Comparison

Evernote vs Microsoft OneNote

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Evernote

Capture ideas, organize notes, and manage tasks across all your devices. This app helps you tame distractions and accomplish more by bringing your to-dos, schedule, and important information together in one searchable place.

Highlights
  • Capture ideas as searchable notes
  • Create to-do lists with reminders
  • Organize with notebooks and tags
  • Scan and digitize paper documents
  • Sync across all devices
  • Integrate with Google Calendar
  • Web clipping for articles
Features
Read full description

Evernote is your second brain — the place to keep everything that matters and find it again the moment you need it. "…an invaluable tool for organizing a messy digital life." — The New York Times Capture a thought, a to-do, a photo, or a whole project, then let Evernote help you organize it, make sense of it, transcribe a meeting or tidy up a rough draft, and bring it back exactly when it counts. From the first spark of an idea to the finished plan, it all lives in one calm, searchable place — at work, at home, and everywhere in between. CAPTURE ANYTHING Jot a quick note, build a checklist, save a photo, an email or a PDF, or clip an article from the web before it disappears. Type it out, write by hand, snap a picture, or record a voice memo — whatever's fastest in the moment. Your ideas land in one place, ready when you are, so nothing gets lost on a sticky note or buried in your inbox. STAY ORGANIZED, EFFORTLESSLY Sort notes into notebooks and add tags, or just start writing and let structure follow. Group related notes together, pin the ones you reach for most, and keep work, school, and life neatly apart — without spending your day tidying up. Evernote keeps things in order so you can stay focused on the thinking. FIND WHAT YOU NEED, FAST Search across everything you've saved — including the text inside your images and PDFs. Ask in plain language and Semantic Search surfaces the right note, even when you can't remember the exact words or where you put it. The more you save, the more useful it becomes. MEET YOUR AI ASSISTANT Your AI Assistant clears away the busywork so you can stay in the thinking, working quietly alongside you. Record a conversation and Evernote AI transcribes and summarizes it for you; AI Transcription turns audio, images, and video into text; and AI Edit cleans up a rough draft, shortens it, or changes the tone while keeping it in your own voice. PLAN YOUR DAY Add due dates, reminders, and to-dos right inside your notes, so the next step is always clear and nothing slips through the cracks. Check things off as you go and keep momentum without switching apps. WORK EVERYWHERE Your notes sync automatically across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, and the web — start on one device and pick up right where you left off on another. Evernote works offline too, so you're never locked out of your own ideas, even when you're far from a signal. FOR WORK, SCHOOL, AND LIFE - Plan projects, prep meetings, and keep every detail in one place. - Take lecture notes, organize research, and study smarter for exams. - Save recipes, plan trips, track goals, and remember the little things that matter. - Keep a journal, draft your next big idea, and capture inspiration whenever it strikes. "Its magic lies in its flexibility." — PCMag However you think, and whatever you're working on, Evernote helps you remember everything and get it done. Capture today's idea — and find it the moment you need it.

About

Microsoft OneNote

Capture thoughts, ideas, and plans in a digital notepad. Organize, search, and secure your notes, memos, and sketches. Sync across devices for access anywhere, anytime. Collaborate with others on shared notepads.

Highlights
  • Capture thoughts and ideas
  • Digital sketchbook
  • Organize and search notes
  • Sync notes via OneDrive
  • Collaborate on shared notepads
  • Handwritten notes and drawings
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Supercharge your productivity with OneNote. Organize thoughts and ideas, and simplify planning important moments with your digital note-taking. Smart notes on your phone can sync across all your devices with Microsoft OneNote. Combine the power of digital ink with the natural feel of a pen to help you sketch out your inspirations. Take smart notes and capture every detail with voice transcription. Our writing tools make it easy to capture your notes, review your content later, and access AI studying. Take smart notes, share writing ideas, organize note-taking, and collaborate on your creative ideas and writing - all with Microsoft OneNote. ONENOTE APP FEATURES: AI-POWERED COPILOT NOTEBOOKS • Make sense of your files with AI chat • Summarize meetings, classes, and discussions easily from your notes • Listen to audio overviews, created directly from the notes you take AI NOTE-TAKING WITH HOMEPAGE AND QUICK CAPTURE • Streamlined writing: Find notes from your connected accounts in one place to easily create, find, & act on your notes. Now with Samsung Notes integration. • AI workflows with Copilot: Capture text, voice, ink or images to your notepad with Quick Capture • Smart notes: Capture smart notes in ink. Click the pen button & write down thoughts • Write smart notes, draw & clip things from the web to add to your writing notebook SCAN PICTURES & EXTRACT TEXT FROM WRITING • Note-Taking Scanner: Scan documents, pictures, or files to extract writing • Capture images to extract text from documents & more • Apply different filters to change colors, add ink, crop images & more SMART NOTES & AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION • Voice smart notes: Take accurate notes with voice dictation • Click the Mic button to record, then click it again to end recording & save the file • Dictate smart notes in 27 languages (note some languages are in preview) & use Auto-Punctutation to format NOTE-TAKING THAT HELPS YOU ACHIEVE MORE • Organize writing using to-do lists, follow-up items, marks for what’s important & custom labels • Use OneNote as a notebook, journal or a notepad for work or AI studying • Notepad badge hovers on screen & lets you quickly write your thoughts down any time • NEW Sticky notes - Make quick memos & note-taking COLLABORATE WRITING & SHARE SMART NOTES • Write meeting notes, brainstorm projects, & draw attention to important points • Take notes & save ideas across your favorite devices, no matter what device your team likes to use BETTER TOGETHER WITH MICROSOFT OFFICE • OneNote is part of the Office family & works great with your favorite apps, such as Excel or Word, to help you do more Write notes, save ideas & keep up with your to-do list with Microsoft OneNote. APP REQUIREMENTS: OneNote is free on iPhone and many other devices. Get started today! Download OneNote and sign in with your Microsoft Account or the account assigned to you by your work or school. Monthly Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased from the app will be charged to your App Store account and will automatically renew within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period unless auto-renewal is disabled beforehand. You can manage your subscriptions in your App Store account settings. This app is provided by either Microsoft or a third-party app publisher and is subject to a separate privacy statement and terms and conditions. Data provided through the use of this store and this app may be accessible to Microsoft or the third-party app publisher, as applicable, and transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or any other country where Microsoft or the app publisher and their affiliates or service providers maintain facilities. Please refer to the Microsoft Software License Terms for Microsoft 365. See “License Agreement” link under Information. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions.

