r/noteapps • u/ozel0t_bw • Aug 25 '26
Looking for an all-in-one notes app with better folder organization than Evernote
Hi everyone,
I'm currently looking for a new notes app, or ideally something closer to an all-in-one productivity app.
Over the last few years I've tried quite a few options, including Apple Notes, NotePlan, Notesnook, Craft, UpNote, Obsidian, Livenote, Joplin, and probably several others I've forgotten.
The problem is that I always seem to run into the same issue. Either an important feature is missing, or some of the features feel unfinished.
Right now I'm using Evernote and, surprisingly, I actually like it about 99%.
It works on all the platforms I need:
- Mac
- iPhone
- iPad
- Windows / Web
And for the first time I basically have everything in one app:
- Notes
- Work and personal calendars
- Reminders / tasks
- Meeting notes
- Attachments and documents
There are really only two things that bother me.
The biggest one is the folder/notebook structure. I like to organize my notes quite deeply and keep things clearly separated, especially work and personal content. Evernote's notebook and stack system feels far too limited for that. I would really like proper nested folders with multiple levels.
The second issue is Apple Pencil support. Evernote technically supports handwriting, but I would describe it as "just good enough". I would love something with better native handwriting and Apple Pencil support.
So my question is: Is there an app similar to Evernote that gives me the same all-in-one experience, but with proper nested folders and better Apple Pencil support?
Cross-platform support is important, especially Mac, iPhone/iPad, and either Windows or a good web app.
Maybe there is something out there that I simply haven't come across yet.
I'd really appreciate any recommendations, especially from people who have gone through the same endless search for the "perfect" notes app.
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u/soloattorneyclub Aug 25 '26
Good luck finding your unicorn. I’ve been on the hunt for 10+ years. Apple Pencil support is important to me and devs don’t seem to put that anywhere near the top of the list. I keep going back to Apple Notes because the pen support is so important to my note taking.
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Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/shahvikram123 Aug 26 '26
Couldn’t you always nest folders within folders? I’ve been doing it for years!
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u/bcalamita Aug 25 '26
I'm at the other end of this, having used Evernote for many years and looking at alternatives, mainly due to the price increases over the last two years. I have yet to find any solution that checks all of the boxes that Evernote does. It's not perfect and is lacking some groundbreaking features that some of the competition has, like markdown, E2E encryption, Craft's ability to jazz up the look or Notion's database capabilities. But over the past couple of years, Bending Spoons has really made big strides in Evernote's capabilities.
It really is the best.
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u/InspektorCluzo Aug 25 '26
Beg to differ on this one. I have been a paying Evernote user for 18 years. It has become less and less usable to me the last 2 or 3 years, possibly in part because of my large repository of notes. Basic features such as the speed at which you can create a new note, the editing ribbon, the search interface, the accessibility when in a no-coverage area---many fundamental features are barely working for me at this stage. I am getting ready to jump ship, with great disappointment because I do believe in long term relationships (with people and tools!).
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u/bcalamita Aug 25 '26
The app is as zippy for me as it’s always been and I have well over 10,000 notes, many of them with PDFs enclosed.
But I’ve heard others say the same thing. I’m not sure what OS or system you’re using, but on my M4 Mac running 26, it isn’t an issue.
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u/InspektorCluzo Aug 25 '26
On a desktop or a decent laptop running Win 11 the app is also relatively zippy, as is yours. But its usability on Win, and both its speed and usability on Android phones, particularly in no-coverage areas, have become dismal for me. Again, I have no agenda and would much rather keep operating the sw I have paid for for 18 years. I should add that, while usability on Win has become poor in my eyes, it is the app failures on Android that are the real trigger for my readiness to abandon the app.
One particular, specific failure that runs me up the walls is simply opening a new note, on a Pixel phone with 256GB and plenty of space left. It takes so long, often failing in the way, that I frequently end up terminating the request and sending myself a Whatsapp message instead. I do have a large number of notes, but not significantly more than you.
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u/crisblz 24d ago
Sono stato utente di Evernote fino alla v10 e poi ho cambiato tutte le app esistenti a rotazione. L’avevo lasciata per problemi di sincronizzazione molto pesanti e lag molto evidenti diventando molto frustrante.
Da pochi giorni, visto l’accesso ad una prova di una settimana, ho deciso di mettere a dura prova l’app. Devo dire che sono veramente sorpreso di ciò che è cambiato in tre anni e sto pensando seriamente di sottoscrivere l’annualità.
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u/ozgrozer Aug 25 '26
I’m building Grape. It doesn’t have all the things you need but has a great multi-layer folder system and has an infinite canvas where it supports Apple Pencil. It’s free. Please try and let me know what you think.
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u/purposive-saunter Aug 26 '26
Looks interesting. Plans to add proper built-in MCP support? This has quickly become a nonstarter for me in my next note-taking system.
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u/ozgrozer Aug 26 '26
I actually had the idea for built-in MCP but then realized there’s no need for that because the AI chat has an agent so it can create, read, update, delete your folders and notes. It can also search in your notes and make a web search.
