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Best Note-taking apps are not limited to specific operating systems or devices. Linux users have access to a variety of open-source projects that offer note-taking applications. The user’s choice of app relies on how they like to take notes and what they need to do with them. Users can arrange their notes with these apps by using color labels, keyword labels, and categories. Whether you want to keep track of shopping lists, personal notes, logs, or great ideas, these apps give you the freedom to do so.
Also, Linux note-taking apps have tools like being able to add photos to notes and turn voice memos into text. They are good for people with different tastes and writing styles and make it easier and faster to take notes.
Even though Evernote is still a popular choice among users, the official Evernote app is not available for Linux. But Linux users can look into other great note-taking programs that are designed for the Linux OS. These apps are made to meet the needs of Linux users and make it easy for them to take notes. In addition to big names like Google Keep and Microsoft OneNote, there are a lot of other good choices.
Best Note Taking Apps for Linux Comparison Table
| Product Name | Markdown Support | Encryption | Sync Across Devices | Attachments | Tags | Google Play Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Download Now |
| Simplenote | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Download Now |
| Xournal | No | No | No | Yes | No | – |
| Gnote | No | No | No | No | No | – |
| Standard Notes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Download Now |
| TagSpace | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | – |
Joplin
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Markdown Support | Write notes using Markdown syntax |
| End-to-End Encryption | Secure your notes with encryption |
| Sync Across Devices | Synchronize your notes across multiple devices |
| To-Do Lists | Create and manage to-do lists within the app |
| Attachments | Attach files, images, and resources to your notes |
| Tags | Organize notes with tags for easy categorization |
Joplin is a Best Note Taking Apps for Linux, feature-packed, highly customizable, and safe open-source note-taking and to-do app that works on Linux, Windows, and macOS on laptops or desktop computers, and Android and iOS on mobile phones or tablets. It is also available as a text-based app or a desktop.
Joplin works with many different languages and lets you take notes and view them safely from any device. It lets you organize your notes into notebooks, allows multimedia notes and attachments (images, videos, PDFs, and audio), and works with advanced text search queries, tags, and external editors.
The Good
- Help for all platforms
- Help with Markdown
- Choices for encryption
The Bad
- Beginners will have to learn more quickly.
- Compared to other note-taking apps, it has fewer options for formatting.
Simplenote
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Clean and Minimalistic | Simple and clutter-free interface |
| Sync Across Devices | Access your notes from various devices |
| Tagging | Organize notes using tags |
| Version History | View previous versions of your notes |
| Collaboration | Share notes and collaborate with others |
| Cross-platform | Available on multiple platforms |
Simplenote comes in at number two on the list. As the name suggests, it is a straightforward method, if not the most straightforward method, for keeping all of your notes in a web browser, as well as on Linux systems, Mac systems, iOS devices, and Android devices.
It is available without charge, its source code is open-source, it allows tags and sharable to-do lists, and it comes with support for mark-down. It synchronizes all of your notes across all of your devices and gives you the ability to publish notes online.
The Good
- Interface that is clean and simple
- Syncing between devices goes smoothly
- Parts that work well together
The Bad
- Lack of options for more advanced formatting
- Few ways to change things
Xournal
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Handwriting | Write and draw on digital pages |
| Annotate PDFs | Add notes and annotations to PDF files |
| Sketching | Create sketches and diagrams |
| Highlighting | Highlight text or important points |
| Customization | Customize pen colors, thickness, and more |
| Export | Save or export your notes and annotations |
Linux, Windows, macOS, and Android are the supported operating systems for Xournal. Its purpose is to provide you with the ability to compose notes that can include practically any kind of material you can think of. You may create sketchnotes using it because it supports pressure-sensitive styli as well as drawing tablets.
You may record audio in it, as well as type into it, create rudimentary vectors, import graphics, and do a lot more. One more thing you can do with Xournal is annotate PDFs, which is how I’ve used it in the past. It is distributed under a GPLv2 license, and you have the ability to export notes in a number of different formats.
The Good
- Handwriting and drawing capabilities
- PDFs can be marked up.
- Pen and color choices that can be changed
The Bad
- Few organizational elements
Gnote
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Note Organization | Organize notes in a hierarchical structure |
| Search Function | Easily find specific notes using the search feature |
| Spell Checking | Check spelling errors in your notes |
| Text Formatting | Format text with basic formatting options |
| Autosave | Automatically save your notes |
| Import and Export | Import and export notes in various formats |
Gnote is a Best Note Taking Apps for Linux application that was developed for Linux and is available under an open source license. Hubert Figuière derived it from a project that was referred to as Tomboy and cloned it.
Gnote, much like Tomboy, enables you to link together different notes by employing a linking system similar to that of wikis. GNote’s source code is accessible on GitLab. The software is distributed under a GPLv3 license.
The Good
- Easy to move and light
- Offers options for formatting
- GNOME desktop environment integration
The Bad
- Few platforms are available
Standard Notes
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| End-to-End Encryption | Secure your notes with encryption |
| Sync Across Devices | Synchronize your notes across multiple devices |
| Extensions and Plugins | Extend functionality with plugins and extensions |
| Markdown Support | Write notes using Markdown syntax |
| Tags and Labels | Organize and categorize notes with tags and labels |
| Dark Mode | Enable a dark theme for comfortable reading |
Standard Notes is one of the Best Note Taking Apps for Linux. It has an easy-to-use layout and can keep your notes private. This is also a private note-taking app that you can use on the Web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android because it is open source.
The app secures the data on the user’s device before sending it to the cloud. This keeps the data private. This means that no one but you can read your notes. Also, users can choose between a simple text editor and a rich text editor.
The Good
- Complete encryption to make things safer
- Compatibility across platforms
- a lot of ways to customize it
The Bad
- Some of the more advanced features need to be paid for.
TagSpace
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Tag-based Organization | Organize and categorize notes with tags |
| Rich Text Formatting | Format notes with rich text options |
| Collaboration | Share and collaborate on notes with others |
| File Attachments | Attach files and resources to your notes |
| Offline Access | Access your notes even without an internet connection |
| Cross-platform | Available on multiple platforms |
TagSpaces, an open-source Best Note Taking Apps for Linux program, also organizes, annotates, and manages local files with tags. It’s an advanced note-taking tool with to-do capabilities.
This app, like others in this article, works on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, and Android. Firefox, Edge, and Chrome include web clipper extensions for saving text from the browser. Plain text, markdown, and HTML notes are editable.
The Good
- Tags are a powerful way to organize things.
- Supports a wide range of file types
The Bad
- A relatively new app with little support from the community
FAQs
A: Yes, most of the apps listed above that let you take notes can be synced. You can sync your notes across all of your devices, so you can view and change them from anywhere.
A: Yes, some of the apps you listed, like Joplin, Simplenote, and Standard Notes, can format Markdown. Markdown lets you arrange your notes with things like headings, text in bold or italics, lists, links, and more.
A: Yes, you can add pictures or files to your notes with some note-taking apps, like CherryTree and Joplin. This can help you add pictures or links to other tools that are related to your notes.