Screenshots

Evernote4 screens
Microsoft OneNote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Microsoft OneNote at 4.7 against Evernote's 4.4. Microsoft OneNote also leads on ratings volume (1.1M vs 78K). Evernote's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 18.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Evernote sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $13.95 per month and Microsoft OneNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Microsoft OneNote holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft OneNote has 1.1M ratings behind it against 78K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 51% of Evernote's written reviews are positive against 45% of Microsoft OneNote's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Evernote versus Microsoft OneNote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEvernoteMicrosoft OneNote
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (78K ratings)4.7 (1.1M ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.1% of reviews — better44.8% of reviews
Number of ratings78K1.1M — better
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#29 — better#77
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS15.1 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size329 MB404 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvernote CorporationMicrosoft Corporation

Customer experience

Evernote

All ratings77,757 ratings
Positive85.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews4,323 reviews
Positive51.1%
Neutral7.2%
Negative41.7%

Microsoft OneNote

All ratings1,064,189 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews2,678 reviews
Positive44.8%
Neutral12.1%
Negative43.1%

User reviews

Evernote

From 78K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 High quality notes app
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 👍 Useful features and integrations
  • 👍 Powerful search and organization
  • 👍 Seamless cross-device sync

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and unreliable on mobile
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 👎 Declining quality and customer support
  • 👎 Aggressive upselling and limitations on free version

Microsoft OneNote

From 1.1M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple, works well
  • 👍 Great for planning
  • 👍 Powerful note-taking app
  • 👍 Invaluable tool for note taking
  • 👍 Used for years, couldn't be without this app

Room to improve

  • 🔨 Could be better
  • 🔨 Formatting issues on mobile app
  • 🔨 Buggy widget, no dark app icon
  • 🐛 Glitchy, crashes often
  • 🐛 Terrible sync speeds

Bugs and requests

Evernote

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Notes not saving properly
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Search functionality not working as expected
  • Inability to access notes after subscription changes

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved mobile app performance and stability
  • Enhanced security features like encryption and two-factor authentication
  • More flexible and affordable subscription options
  • Better customer support and communication
  • Expanded formatting and customization options

Microsoft OneNote

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Cursor positioning is erratic
  • Search function does not work well
  • Ink to text conversion missing on iPad
  • Syncing issues, notes not syncing properly across devices
  • Crashing, freezing, and performance issues
Show 4 more
  • Scrolling issues, page jumping to top unexpectedly
  • Eraser tool deletes more than intended
  • Formatting issues when importing/exporting
  • Inconsistent behavior between desktop and mobile versions

Requested features

11 requests
  • Native Markdown support and merged cell support
  • Ruler, ability to choose or create notebook covers
  • Ability to password protect app or individual notebooks
  • Option to open on last opened page instead of Home
  • Ability to turn note into task that appears on To Do and Planner
Show 6 more
  • Search for tags, more Evernote-like search features
  • Ability to select text using 3D Touch
  • Option to limit page to A4 size with framing
  • Pencil feature like Notes app for drawing
  • Ability to delete notebooks
  • Ability to delete notes from Apple devices

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Evernote

Subscriptions9
  • Evernote Plus$13.951 Month
  • Evernote Plus2 variants$15.001 Month
  • Evernote Premium2 variants$17.491 Month
Show 6 more
  • Evernote Personal$17.491 Month
  • Evernote Personal7 Days trial$17.491 Month
  • Monthly Personal Plan7 Days trial$17.491 Month
  • Evernote Personal Monthly$17.491 Month
  • Evernote Personal Monthly$22.001 Month
  • Evernote Premium$169.001 Year
3 purchases

Microsoft OneNote

Subscriptions3
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$11.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.991 Month

Questions

Is Evernote free?
Evernote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Microsoft OneNote free?
Microsoft OneNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Evernote or Microsoft OneNote?
Microsoft OneNote is rated higher. Evernote averages 4.4 out of 5 from 78K ratings, while Microsoft OneNote averages 4.7 from 1.1M ratings.
Do Evernote or Microsoft OneNote have ads?
Neither Evernote nor Microsoft OneNote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Evernote or Microsoft OneNote?
Evernote ships an update weekly, and Microsoft OneNote weekly. Most recently, Evernote was updated on September 25, 2026 and Microsoft OneNote on September 25, 2026.
Which is more popular, Evernote or Microsoft OneNote?
Evernote currently peaks at #29 in the App Store charts, and Microsoft OneNote at #77. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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