The honest guide
Looking for an
Evernote alternative?
You’re not alone - and you don’t have to start over. Here’s what to look for in a note-taking app, how the options honestly compare, and how to move your entire library in minutes.
Try the alternative people switch to30 days of Pro free · No credit card · Import in minutes
Why people leave Evernote
The price keeps climbing
Paid plans now start at $99/year (Starter) - and the free plan is capped at 50 notes in a single notebook. Loyalty has been repriced, repeatedly.
The app got heavy
A 300+ MB install, slow launches, sync that needs babysitting. The fast capture tool that won everyone over is buried under a decade of bolt-ons.
The product stood still
While notes apps learned to think - AI synthesis, knowledge graphs, real-time collaboration - Evernote's core experience has barely moved.
What a real Evernote alternative needs
If a switch costs you your history, it isn’t an alternative - it’s starting over.
The alternatives, honestly
Every option below is good at something. Pick for your workflow.
| Alternative | Evernote import | AI | Offline | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cimanote | One-click .enex | Automatic knowledge engine | Full editing (Pro) | $6/mo · free 30-day trial | Evernote refugees who want notes that compound |
| Notion | Yes | Notion AI (Business plan) | Per-page opt-in | $10/mo Plus | Teams that want a whole workspace |
| Obsidian | Official plugin | Plugins, manual setup | Local-first | Free + $4/mo sync | Tinkerers who want local Markdown vaults |
| Apple Notes | No | Apple Intelligence summaries | Yes | Free | Apple-only households with simple notes |
| OneNote | Clunky | Copilot (M365 plans) | Yes | Free / M365 | Stylus users in Microsoft shops |
| Google Keep | Google Takeout | Gemini can create and find notes | Yes | Free | Short, disposable notes you rarely revisit |
Want the full head-to-head? Cimanote vs Evernote, feature by feature →
The switch, filmed start to finish
A real Evernote library - notes, tags, attachments - imported into Cimanote. Only the waiting is cut.
Export from Evernote
One .enex file for your whole library.
Drop it into Cimanote
Parsing runs in your browser - 600 MB+ supported.
Keep working
Tags, attachments, and dates intact. The AI starts reading.
Not just a replacement. An upgrade.
Matching what Evernote does is table stakes, and any alternative worth switching to clears that bar. These are the four things you get that were not on the table when you picked a notes app the first time.
What Cimanote deliberately does not do
A page that only lists strengths is a brochure. Three things are missing on purpose, and if any of them is the reason you opened Evernote every day, another tool will serve you better.
- No databases, boards or relations. Cimanote is a notes app, not a workspace builder. If you want rollups and kanban, that is Notion’s job.
- No plugins or custom theming. There is nothing to configure, which also means nothing to configure. If building the system is the appeal, Obsidian is the better home.
- No native desktop download. Cimanote installs from the browser as a Progressive Web App, which is how it stays under 5 MB and updates itself. It is a different shape from a 300 MB installer, and for some people that is a downside rather than the point.
How the move actually works
Four steps, no middleman service, no waiting on a support ticket. The conversion runs in your browser, so your raw export never touches our servers.
Select what you want to bring
In Evernote, select the notes you want, or click a notebook to take all of it. Most people take everything and tidy up later, which is easier once search is fast.
Export as .enex
File > Export Notes > Evernote XML Format (.enex). Export one file per notebook: one .enex becomes one notebook in Cimanote, so exporting per notebook is what preserves your structure.
Drop it into Cimanote
Open Import from your account menu and drop the .enex file in. A progress bar tracks every note. Hundreds of megabytes is fine, because the import streams the file rather than loading it whole.
Check the completion report
Every import ends with a report of what came over. Two things are dropped by design: attachments over 25 MB, and notes whose underlying XML exceeds 5 MB. Read the report before you close the Evernote account, so anything skipped is still there to go back for.
What carries over
- Note text and formatting
- Attachments and images (up to 25 MB per attachment)
- Tags (recreated and reattached to the right notes)
- Original creation dates
- Tables, checklists and code blocks
- Notebook structure (one .enex becomes one notebook, so export per notebook)
Full detail, including the fidelity table for every field: the Evernote import guide.
What it costs, plainly
The free plans are where the difference is starkest, and free is where most people start.
Evernote free
What the free tier allows
- 50 notes
- 1 notebook
- 1 synced device
- 1 GB of storage
Cimanote free
What the free plan allows
- Unlimited notes
- Unlimited notebooks and tags
- Every device you own
- Full-text search and the web clipper
On the paid side, Cimanote Pro is $6 a month or $60 a year, and every new account starts with 30 days of Pro without a card. Evernote’s paid plans start at $99 a year on Starter. Evernote prices vary by region and change from time to time, so check theirs before you decide.
Evernote alternative FAQ
What is the best Evernote alternative in 2026?
It depends on what you valued in Evernote. If it was fast capture, organization, and a web clipper - with modern additions like AI synthesis and real-time collaboration - Cimanote is built precisely for that switch, including one-click .enex import. If you want a team workspace, look at Notion; if you want local Markdown files, look at Obsidian.
Can I import my Evernote notes into Cimanote?
Yes. Export your library from Evernote as a .enex file and drop it into Cimanote - notes, tags, attachments, checkboxes, tables, and original creation dates come through. Files over 600 MB are supported, and parsing runs in your browser, so your raw export never touches our servers.
Is Cimanote a free Evernote alternative?
Every new account gets a free 30-day trial of Cimanote Pro, with no credit card. After that there is a genuinely useful free plan (unlimited notes, search, web clipper) and Pro at $6/month - less than Evernote’s cheapest paid plan, with none of its 50-note free-tier cap.
What happens to my tags and attachments when I switch?
They survive the move. Tags are recreated and attached to the right notes, and attachments up to 25 MB per file are imported with inline previews. A completion report shows exactly what came over.
How long does importing an Evernote library actually take?
A 500-note library with tags and attachments lands in about five minutes. The import streams the file and shows a progress bar for every note, so large, attachment-heavy libraries work too rather than timing out.
Do I have to cancel Evernote before I import?
No, and you should not. Import into Cimanote first, check the completion report against what you expected, and keep the Evernote account until you are satisfied. The .enex export is yours to keep either way.
What is the catch with the Evernote free plan?
Evernote free is capped at 50 notes in a single notebook, on one synced device, with 1 GB of storage. Cimanote free has no note limit, no notebook limit and no device limit, and includes full-text search and the web clipper.
Does Cimanote have a web clipper like Evernote?
Yes, and it is free on every plan with no clip limits. It is a Chrome extension with five clip modes, including one that lets you pick a single element on the page, and it also runs in Edge, Brave and Arc.
Can I get my notes back out again later?
Yes. Any note exports to Markdown or HTML on any plan, including the free one, with no cap on how many. Bundling a whole notebook or your entire library into one ZIP is a Pro feature. Being locked in once is why a lot of people are reading this page, so nothing you write is ever trapped either way.
What does Cimanote do that Evernote does not?
The Knowledge Engine reads your notes in the background and builds a living knowledge base from them: pages for the people and projects you write about, connections between notes with the evidence attached, and gaps it noticed. You can also connect your notes to Claude or ChatGPT so an AI assistant can search and write into your own library.
Pro after your free 30 days is $6/mo or $60/yr, with no note, notebook or device limits on any plan.
Bring your notes somewhere better
Import from Evernote in minutes. Try Pro free for 30 days.
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