, Notion and Microsoft OneNote

A free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted note-taking app for secure and private digital life management.

6.5K stars
TypeScript
AGPL-3.0
Active this month
Visit websiteGitHub repo
image of Standard Notes
Contents
  1. 01Who Standard Notes is for
  2. 02The problem it solves
  3. 03How it solves it
  4. 04Strengths and trade-offs
  5. 05Standard Notes vs alternatives
  6. 06Tech stack
  7. 07FAQ
  8. 08Similar open-source tools
TL;DR

Standard Notes is an end-to-end encrypted notes app for people who want private notes, cross-device sync, and self-hosting options instead of a cloud-first notebook. It is AGPL-3.0 licensed in the app repository and focuses on security, privacy, and long-term note ownership. Best for individuals and teams that care more about encrypted note storage than rich workspace databases.AGPL-3.0 · TypeScript · 6.5K stars · Active this month

who it's for

Who Standard Notes is for#

Individuals storing sensitive notes

Standard Notes fits personal journals, private research, and sensitive notes where encryption matters more than visual workspaces.

Skip if:

Choose Obsidian or Logseq if local markdown and linking are more important than encrypted sync.

Small teams needing private shared notes

Teams can use Standard Notes when the priority is secure text storage, not project management or document databases.

Skip if:

Skip it if you need rich collaborative docs, comments, task boards, or deep integrations.

the problem
tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages
JavaScriptTypeScript
Tooling
Webpack
frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Standard Notes encrypted?
Can Standard Notes replace Notion?
What license does Standard Notes use?
also worth a look

Similar open-source tools#

Joplin

Joplin

Open source note-taking app with Markdown and sync support

54.8KTypeScript

Repository

Stars
6.5K
Forks
533
License
AGPL-3.0
Latest
@standardnotes/[email protected]
Last commit
21 days ago
Last verified
May 13, 2026
Repo
standardnotes/app ↗

Additional details

Language
TypeScript
Open issues
93
Contributors
53
First release
2016

Categories

Business & ProductivitySecurity & Monitoring

Tags

Note-taking AppsPrivacy ToolsSecuritySelf HostedKnowledge ManagementFile Sync & StorageOpen Core

The problem it solves#

Notes often contain passwords hints, medical details, work plans, journal entries, and private research. Many mainstream note apps sync that content through proprietary cloud services where encryption, export, and account policy are controlled by the vendor.

Encrypted notes reduce that risk, but they also narrow the product scope. Users should decide whether they need private writing and sync, or a broad workspace with databases, task boards, and deep collaboration.

how Standard Notes solves it

How it solves it#

End-to-end encrypted notes

Standard Notes focuses on protecting note content with end-to-end encryption, making privacy the core product promise.

Cross-device note app

The app is designed for everyday note taking across devices rather than only local markdown files.

Self-hosted note sync option

Standard Notes documents public source code and the ability to self-host your own server, giving privacy-focused users an ownership path beyond the hosted service.

AGPL-3.0 app license

The GitHub app repository reports AGPL-3.0 licensing, which teams should review before modifying hosted deployments.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

  • Privacy is the main design goalStandard Notes is a better fit for sensitive personal notes than general workspace apps where encryption is secondary.
  • Simpler than full knowledge workspacesIts notes-first model avoids the complexity of databases, boards, and page-builder workflows for users who mostly need secure writing.
  • Long-term note ownership postureOpen code, export awareness, and self-hosting options make it attractive for users who do not want private notes locked in a proprietary-only system.

Trade-offs

  • -Less flexible than Notion-style workspacesStandard Notes is not the best tool for project dashboards, relational databases, or collaborative docs. Its strength is secure notes.
  • -Self-hosting needs careful securityRunning encrypted note infrastructure yourself still requires secure deployment, updates, backups, and account protection.
versus alternatives

Standard Notes vs alternatives#

Standard Notes vs Evernote

Standard Notes and Evernote both help users capture notes across devices. Standard Notes prioritizes end-to-end encryption and privacy; Evernote prioritizes a managed productivity app with richer capture, organization, and integrations.

Standard Notes is the better fit when private writing and encrypted sync matter most. Evernote is still better when users need web clipping, advanced organization, OCR-style workflows, and a mature managed app experience.

The app repository reports AGPL-3.0 licensing.

Notesnook

Notesnook

End-to-end encrypted open source note-taking, cross-platform

14KTypeScriptGPL-3.0
Trilium.cc

Trilium.cc

Self-hosted hierarchical notes with backlinks and encrypted sync

36.3KTypeScriptAGPL-3.0
Zettlr

Zettlr

Open source Markdown editor for researchers and academics

13KTypeScriptGPL-3.0
Orgnise

Orgnise

Centralize wikis, docs, and project tasks in a self-hosted workspace.

237TypeScriptAGPL-3.0
Tolaria

Tolaria

Organize your notes with Markdown and Git integration

11.7KTypeScriptAGPL-3.0

Yes. Standard Notes is built around end-to-end encrypted note storage.

Only for private notes. It does not replace Notion's databases, project dashboards, and broad workspace collaboration.