Discover the best open source note taking apps to capture ideas, organize your thoughts. Find tools for personal or team knowledge management.
Collaboration · Note Taking · Productivity
Notion + Miro in one privacy-focused, open-source workspace
AI Assistants · Note Taking
Dictate faster, privately—no cloud needed.
Knowledge Management · Note Taking
AI-powered personal notes, self-hosted and privacy-first
CMS · Collaboration · Note Taking
Open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion with real-time collaboration
Collaboration · Design Tools · Note Taking
All-in-one open-source whiteboard for mind maps, flowcharts & freehand drawing
File Storage · Note Taking
Secure, private note sharing with zero-knowledge encryption
Bookmarks Archiving · Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Organize your bookmarks with nested tags, no tracking, no ads.
Note Taking
Database-free markdown notes with full-text search and wikilinks
AI Assistants · Note Taking · Productivity
Your invisible digital mind extension for meetings and daily workflows
Note Taking
Secure, offline-first notes with Evernote import and end-to-end encryption.
AI Assistants · Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Your private AI assistant for docs, web research, and autonomous agents
AI Assistants · Bookmarks Archiving · Collaboration
Bookmarks, Evolved: Save, annotate, and preserve web content with AI tagging and collaboration.
Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Privacy-focused knowledge management with graph-based notes and real-time collaboration
Knowledge Management · Note Taking · Productivity
Open source, offline-first notes with rich editing and no tracking
AI Assistants · Automation · Note Taking
Self-hosted AI meeting notes with 100% local processing for macOS, Windows & Linux
Note Taking
Your notes. Your data. No tracking. No subscriptions.
AI Assistants · Automation · Note Taking
AI-enhanced Markdown notes from voice or text input — organized, searchable, and synced.
Knowledge Management · Note Taking · Productivity
Your private, self-hosted second brain with markdown and graph visualization
File Storage · Note Taking · Security
Privacy-first note-taking with end-to-end encryption—open source and cross-platform.
Bookmarks Archiving · Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Self-hosted read-it-later app with highlights, notes, and PDF support
AI Assistants · Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Self-hosted AI notebook with multi-model support, podcasts, and full data control
Design Tools · Note Taking · Productivity
Free, open-source screen recording with zooms, annotations, and crop tools
Collaboration · Knowledge Management · Note Taking
Build your team's knowledge base with real-time collaboration and Markdown support
Note Taking · Productivity
Self-hosted real-time notes & tasks with WYSIWYG editor and role-based access
File Storage · Note Taking
Simple document archiving for individuals and teams — self-hosted, searchable, and email-enabled.
AI Assistants · Note Taking
Local AI meeting summaries for macOS — no data leaves your device.
AI Assistants · Note Taking
Transcribe, tag, and organize audio recordings with AI—on your own server.
Note Taking
Secure, private notes and files—encrypted by default, synced everywhere.
AI Development · Note Taking · Productivity
Your AI second brain for saving and organizing everything that matters.
Bookmarks Archiving · Note Taking
Save and read web articles without distractions — self-hosted and open source.
Invoicing Finance · Note Taking
Self-hosted personal finance tool for conscious budgeting and long-term planning
In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to quickly and efficiently record thoughts, ideas, and information is essential. Note taking software provides a digital space to do just that – moving beyond traditional pen and paper to offer powerful features for organization, collaboration, and long-term knowledge management. These tools are designed for a wide range of users, from students and researchers to professionals and creative writers.
Typical features include rich text editing, allowing for formatted notes with headings, lists, and multimedia. Many applications support tagging and categorization to facilitate easy searching and retrieval of information. Advanced functionality often includes linking between notes, creating a personal knowledge base, and even version control to track changes over time. Collaboration features such as shared notebooks and real-time editing enable teamwork and brainstorming.
Note taking apps solve critical problems related to information overload and disorganization. They offer a centralized location for all your thoughts and ideas, reducing the need to sift through multiple documents or physical notebooks. By providing powerful search capabilities and organization tools, these applications help you find what you need when you need it. Beyond personal productivity, collaborative features foster better teamwork and knowledge sharing within organizations. The ability to integrate with other workflows (such as task management systems) further enhances their value, making them a core component of many modern workflows.