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Work · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Grug Notes, a simple take on text notes

Hey hacker news, I've worked on a note/wiki app nights and weekends for almost two years. While still missing some essentials and polish, I'm happy with the progress and some of my use cases: personal CRM, work notes, and a place to write/record funny things my kid says. I bought into the hype a few years ago with linking apps but quickly grew tired of spinners and steep learning curves, so I started over with a text box and my HTML skills from twenty years ago. Then Chatgpt came out, giving me the tools to add a bit of magic and dig into my stance on simplicity even more. I'd love…

Grug Notes is a text-based note-taking and wiki app designed for personal use cases like CRM management, work notes, and personal recording. Built by its creator after two years of development, it prioritizes… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Grug Notes, a simple take on text notes launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1
    TalkNotes▲854

    Turn your thoughts into actionable notes, fast

    2023 · talknotes.io · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    This project began when I realized that despite trying many fantastic note-taking apps, I often defaulted to dumping notes into chat apps like Slack or iMessage. I wanted to bring that effortless “text yourself” note-taking experience to a dedicated note-taking app. Originally developed as a macOS app, Strflow is now also available for iOS. Strflow is designed to make note-taking as quick and intuitive as possible, centered around a chronological timeline UI. Here are some of its features: * Tag system * Rich editor with text formatting, images, and note linking * Global shortcuts for quick…

    2024 · strflow.app · its alternatives →

  3. 3CN
  4. 4

    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 →

  5. 5

    I wanted to see how far I could go building a notes app using only what modern browsers already provide – no frameworks, no storage APIs, no build step. What it does: Single HTML file, no deps, 111 loc Notes live in the URL hash (shareable links!) Auto-compressed with CompressionStream Plain-text editor (contenteditable) History support Page title from first # heading Respects light/dark mode No storage, cookies, or tracking The entire app is the page source. https://textarea.my/

    Dec 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6TA

    Hey all! I created TalkNotes few weeks ago and it started getting traction in hours. It quickly went from 0 -> $700 revenue with One time payment and I decided to remove the one time payment, the line went straight down but since then it rising little by little and has now reached $150 MRR. I'm stoked since this is one of my best projects. The idea is to speak freely into a microphone about anything on your mind—meetings, emails, tasks—and let AI help organize it all. It turns your thoughts into a structured to-do list, notes, flashcards, and more. I created it because spending 15 minutes…

    2025 · talknotes.tech · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    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 →

  8. 8

    In 2021 after getting thoroughly sick of Privnote, i built "Burner Note". Even though i didn't promote it in anyway other than a post here and a post on reddit, it ended up getting about 7000(ish) unique users per month. I kinda let it die about 18 months ago but i've resurrected it with some big upgrades. Most botable the app is now truly end to end encrypted (previously was just server side), and I've added dark mode as well as a few other bells and whistles. Feedback welcomed.

    Jan 2026 · burnernote.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9
    Znote▲184

    Continue your ChatGPT chats inside smart notes

    2025 · znote.io · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Markdown note taking app for developers

    2025 · nerdynotes.app · its alternatives →

  11. 11
    NoteGPT▲216

    Your summary AI note taker for meetings, videos & everything

    Dec 2025 · notegpt.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12
    Gnotes▲109

    You focus on learning, we'll take the notes.

    2019 · chromewebstore.google.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13KN
  14. 14
    Decks▲182

    I’m building Decks, an application where you create study decks that consists of notes, flashcards, YouTube videos, and ChatGPT conversations. Notes and flashcards can be attached to YouTube videos. And your ChatGPT conversations are searchable and organizable through tags and folders. The concept is that this is study application where you can keep all your materials related to a subject in one place. Would appreciate any feedback you might have. Thanks!

    2024 · decksapp.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Elevate note-taking with AI assistants

    2024 · scripmind.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16
    GPTRecap▲134

    I always loved seeing my Spotify Wrapped every year and wondered why doesn’t ChatGPT have something similar? So I built GPTRecap: paste your exported file and instantly see your top topics, total messages, and more. All core features run 100% in your browser, no account, no data stored. Premium insights (like deeper topic analysis) are processed via OpenAI, but nothing is saved on our servers. Would love feedback! What stats would you want to see next?

    2025 · gptrecap.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17
    Dumbnote▲141

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

    2025 · dumbnote.app · its alternatives →

  18. 18BA
  19. 19
    Contexted▲107

    Write, connect & visualize your notes

    2019 · contexted.io · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    ChatGPT plugin & GPT for study guides, videos & articles

    2023 · alphanotes.one · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Turn your IDE into a personal knowledge management system

    Apr 2026 · asnotes.io · its alternatives →

  22. 22

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

    2017 · collatenotes.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Simple UI to grab content and take note easily

    2023 · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    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 →

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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 →