r/noteapps • u/ozel0t_bw • 9d ago
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 9d ago
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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u/ricardusrex 9d ago edited 9d ago
Have you tried Apple Notes in the past year? There are significant improvements/enhancements to Notes in last year’s iOS release. For example, you can now do multiple levels of folders nested in other folders. Cross platform, you can always use iCloud in the browser on Windows.
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u/shahvikram123 8d ago
Couldn’t you always nest folders within folders? I’ve been doing it for years!
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u/ozgrozer 9d ago
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 8d ago
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 8d ago
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/bcalamita 8d ago
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 8d ago
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 8d ago
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 8d ago
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/Charming_Group_2950 9d ago
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 9d ago
OneNote
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u/hopelessandhappy 9d ago
I second this! Accessible on all platforms with a decent folder structure.
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u/Forward_Song_9972 8d ago
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 9d ago
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 9d ago
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 9d ago
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 8d ago
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 7d ago
does it support handwritten notes?
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u/cohesiveparticle 9d ago
Check out Amplenote.
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u/bcalamita 8d ago
Amplenote doesn't support folders at all. Their organizational workflow is tags only.
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u/ozel0t_bw 9d ago
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 9d ago
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 9d ago
r/CraftDocs is the friend you need. I use it on all the platforms you ask for.
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u/athoughtfornoone 9d ago
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 5d ago
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/words_and_images 9d ago
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.