Best Microsoft OneNote Alternatives in 2024: Review and Comparison
Looking for a OneNote alternative? You've come to the right place.
Microsoft OneNote has stood the test of time as a popular tool for capturing, organizing, and sharing notes since its launch back in 2003. With over 200 million users worldwide, it's undeniably one of the most widely used note-taking apps.
But while OneNote has been a staple for many, there are many alternative note-taking and document sharing solutions that are similar to OneNote.
Why you may need an alternative to OneNote
No note-taking tool is without shortcomings, and OneNote is no exception. There are many reasons why you may be looking for an alternative to OneNote, for example:
Some users feel that OneNote isn't very user-friendly and find its settings too complex (source)
The interface of OneNote is dense and can be distracting (source)
The search function in OneNote isn't always accurate (source)
Once you accumulate many notes, OneNote can become sluggish (source)
Some users find that the navigation experience in OneNote could be improved (source)
Does that sound familiar? Then it might be time to switch to a more reliable and user-friendly option — fortunately, there are many OneNote competitors to choose from.
Best Microsoft OneNote alternatives
To make your decision easier, we've evaluated dozens of options and put together a shortlist of the best Microsoft OneNote alternatives:
Each one of these tools has its strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the reason you are looking for an alternative to OneNote, a different solution may be a better fit for your needs. Let's take a closer look at your options.
1. Nuclino
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $6/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.7/5
If you are looking for a more modern, intuitive, and fast OneNote alternative, then Nuclino may be the perfect substitute for you. What sets Nuclino apart is its clean, distraction-free interface. There are no endless customization options or complex settings to tinker with, only the essential features you need to get things done.
In Nuclino, you can organize your notes visually. Need a structured overview of all your content? Prefer to work on your projects using a Kanban board? Want to see how your documents relate to each other in a mind map? The List, Board, Table, and Graph views help you keep your notes structured in a way that works for you and your team.
This flexibility makes Nuclino a great solution for a wide range of use cases beyond simple note-taking. You can use Nuclino for ideation and brainstorming, onboarding new employees, planning sprints, designing video games, building your internal wiki, and more.
While in OneNote, real-time collaboration is somewhat limited and reliant on shared notebooks, Nuclino offers a more fluid experience for co-authoring notes. Every document in Nuclino can be edited by multiple collaborators in real time, with every change automatically preserved in the version history. You can also create private workspaces for your personal notes and keep them secure.
You can add images, videos, to-do lists, code blocks, and more, and bring your notes to life with interactive media embeds from 30+ different apps. Comments and mentions make it easy to exchange feedback directly in Nuclino.
Nuclino comes with an AI-powered assistant Sidekick. It can instantly answer any question based on your content, brainstorm ideas, create first drafts, generate images, summarize long documents, and more.
Nuclino also offers built-in visual collaboration and allows you to add an infinite collaborative canvas to any note. You can use it to create diagrams and flowcharts, organize ideas using sticky notes, build moodboards, and much more.
What users say about Nuclino:
"I signed up with Nuclino in its very early days and the product has been rock solid. Anyone trying to organize a series of documents/notes in an organization should check out Nuclino because it fits the bill. The design of the product is so good that it's actually fun writing new notes/docs."
2. SharePoint
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $5/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.3/5
If you prefer Microsoft products, SharePoint may be a valid alternative to OneNote. While SharePoint is not known for its intuitive design or modern interface, it remains one of the most popular document sharing tools and company intranet platforms, used by 190 million people across 200,000 organizations.
While OneNote may suffice for simple note-taking, SharePoint is optimized for enterprise-level document management, providing advanced features like version control and content approval workflows. It's an extremely powerful piece of software that caters to larger organizations with complex document management requirements.
Unfortunately, SharePoint's extensive capabilities come with a significant learning curve. Before diving headfirst into SharePoint just because it's a powerhouse, take a moment to assess if your team will actually benefit from all those extra bells and whistles.
Learn more about how Microsoft OneNote compares to SharePoint: SharePoint vs OneNote.
Looking for more tools similar to SharePoint? Check out this list of SharePoint alternatives.
What users say about SharePoint:
"SharePoint makes it easy to collaborate with your team and share documents, workflows, tasks, and knowledge. In the organization I used SharePoint with, we had 3,000 staff members across dozens of departments, each needing their own internal file management accessible from anywhere. Each department was able to manage and share their files with team members, and even share access across departments or externally when needed. Overall, it really increased our productivity and effectiveness since we didn't have to track down files from each other."
