Notesnook vs Standard Notes

Notesnook and Standard Notes are both open-source, end-to-end encrypted note apps with free tiers and paid upgrades, but Notesnook publishes granular,…

Best for Notesnook: Notesnook fits users who want transparent, storage-based pricing tiers, a password-protected vault for sensitive notes, and the option to self-host just the sync server (GPL-3.0) rather than the whole application.
Best for Standard Notes: Standard Notes fits users who want unlimited device sync on the free tier, the ability to self-host the entire web app, and a dedicated Listed feature for publishing notes publicly.

At a Glance

 NotesnookStandard Notes
Primary categoryProductivityProductivity
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemiumfreemium subscription
Starting priceFree; Pro from roughly $4.49/month (billed annually)Free (Productivity plan from about 90 dollars per year)
Free planYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Mac, WindowsWeb, iOS, Android, Mac, Windows
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresNot documentedNot documented
Public APINot documentedNot documented

Key Differences

Pricing Transparency & Tiers

Notesnook: Notesnook publishes exact prices for all four tiers: Free €0, Essential €2.11/month, Pro €7.39/month, Believer €9.51/month, each with specific storage caps.

Standard Notes: Standard Notes' paid Productivity and Professional tier prices aren't consistently published outside the app or website checkout flow.

Fully published pricing lets buyers budget precisely before signing up, without needing to enter a checkout flow.

Free Plan Storage Limits

Notesnook: Notesnook's free plan caps storage at 50MB/month with 50 notebooks and 50 tags, and a 10MB max file size.

Standard Notes: Standard Notes' free plan doesn't document a specific storage cap, instead emphasizing unlimited device sync as its headline free feature.

A documented storage cap tells free-tier users exactly when they'll need to upgrade.

Self-Hostable Sync Server

Notesnook: Notesnook lets users run their own self-hostable Notesnook sync server as an alternative to the hosted cloud (GPL-3.0 licensed).

Standard Notes: Standard Notes documents self-hosting the web app itself on a user-run server.

Self-hosting at the sync-server layer versus the full-app layer changes how much infrastructure a user manages.

Encryption Method Documentation

Notesnook: Notesnook documents its specific encryption algorithms: notes are encrypted on-device using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2.

Standard Notes: Standard Notes documents end-to-end encryption generally, without naming specific ciphers in the available facts.

Naming specific, well-vetted cryptographic algorithms lets security-conscious buyers evaluate the encryption independently.

Publishing

Notesnook: A public note-publishing feature is not documented for Notesnook.

Standard Notes: Standard Notes has a dedicated Listed feature for publishing notes as an online publication.

Native publishing removes the need for a separate blogging tool to share notes with the public.

Feature-by-Feature

Pricing & Storage

FeatureNotesnookStandard Notes
Published free-tier storage capAvailableNot documented
Entry paid tier priceAvailableNot documented
Top-tier storageAvailableAvailable
Unlimited notebooks/tagsAvailableNot documented

Security & Sync

FeatureNotesnookStandard Notes
End-to-end encryptionAvailableAvailable
Named encryption algorithmAvailableNot documented
Self-hostable sync serverAvailableNot documented
Self-hosted full app deploymentNot documentedAvailable
Password-protected vaultAvailableNot documented

Platforms & Extras

FeatureNotesnookStandard Notes
Native apps (desktop, mobile, web)AvailableAvailable
Bidirectional note linkingAvailableNot documented
Third-party extensionsNot documentedAvailable
Note publishing to the webNot documentedAvailable
Web clipperAvailableNot documented

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Notesnook

Free — $0 Forever free
Pro — ~$1.99-$8.99/month (roughly $4.49/month billed annually) Monthly or annual billing

Standard Notes

Free — $0 N/A
Productivity — About $90/year annual
Professional — About $120/year annual

Pros & Cons

Notesnook

Pros

  • Fully open source, including the self-hostable sync server
  • Strong zero-knowledge, client-side encryption model
  • Affordable Pro pricing compared to many privacy-focused competitors
  • Feature-rich editor rather than a stripped-down 'private notes only' tool
  • Available across all major desktop, mobile, and web platforms

Cons

  • Smaller company and team size than mainstream note-taking competitors
  • Free plan limits notebook count and lacks version history
  • Smaller plugin and integration ecosystem than Evernote or Notion
  • Self-hosting the sync server requires technical setup
  • Less brand recognition outside privacy and open-source communities

Standard Notes

Pros

  • Strong, audited end-to-end encryption with a zero-knowledge architecture
  • Generous free tier covering core note-taking needs
  • Cross-platform apps for web, desktop, and mobile
  • Open-source clients allow independent security review
  • Now backed by Proton's broader privacy infrastructure after the 2024 acquisition

Cons

  • Advanced features like extended history and large file storage require a paid plan
  • Editor and organization features are more minimal than some mainstream note apps
  • No built-in real-time collaborative editing comparable to Notion or Google Docs
  • Pricing and product direction may shift as integration with Proton continues

Use Cases

Choose Notesnook: Notesnook fits users who want transparent, storage-based pricing tiers, a password-protected vault for sensitive notes, and the option to self-host just the sync server (GPL-3.0) rather than the whole application.
Choose Standard Notes: Standard Notes fits users who want unlimited device sync on the free tier, the ability to self-host the entire web app, and a dedicated Listed feature for publishing notes publicly.
Need both: There's no documented integration between them, and both compete for the same core encrypted note-taking job - most buyers would evaluate Notesnook's published per-tier storage caps against Standard Notes' unpublished-pricing but unlimited-sync free plan and pick one.

Notesnook

  • Private personal journaling — Individuals keep a daily journal or sensitive personal notes knowing that not even the provider can read the content.
  • Student and researcher note organization — Students organize class and research notes into notebooks and tags while keeping academic material encrypted and synced across devices.
  • Self-hosted encrypted notes — Technically capable users or small organizations self-host the open-source sync server for full control over where encrypted note data lives.

Standard Notes

  • Private personal journaling and notes — Individuals who want a private place to keep journals, ideas, and sensitive information use Standard Notes' encrypted storage to keep content away from third-party access.
  • Secure notes for journalists and researchers — Professionals handling sensitive sources or research material rely on Standard Notes' zero-knowledge encryption to protect their notes.
  • Shared encrypted notes for small teams or families — The Professional plan's subscription sharing lets small teams or families maintain their own encrypted note libraries under one subscription.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does each app's cheapest paid plan cost?

Notesnook's Essential plan is €2.11/month. Standard Notes' Productivity plan price isn't consistently published outside checkout.

What's the free-plan storage cap?

Notesnook's free plan is capped at 50MB/month with 50 notebooks and 50 tags. Standard Notes doesn't document a specific storage cap, emphasizing unlimited device sync instead.

Can I self-host either app?

Notesnook offers a self-hostable sync server (GPL-3.0). Standard Notes' web app itself can be deployed on your own server.

Which tool documents its encryption algorithms?

Notesnook, which names XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2. Standard Notes states it offers end-to-end encryption without naming a specific cipher in the available facts.

Does either let me publish notes publicly?

Standard Notes has a Listed feature for this. A public-publishing feature is not documented for Notesnook.

Is there a refund guarantee?

Notesnook documents a 14-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. A similar guarantee isn't documented for Standard Notes.

Read the full Notesnook review · Read the full Standard Notes review