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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

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24 alternatives to Free developer-first OneNote alternative

Hey Everyone, been working on a note-taking app called janta (Just Another Note Taking App) the past few months. You can try it out at app.janta.dev (you will be redirected to app.janta.dev/canvas/temporary, which is the locally-stored whiteboard you can access) I felt limited with OneNote, Excalidraw, and other infinite-canvas style apps, so I built an alternative. You have access to code-editors, Desmos graphs, and rich text editors (SlateJS). This is because the canvas is designed in a way that allows web components to exist on the same layer as pen-strokes, so you can annotate…

Janta is a free note-taking app designed for developers who find OneNote and similar tools limiting. It combines an infinite canvas with embedded code editors, Desmos graphs, and rich text, allowing users to annotate… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1

    Dictate notes, perform searches, and see recent content.

    2014 · evernote.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2
    Notea▲288

    Free self-hosted open source note taking app, like Notion

    2021 · cinwell.com · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    The collaborative note-taking app

    2020 · supernotes.app · its alternatives →

  4. 4
    SideNotes▲311

    A beautiful note taking app with superpowers. It shows and hides on the side of your monitor to manage your notes distraction-free. Keep your notes organised, personalised and always at your fingertips. Markdown, tasks, pictures, colors, folders included.

    2025 · apptorium.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Thank you for your comments, just some context: - The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the Web. - The Web version is implemented as a Progressive Web Application that is very responsive, local first, offline first, can be installed, and is entirely free to use. - Native (hybrid) versions do not require subscription fees and have small one-time payment. - You can store your notes in Git using any Git provider such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. However, it has the best built-in integration with GitHub. Self-hosted scenarios like Gitea are also…

    2024 · about.noteshub.app · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    The popular note-taking app, re-designed for iOS

    2017 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7IO

    Look, every journaling app out there wants you to organize things into folders and tags and templates. I just wanted to write something down every day. So I built this. One note per day. That's the whole deal. - Can't edit yesterday. What's done is done. Keeps you from fussing over old entries instead of writing today's. - Year view with dots showing which days you actually wrote. It's a streak chart. Works better than it should. - No signup required. Opens right up, stores everything locally in your browser. Optional cloud sync if you want it - E2E encrypted with AES-GCM, zero-knowledge,…

    Mar 2026 · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Welcome to the Collate Blog! As our first blog post, let’s kick things off with the...

    2017 · collatenotes.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    MicroPad is a free non-linear note taking app that allows for easy organisation of all of your notes and notebooks.

    2018 · getmicropad.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    📝 Minimalist, 🙈 anonymous and 🆓 free note taking app

    2018 · quicknote.io · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    An open source, markdown-based, self-hosted note taking webapp. - batnoter/batnoter

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Hi HN – we first launched Supernotes[1] to HN in April 2020, and since then Tobias and I (it's just the two of us) have put in the work to make what we hope is an amazing note-taking app. Although the note-taking / personal knowledge management landscape is incredibly competitive at the moment (with lots of great apps adding great new features every day), we think that with the newly released Supernotes 2 we're keeping pace and delivering a unique and satisfying knowledge management experience. Here's the combination of features that make us stand out: - a powerful markdown-based…

    2022 · supernotes.app · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    NoteLedge▲210

    Take better notes, your way

    2021 · kdan.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14AO
  15. 15

    So I've been working on this app for a very long time now. Started off by wanting an app that separates long form notes from short form notes visually and keeps everything organized on a canvas. The app features: -Sticky notes for quick, small notes and A4 notes for long form documents -A quick mode that uses local storage to quickly open the app and jot down a thought on the canvas -A PDF export option that exports your notes into 3 custom designed PDF styles -Visual hierarchy to replicate file structure instead of a linear fashion, where your files are notes, stacks are folders and labels…

    Jul 2026 · passinote.app · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Markdown note taking app for developers

    2025 · nerdynotes.app · its alternatives →

  17. 17
    MinkNote▲157

    Private macOS notes app built on plain Markdown files. No databases, no lock-in. Native, keyboard-first, and designed for knowledge organization.

    Jul 2026 · muse23.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18
    PeekNote▲176

    Lightweight always-on-top notes for devs & multitaskers

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    Dumbnote▲141

    Offline-first Markdown note app. No lock-in. Just write.

    2025 · dumbnote.app · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    So, I built this little thing over the past month or so now, I got tired of places for tickets, notes, and such being shoved front and center in apps. Thus I created Mininote to get away from the noise I wanted something simple to move out of the way completely when I don't need it but be there when I do need it It contains a slew of features built right in, but the coolest is the sites own API is also the sites own public API no split seam

    Aug 2026 · mininote.ink · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    NoteTabs▲129

    Native macOS text editor with horizontal tabs & auto-restore

    Jan 2026 · notetabs.azurewebsites.net · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    The most popular note-taking app, reengineered.

    2020 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Simple note taking

    2020 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Handwritten notes made easy

    2021 · play.google.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →