Joplin

Joplin is a free, open-source note-taking app with end-to-end encryption, a Markdown-first editor, and sync across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and a terminal client. We rate it 80/100 — the strongest privacy-first Evernote alternative for anyone who wants to actually own their notes.

What is Joplin?

Joplin was created by French developer Laurent Cozic in 2016 as a free response to Evernote's growing restrictions. Ten years on, it has grown into one of the largest open-source productivity projects on GitHub, with 54,500+ stars and 6,000+ forks on the laurent22/joplin repository, and a small commercial arm — Joplin Cloud — that funds full-time development from Paris.

The app's core promise is simple: your notes are saved as plain Markdown in an open format, synced to a backend of your choosing (Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3, or even a folder on disk), and protected with end-to-end encryption that not even Joplin itself can decrypt. That makes it the rare note-taker you can pick up, leave, or migrate without losing anything.

Key Features of Joplin

• End-to-end encryption (E2EE): Notes and attachments are encrypted on-device with AES-256 before sync, so any backend — Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, S3 — sees only ciphertext.
• Multimedia notes: Embed images, PDFs, videos, audio, math expressions (KaTeX), Mermaid diagrams, and freehand drawings directly in a note.
• Markdown + rich-text editor: Switch between a Markdown source view and a WYSIWYG rich-text editor — both backed by the same plain-text file format.
• Plugins: A first-party plugin store with 200+ extensions for kanban boards, calendar views, AI assistants (Jarvis), mind maps, and templates, with a documented Extension API for writing your own.
• Web Clipper: Chrome and Firefox extensions save full pages, simplified articles, or screenshots straight into a notebook.
• OCR + voice typing: Built-in optical character recognition makes scanned PDFs and photos searchable; the mobile app supports voice typing for fast capture.
• Sync everywhere: Native apps for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, plus a terminal client — all syncing through the backend you choose.

What Users Say About Joplin

On Reddit's r/selfhosted and r/opensource, Joplin is consistently the top recommendation when someone asks for a privacy-respecting Evernote replacement — the most upvoted threads praise the AGPL license, the ability to sync against a personal Nextcloud or S3 bucket, and the export-anywhere JEX format. The most common criticisms are equally consistent: the desktop UI feels older than Obsidian or Notion, plugin discovery is rough, and the rich-text editor has historically been less polished than the Markdown editor (this gap has narrowed in 2025–2026 releases).

PCMag called Joplin "single-handedly the best pick for an open-source note-taking app" and made it an Editors' Choice winner; Lifehacker singled out the built-in E2EE as the standout feature. Hacker News threads about Joplin tend to focus on a different angle — multi-device sync conflicts on large vaults — though most commenters note that swapping to Joplin Cloud or a dedicated Joplin Server eliminates the friction.

Joplin Pricing

The Joplin app itself is completely free and open source on every platform. You only pay if you want Joplin's hosted sync service, Joplin Cloud, which is billed in euros and based in Paris.

Plan	Monthly	Annual (per month)	Storage / limits
Self-hosted (any backend)	Free	Free	Unlimited — bring your own Nextcloud, Dropbox, S3, WebDAV, or folder
Joplin Cloud Basic	2.99€	2.40€ (28.69€/yr)	2 GB storage, 10 MB per note/attachment
Joplin Cloud Pro	5.99€	4.79€ (57.48€/yr)	30 GB storage, 200 MB per note, share notebooks, Email-to-Note
Joplin Cloud Teams	7.99€/user (min 2)	6.69€/user	50 GB storage, multi-user admin, consolidated billing, priority support
Joplin Server Business	Contact sales	—	Self-hosted, source available, share permissions, multi-user

A 50% education discount is available for students and teachers with a verified .edu email address.

Who Should Use Joplin?

Best for: privacy-conscious knowledge workers, developers, journalists, lawyers, and anyone who wants real ownership of their notes; self-hosters with a Nextcloud or S3 bucket already running; researchers and students who want plain-text Markdown that survives any future tool.

Not ideal for: teams that need real-time collaborative cursors (Notion or AFFiNE are better); users who value beautiful UI design above all else (Obsidian and Anytype look more modern); anyone who needs deep Linked-References or a graph view as the primary interface (Logseq, Obsidian, Anytype).

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Genuine end-to-end encryption — Joplin Cloud staff cannot read your notes
• Free, open source, AGPL-licensed; no vendor lock-in
• Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and a terminal client
• Sync against literally anything — Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, S3, or local files
• 200+ plugins and a real Extension API
• Notes stored in plain Markdown — easy to migrate in or out
• EU-based (France); GDPR-compliant; data stored in Paris

Cons

• Desktop UI feels less modern than Obsidian or Notion
• Plugin discovery and quality is uneven
• Sync on large vaults across many devices can produce occasional conflicts
• No real-time multi-cursor collaboration; sharing is async
• Rich-text editor still trails the Markdown editor in polish

Alternatives to Joplin

The closest alternatives are Obsidian (also Markdown, slicker UI, but closed-source and weaker E2EE), Logseq (open source, outliner-first, weaker mobile), Anytype (open source, object-oriented, very different model), and Standard Notes (E2EE-first, but plain-text and far fewer features). For pure cloud collaboration, AFFiNE is closer in spirit and modern in design.

Verdict: Is Joplin Worth It?

If your top priority is owning your notes — and you're willing to trade a slightly dated UI for full open-source code, real E2EE, and sync against any backend you trust — Joplin is the most credible choice in 2026. The free desktop and mobile apps alone make it worth installing. Joplin Cloud Basic at 2.40€/month is one of the cheapest E2EE sync services anywhere, and the Pro tier is competitive with Standard Notes and lighter than Evernote. We rate it 80/100: not the prettiest note-taker, but the one most likely to still have your notes in working condition ten years from now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Joplin free?

Yes. The Joplin desktop and mobile apps are 100% free and open source under a modified AGPL-3.0 license. You only pay if you choose Joplin Cloud sync — Basic from 2.40€/month yearly, Pro from 4.79€/month — or you can sync for free using Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, S3, or a local folder.

What platforms does Joplin support?

Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux (AppImage, Flatpak, Snap, .deb, terminal CLI), iOS, and Android. There is no first-party web client, but a Joplin Server admin web UI exists for self-hosters.

How does Joplin compare to Obsidian?

Both store notes as plain Markdown. Obsidian has a more modern UI, a stronger graph view, and a larger desktop plugin ecosystem; it is, however, closed-source. Joplin is fully open-source, ships native E2EE, includes a free official mobile app, and has a much cheaper paid sync option (Joplin Cloud Basic from 2.40€/month vs. Obsidian Sync at $4/month).

Is Joplin open source?

Yes — the source for every Joplin app is on GitHub under a modified AGPL-3.0 license, with over 54,500 stars and active commits as of April 2026.

Where are my notes stored when I use Joplin Cloud?

Joplin Cloud servers are located in Paris, France. Your data is protected by GDPR, and notes are end-to-end encrypted client-side before they ever leave your device — Joplin staff cannot read them.