Last updated: April 2026
What Is Evernote?
Evernote is a cross-platform note-taking and organisation app that launched in 2008 and has been owned by Italian software company Bending Spoons since November 2022. It functions as a digital file cabinet, personal notebook, and lightweight project management tool. Features include unlimited device sync (on paid plans), web clipping, OCR on images, document storage, audio notes, and AI-assisted search on Professional and above. The company reports over 225 million registered users across its lifetime.
I've had an Evernote account since 2010. The product has evolved a lot over the years — arguably not always in the right direction. Like many long-time users, I stopped using Evernote when it became slow and fell behind competitors. After Bending Spoons acquired the company in late 2022, the app was rebuilt on a faster foundation and development has accelerated. At the same time, prices have risen sharply and the free tier has been cut down significantly.
If you're deciding whether Evernote is still worth it in 2026, you're not alone in asking. Below is what's actually on offer today and where it fits against Notion, Obsidian, and Apple Notes — the three tools most former Evernote users have moved to.
Evernote Plans and Pricing in 2026
The plan structure has changed repeatedly since the Bending Spoons acquisition. As of April 2026, the tiers are:
- Free — 50 notes and 1 notebook cap. Syncs across devices, web clipper works, OCR included. The hard cap on note count makes this feel more like a trial than a useful free tier. If you already have thousands of notes from a pre-2024 account, existing notes remain accessible; you just can't create new ones past the cap.
- Starter — Around $99/year ($8.25/month). Unlimited notes and notebooks, 2GB monthly uploads, core sync.
- Personal — $129.99/year. Unlimited device sync, 10GB monthly uploads, offline access, tasks, calendar integration.
- Professional — $169.99/year. 20GB monthly uploads, AI-Powered Search, AI Edit, Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations, home dashboard customisation.
- Advanced — $249.99/year. Extended features for power users, additional integrations.
- Teams — Custom pricing. Single sign-on, team admin, shared spaces, security controls.
These are the current US prices at time of writing. Regional pricing in the EU/UK is comparable once converted. Bending Spoons has adjusted prices multiple times since acquiring the app; the trend has been consistently upward, and existing-subscriber renewal prices have sometimes jumped 70%+ between cycles. If you're considering a paid tier, budget as though next year's price could be meaningfully higher.
Is Evernote Still Worth It in 2026?
Honest answer: it depends on where you're coming from.
- If you're a former heavy user returning after a break: The rebuilt app is noticeably faster than the pre-2023 version. Sync is more reliable, and the Professional tier's AI search can genuinely find content across a large notebook. Worth a look.
- If you've moved to Notion or Obsidian and you're happy there: No meaningful reason to switch back. Notion covers the database/project-management use cases better; Obsidian covers the local-first, writer-focused use cases better. Evernote doesn't beat either at their core strength.
- If you're starting from scratch: Apple Notes (free, already on your devices) covers most simple note-taking. Notion covers structured work. Obsidian is the serious writer's tool. Evernote is the easiest to pick up of the paid options but has the most uncertain pricing trajectory.
The strongest case for Evernote in 2026 is for users who've accumulated a decade or more of notes inside the platform, because the export/migration cost is real. If that's you, the Personal tier at $129.99/year is probably the sensible home until you've decided whether to migrate.
Evernote Tips and Tricks
If you are using Evernote (old account or new), here are eleven ways writers and working professionals still get value from it.
1. For Note-taking
I've attended classes where the lecturer shared an Evernote notebook full of images and articles with students. The notebook stayed live — they added articles as the course progressed, so our notes were dynamic rather than frozen on day one.
Anyone can use Evernote as a digital notebook, and the web clipper, image capture, and OCR mean handwritten or photographed material becomes searchable text. Create templates for repeated note formats (meeting notes, article briefs, recipe cards) to save time.
2. For Recipes
I'm no chef, but capturing pictures, ingredient lists, and recipes from blogs and magazines into Evernote means I spend less on cookbooks and less time flicking back through them. On a tablet in the kitchen, Evernote's OCR on recipe images is genuinely useful.
3. For Digital Backups
Scan receipts, insurance documents, warranty cards, passports, and tax records into Evernote. The OCR makes them searchable. Years later, when you need to find the receipt for the dishwasher warranty, you search "dishwasher" and it's there — even though what you scanned was a blurry photo of a till receipt.