3. Evernote
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $10.83/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.4/5
If you are looking to replace OneNote as your personal note-taking tool, make sure to evaluate Evernote. It's one of the oldest and most popular solutions that really set expectations for what a note-taking app is in the first place.
While OneNote offers rich formatting options, allowing you to create notes with intricate layouts, Evernote prioritizes quick and simple note-taking. Evernote's search functionality is more robust, making it easy to find specific notes even if you have a substantial collection.
Notes in Evernote are organized into notebooks and tagged for easy retrieval. The interface is clean and straightforward, catering to users who prefer a streamlined approach.
What users say about Evernote:
"I have recently made the switch from using OneNote to Evernote for my task and note management needs. I have found that Evernote offers a range of features that are better suited to my workflow and have made it easier for me to organize and collaborate with my team."
4. Google Keep
Pricing: Free
Rating on Capterra: 4.7/5
Google Keep can be a good alternative to OneNote for those who are looking for a more lightweight and uncomplicated tool. Its interface is clean and minimalistic. It's easy to create new notes and lists, either by typing or using voice input. The organization is based on color-coded labels and tags, which can help you quickly categorize and find your notes.
You will likely appreciate Google Keep if you're already using Google's ecosystem. It's tightly integrated with other Google services like Google Drive, which means your Keep notes can be seamlessly linked to your Drive storage.
However, the simplicity of Google Keep is both an advantage and a limitation. While it's excellent for quick note-taking and basic organization, it lacks the advanced features and extensive formatting options that OneNote offers.
What users say about Google Keep:
"Microsoft OneNote and Evernote could not integrate properly into the Google ecosystem. Google Keep is one of those pieces of software that you cannot live without if you are part of the Google ecosystem. It is integrated with all the other applications they offer and that makes everything so seamless."
5. Google Docs
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $6/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.7/5
It may be an obvious option, but no list of OneNote alternatives would be complete without it — Google Docs. Google Docs was the pioneer in the field, transforming the way we collaborate and share documents when it was first launched 15 years ago. Today, it remains the most popular online document collaboration tool, with millions of users worldwide.
Unlike OneNote, which focuses on free-form note-taking with notebooks and sections, Google Docs is more geared towards traditional document creation. Multiple users can access and edit the same document simultaneously, and changes are automatically saved. Comments and suggestions can be added to specific parts of the document, facilitating communication among collaborators. While OneNote also supports collaboration, is generally more oriented towards personal note organization.
Looking for more tools similar to Google Docs? Check out this list of Google Docs alternatives.
What users say about Google Docs:
"Collaborating on medium-length documents with multiple sections and moderately complex formatting is now a breeze in Google Docs. All team members can work on the same document in real-time with little fuss and few issues."
6. Zoho Notebook
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $1.99/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.5/5
Much like OneNote, Zoho Notebook employs a notebook-based organizational structure. Users can create notebooks for different topics or projects, and within each notebook, they can create individual notes. These notes can contain text, images, audio recordings, and sketches, allowing for versatile content creation.
This OneNote competitor emphasizes simplicity and intuitive design. It offers a clean and straightforward interface that enables users to quickly create and edit notes.
One notable feature of Zoho Notebook is its "Cards" system. Instead of a traditional file hierarchy, notes are treated as individual cards that can be arranged and grouped within notebooks.
What users say about Zoho Notebook:
"The first thing I like about Zoho software is Security. They provide MFA (multi-factor authentication) and device management features for added security. My note-taking experience in Zoho Notebook is average. This software has the potential to replace OneNote but somehow the user experience is not so rich and other important features like templates, formatting, etc. are missing. However, while taking notes you can see the full notes of previous activity history which I think is pretty amazing."
Find the best OneNote alternative for you
So which one of these tools is the best alternative to OneNote? The answer entirely depends on why you are looking for an alternative in the first place, as there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution out there.
While OneNote offers a versatile note-taking platform with seamless integration within the Microsoft ecosystem, it has several significant limitations. Looking for something more modern, lightweight, and collaborative? Consider replacing OneNote with Nuclino. Need more reliable cross-platform accessibility? Evernote might be your ideal substitute. If you're looking for a seamless integration with your existing Google suite, Google Keep and Google Docs stand as strong contenders. Meanwhile, SharePoint offers an attractive proposition for businesses deeply entrenched in the Microsoft environment.
Ultimately, the "best" OneNote alternative hinges on your specific needs. We hope this list made it easier for you to find the solution that best suits your needs.
Ready to get started?
