10 Best Note-Taking Apps for Windows of 2026

OneNote is the default answer on Windows for good reason. Microsoft says all supported versions are free to download and use, and the desktop app runs on every edition of Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is also the only version of OneNote that can store notebooks on your PC's drive as well as in the cloud. Pages are free-form, so typed text, screenshots, Office files and pen ink sit side by side. On a Surface Pro, the ink to text pen converts handwriting into typed text as you write, and natural gestures such as a scratch out to delete or a backwards L for a new line work in OneNote for Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 Personal costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year and adds 1 TB of OneDrive storage and the other Office apps. The drawbacks are minor: the ribbon looks busy next to newer apps, and older OneNote for Windows 10 users must move to the desktop app because that version reached end of support in October 2025.

Obsidian treats your notes as ordinary Markdown files inside a folder on your Windows PC, which makes it the most future-proof app on this list. The app is free without limits and needs no account. You can link notes to each other, see the links in a graph view and search everything in full text, and the community plugin library adds calendars, task lists, kanban boards and more. Paid services are optional. Sync costs $4 per user per month billed annually, or $5 billed monthly, and adds end-to-end encryption, version history and shared vaults. Publish costs $8 per site per month billed annually. A Catalyst license costs $25 once and a Commercial license $50 per user per year, both optional. The trade-offs are setup time and pen support: Obsidian is built for the keyboard, so Surface users who handwrite will want OneNote or Nebo alongside it.

Notion is the strongest choice on Windows when notes are only the start. A page can hold text, to-dos and embeds, then become a database with subtasks, dependencies and custom properties, so class notes or meeting notes can turn into a project tracker without switching apps. Notion's own download page lists Windows installers for both x64 and ARM64, which matters on the newer Arm-based Surface devices, plus a separate Notion Calendar app for Windows and a Web Clipper. The free plan includes unlimited pages, docs, wikis and databases, and paid plans start at $10 per member per month billed annually. The trade-offs are the cloud model and the lack of pen tools. Your notes live on Notion's servers, not as files on your PC, and Surface owners who handwrite will be better served by OneNote or Nebo. For solo notes, Notion can also feel like more structure than you need.

Joplin is the open source pick for Windows. The desktop app runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and there are Android and iOS apps and even a terminal app. Notes are saved in an open format, and end-to-end encryption protects them in sync so that only you can read them. Sync is flexible: Joplin Cloud is the built-in option, but you can also sync through Dropbox or OneDrive, which many Windows users already pay for through Microsoft 365. Notes can hold images, videos, PDFs and audio, plus math expressions and diagrams, and you can switch between a Rich Text and a Markdown editor and add plugins and themes. The web clipper saves pages from Chrome and Firefox. The app itself is free. Joplin Cloud adds publishing, collaboration and email to note, but the plans page showed prices only in euros, so we mark pricing as pending. The interface is functional rather than polished.

Nebo is the app to try if your Surface pen is your main input. MyScript renamed it MyScript Notes on iOS and Android, but on Windows it keeps the Nebo name with full functionality, and notes sync across devices. Its core trick is interactive ink: you write by hand, edit with pen gestures, and convert lines of handwriting into typed text that adapts as the page layout changes. Hand-drawn diagrams convert to typed text and clean shapes, and MyScript says they stay editable in PowerPoint. You can import PDFs, Word files and PowerPoint decks as PDFs and mark them up, then export to PDF, PNG, SVG or Word. Global search reaches handwritten content and PDF annotations. Sync uses Google Drive or Dropbox and needs a free MyScript account. MyScript offers a 7-day free trial and then a free limited version, with monthly, yearly and lifetime purchases, but its pricing page did not show us a USD price, so we list pricing as pending.

Capacities sits between Obsidian and Notion. Instead of folders, every note is an object of a type such as a person, book or meeting, and you can create unlimited custom types, which gives your notes structure without setting up databases. The free Basic plan includes unlimited spaces, objects and blocks, sync across devices, offline support, full-text search and import and export to Markdown and CSV, with media uploads up to 5 GB in total and 100 MB per month after that. Capacities lists apps for web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. Capacities Pro costs $9.99 per month and adds an AI assistant, whiteboards, task management, smart queries, calendar integration, version history and unlimited media uploads. The Believer tier starts at $12.49 per month for people who want beta features. Expect a learning curve while you get used to thinking in object types, and pen users should look elsewhere.

Evernote remains a capable all-round note app with a Windows client, and its strength is capture and search. You can clip web pages, scan documents, attach files and later find them with Boolean, geographic and filtered searches. Tasks with dates and reminders, Evernote Calendar and connections to Google or Microsoft Office calendars make it a light planner too, and newer AI features include an AI Assistant, semantic search, AI Transcribe for meetings and AI Edit. The limits are the problem. The Free plan allows 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 GB of storage and sync on 1 device, so most Windows users who also carry a phone will need a paid plan. Starter raises that to 1,000 notes, 20 notebooks and 3 devices, and Advanced removes the caps. Evernote's plans page did not show us prices in US dollars, so pricing is marked pending.

Goodnotes brings its paper-style notebooks to Windows, which makes it a natural fit for a Surface Pro used like a tablet. You get notebooks, whiteboards and text documents, more than 50 templates such as graph, dotted and Cornell paper, handwriting search, handwriting to text and the ability to edit ink after you write it. A shared link lets others view, edit and comment. Pricing is low: Essential is $11.99 per year with unlimited files and unlimited audio recording, and Pro is $35.99 per year with real-time collaboration and cross-platform library sync. Read the limits first. Goodnotes says the Android, Windows and web app does not offer the full range of features in Goodnotes 6 on iPad, and notes from Goodnotes on iOS cannot yet sync to the Windows app. If your notes already live in Goodnotes on an iPad, check that before you switch.

Standard Notes is built around encryption. Every plan, including the free one, uses end-to-end encryption and syncs across unlimited devices, and the download page lists a Windows installer alongside macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and the web app. The free plan covers plain text notes, tags, offline access, password protection for individual notes, two-factor authentication and daily encrypted email backups. Productivity costs $90 per year and adds the Super note type for Markdown, rich text, checklists and code, spreadsheets, daily notebooks, folders, a web clipper and a year of revision history. Professional costs $120 per year and adds 100GB of encrypted file storage and sharing with up to 5 accounts. The free plan's plain text limit and the yearly billing make it less flexible than Joplin for people on a tight budget, and there are no pen tools.

Simplenote does one thing: fast plain text notes that sync everywhere. Automattic provides it as a free service, and its help pages document a desktop app for Windows, Linux and macOS alongside web, Android and iOS apps. Notes sync automatically as soon as you open the app on another device. The Windows app supports Markdown, printing, sorting by date or title, import and export, and keyboard shortcuts such as Ctrl Shift I for a new note and Ctrl Shift S to search. You can also publish a note to the web as a view-only link. The limits are strict. You cannot upload or attach anything other than text, the Windows app is not localized, and there are no notebooks in the OneNote sense, no pen tools and no databases. As a free scratchpad for lists, snippets and drafts on a Windows PC, it is hard to beat.