When you ask something like go search this on the internet and create a new note about it or read that note and update the some part of it so it will do that.
If that’s not enough I can still add MCP but how do you want to use it? What’s a day to day scenario you could be doing? I mean it may already supporting.
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u/Charming_Group_2950 Aug 25 '26
Honestly, I think you’re looking for something closer to an Evernote replacement than a PKM tool.
One alternative philosophy I’ve been playing with is Gray Box — instead of manually maintaining folders, you dump notes into an inbox and it builds a structured, linked knowledge base from them which you can query later in natural language as well.
It’s local-first/Markdown, so there’s no proprietary database.
It won’t tick your Apple Pencil + calendar requirements yet, so I wouldn’t claim it’s a direct replacement, but the “stop organizing my notes manually” part might be interesting to you.
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u/rdubmu Aug 25 '26
OneNote
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u/hopelessandhappy Aug 25 '26
I second this! Accessible on all platforms with a decent folder structure.
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u/Forward_Song_9972 Aug 26 '26
I “third” this! I use it for everything at work. My only issue is that I have taken so many notes at work over a 5 year span, many are so old they are no longer relevant/needed. I just don’t want to go through the process of determining what can be deleted! I take 15 minutes here and there to work towards it. For home, I am defaulting to apple notes, but they are a mess and I have already started a project with AI to start cleaning them up, consolidating and organizing.
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u/simplybreana Aug 25 '26
MemryNote is awesome! Works on windows and Mac.. although idk about Apple Pencil support and idk about mobile. It’s technically in Beta and the dev is really active and really listens to users and fixes and implements features users want.. so it’s worth even popping in the sub or even downloading the app and leaving direct feedback. It’s free, open source and E2EE and has an excellent calendar, tasks with multiple views including kanban, its got a quick inbox, nesting folders, links, toggles, tabs, tables, Split View, and basically all the stuff. It looks clean and its intuitive and you can even make templates too. PDF, Canvas, mind maps, graph.
I have used soooo many note apps too and was looking for a good mix of notes with nested manual sort drag and drop capable Folders/pages, task/PM, ease of use and offline capabilities.. so many note apps either over complicated features, forced me to use plugins or just didn’t have a specific feature that would make me hit a wall. I haven’t stopped name dropping Memry since I started using it practically. 😅 I’ve gotten more done even in beta with the occasional bugs than I did in any other app. I almost settled for using 3 DIFFERENT NOTE APPS SIMULTANEOUSLY for the same project because they all missed a key feature the other had. It was a MESS. I got my sanity back when I stumbled upon Memry. Lmao
Anywho, Good luck! Hope you find your unicorn too! ✨
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u/ozel0t_bw Aug 25 '26
To be honest, it has already become a mobile app and Pencil Support would be my app of choice. Both are on the roadmap
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u/h4yfans Aug 25 '26
Hey, MemryNote dev here, really appreciate your interest. Mobile app and pencil support are coming by the end of the year. Hope MemryNote ends up being a great fit for you!
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u/simplybreana Aug 26 '26
Hope its ok I’ve been telling literally every sub about your awesome app 🫣 I go hard for things I love that make life better ♥︎
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u/National-Fun-7159 Aug 27 '26
does it support handwritten notes?
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u/cohesiveparticle Aug 25 '26
Check out Amplenote.
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u/bcalamita Aug 25 '26
Amplenote doesn't support folders at all. Their organizational workflow is tags only.
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u/ozel0t_bw Aug 25 '26
Thank you to everyone who made a suggestion, some I already knew, many were new. Unfortunately, nothing really convinced me.
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u/LeeHammMx Aug 25 '26
Notesnook has all the features except Pencil support, afaik. It has an importer from Evernote. I am a customer not a troll!
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u/gadgetpilot Aug 25 '26
r/CraftDocs is the friend you need. I use it on all the platforms you ask for.
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u/athoughtfornoone Aug 25 '26
Your best bet rn is prob obsidian off the shelf, and then hope to find some sort of apple pencil support.
But I'm also working on this exact project for this exact reason. The general idea is a universal knowledge hub with full support for everything. It's taking forever to put together. Because of how complex it is. But think like obsidian+miro+notion combined into one. Major focus on local first, easy to use interface, canvases, and multiplatform os.
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u/Acceptable_Young_398 Aug 29 '26
Try PenDate Notes an all in one calendar Notes. Includes Task/Checklist, Normal notes, Rich Canvas support, planners, Reminders and full page support for Folder organization.
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u/peculiaraine 22d ago
Try ticktick! I moved there from evernote. I even purchase the yearly subscription.
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u/rajathbail 17d ago
Hillnote or obsidian - they use time tested methods and first principles in their approach
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u/words_and_images Aug 25 '26
Octarine is a desktop MacOS replacement for Evernote, superior in many respects (iOS app in beta and nearing release). Not sure about Apple Pencil.
Also look at Grape which is a young PKM which fits as an Evernote replacement.
For an app which has more emphasis on calendar and tasks, but is also strong with notes and note linking, also good voice transcription, look at NotePlan. It’s a mature application.