4. For Research
When I'm researching a book or long-form article, I set up a dedicated notebook for the project, clip articles into it with the web clipper, and add my own annotations. By the time I start writing, the notebook has become a second brain for the topic — quotes, statistics, and arguments all tagged and searchable.
5. For Support
Save how-to articles and troubleshooting guides — that Wi-Fi router reset procedure you Google every six months, the specific Gmail setting that stops the spam filter going rogue. A personal "fixes and workarounds" notebook pays for itself the first time something breaks and you know exactly where to look.
6. For Image Ideas
Photographers, designers, and visual researchers can use Evernote as a mood board. Save screenshots, reference images, and visual inspiration tagged by project or theme. Searchable image content (thanks to OCR on image text) makes retrieval faster than scrolling through a camera roll.
7. For Business Cards
Evernote's business card scanner captures contact details and links them to LinkedIn. Useful at conferences and networking events where paper cards are still in circulation. The scanned contacts can be exported to your phone's address book.
8. For Planning Holidays
Clip hotel bookings, flight confirmations, and travel guide articles into a trip notebook. Save offline so the notebook is available without Wi-Fi when you land. One canonical place for the trip is better than sixteen browser tabs.
9. As a Web Clipper
The Evernote Web Clipper is still one of the best in its category. Clip full articles, simplified versions, or screenshots. The browser extension is available for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
10. For Recording Audio Notes
The mobile app records audio notes alongside text. Useful for capturing voice memos on the move, interview snippets, or reminders while driving. Audio attaches to the note and stays searchable (the title and any accompanying text are indexed).
11. For Writing With Markdown
Evernote supports markdown in newer versions, though its core is still rich text. If you want pure markdown-first writing, Obsidian or iA Writer are better tools. For writers who want a mix of rich-text capture and markdown drafting in one place, Evernote works — just not as cleanly as a dedicated markdown editor.
What Is Evernote? The Bottom Line
Evernote in 2026 is a credible paid note-taking app with a badly restricted free tier, a post-acquisition pricing trajectory that makes long-term budgeting hard, and a user base that's shrunk noticeably since 2022 as people migrated to Notion, Obsidian, and Apple Notes.
It's not the default I'd recommend to a new user starting from scratch — I'd point most writers to Obsidian (free, local-first, markdown) or Apple Notes (free, already installed on your Apple devices). But for existing heavy users with years of accumulated notes, it's still a functional and arguably improved tool under its new ownership, provided you're willing to accept the price-hike risk.
FAQ
What is Evernote used for?
Evernote is used for note-taking, research capture, document storage, web clipping, recipe collection, travel planning, business-card scanning, audio notes, and lightweight project management. It's designed to be a single searchable archive of everything you want to keep.
What is the difference between Evernote Free and Evernote Personal/Professional?
The Free plan is capped at 50 notes and 1 notebook — effectively a trial. Personal ($129.99/year) removes the note cap, adds 10GB/month uploads, unlimited device sync, tasks, and calendar integration. Professional ($169.99/year) doubles the upload limit to 20GB, adds AI-Powered Search and AI Edit, and integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams.
How does Evernote compare to Apple Notes and Notion?
Apple Notes is free, works natively on Apple devices, and covers basic note-taking well — if your use case is simple notes, Apple Notes is almost always the right choice. Notion is more powerful than Evernote for structured data (databases, project boards, wikis) but less focused on pure note capture. Evernote sits between them — broader than Apple Notes, lighter than Notion, with better web clipping than either.
Is Evernote free to use?
There's a free tier, but it's hard-capped at 50 notes and 1 notebook. For any serious use, you'll need one of the paid plans (Starter at $99/year, Personal at $129.99/year, or Professional at $169.99/year).
What happened to Evernote after the Bending Spoons acquisition?
Italian software company Bending Spoons acquired Evernote in November 2022. Since then, the app has been rebuilt on faster infrastructure and new features (AI search, AI edit) have shipped. At the same time, prices have risen significantly and the free tier has been cut back to its current 50-note cap. Reaction has been mixed — long-time power users have criticised the price hikes; the app itself is faster and more stable than it was pre-acquisition.
What are the best alternatives to Evernote in 2026?
Notion (best for structured work and databases), Obsidian (best for writers and markdown-first, local-first note-taking), Apple Notes (best free option for Apple users), Bear (Mac/iOS, markdown, cheaper subscription), and Logseq (open-source, local-first). For most writers I talk to, Obsidian has been the most common destination after leaving Evernote.
For more on the tools writers use day-to-day, see our guides on note-taking apps and memoir writing software.