Standard Notes

Key features

• Audited end-to-end encryption Notes and files are protected with audited, industry-leading end-to-end encryption, and only the user holds the keys required to decrypt the data. This matters for financial records, legal documents, and other material people would never knowingly share.[1]

• Free sync on unlimited devices Encrypted sync runs across web, desktop, and mobile with no device cap, even on the free tier. This covers capture on a phone and continuation on a desktop without a paid plan.[1][2]

• Offline copies and cloud backup Every device keeps an offline copy of notes and files accessible without an internet connection, while automated backups and secure cloud sync protect against device loss, damage, or theft.[1]

• Tags, note locking, export, and 2FA The free tier organises notes into tags, password-protects individual notes, exports all data in encrypted or plaintext format, and supports two-factor authentication plus daily encrypted email backups.[1]

• Paid-tier editing and capture Productivity at $90 per year adds the Super note type with Markdown, rich text, checklists, and code snippets, plus spreadsheets with formulas, Daily Notebooks, folders, a Web Clipper, and 1-year note revision history. Professional at $120 per year adds 100GB of encrypted file storage and family subscription sharing.[1]

• Self-hostable clients and server The web app compiles to static files that can be served from any web server, clients can be pointed at a custom sync server through DEFAULT_SYNC_SERVER, and an official self-hosted server repository exists. The server repository is currently marked Legacy, so this is documented capability rather than a current recommended path.[1][2]

• Open source under AGPL-3.0 The canonical standardnotes/app repository is public open source under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0, with a TypeScript and JavaScript codebase and native mobile footprints. It is organisation-owned, not a fork, and not archived.[1][2][3]

• Proton-era longevity Standard Notes joined forces with Proton in April 2024 and reports tens of thousands of paying customers directly supporting development, with Proton support used to harden the architecture against abuse and outages. This is the evidenced basis for treating it as a sustained business rather than a solo project.[1]

Who will love it

• Privacy-first individuals replacing Notion, Evernote, or Google Keep: the homepage contrast with those exact services scopes this migration, pairing audited encryption with the same everyday capture-and-sync workflow.[1]

• Long-lived library keepers: full data export, 1-year revision history on paid tiers, daily encrypted email backups, and Proton-backed development fit notes meant to survive for years.[1][2]

• Multi-device users who will not run infrastructure: unlimited-device sync with offline copies across web, desktop, and mobile needs only download-and-register, with an optional self-host path for later.[1][2][3]

Who should avoid it

• Anyone needing Markdown or rich editing for free: the free tier covers plain-text notes, and the Super note type, spreadsheets, and Web Clipper require a paid tier, so rich-editing needs must budget $90 per year and up.[1]

• Teams with compliance checklists: no public developer API, single-sign-on offering, vendor region list, or enterprise SLA was documented in the observed official sources, so SSO, data-residency, and enterprise-support requirements stay unverified unknowns rather than supported claims.[1][2]

• Operators wanting a supported self-host story: the official self-hosted server repository is marked Legacy, so adopting Standard Notes today means relying on its managed sync cloud in practice.[1][2]

Alternatives and compatibility