Joplin
The open-source, end-to-end encrypted note app that syncs to your own storage.
About
Joplin is a free, open-source note-taking and to-do app created by Laurent Cozic, widely described as the open-source Evernote replacement. It is offline-first: notes live in a local database on your device and are always available without a connection. Editing supports Markdown with live preview as well as a rich-text (WYSIWYG) editor, with extras like math notation, diagrams, file attachments, multimedia notes, OCR search inside images and PDFs, and a web clipper for Chrome and Firefox. A plugin API and a terminal (CLI) client round out the power-user story.
Its standout feature is sync flexibility with end-to-end encryption: you can sync to Joplin Cloud (the paid hosted option, Basic $2.99/month, Pro $5.99, Teams $7.99) or bring your own backend — Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, or S3 — all with E2EE, at no cost and with no device limits. The desktop and mobile apps are MIT-licensed with roughly 56,800 GitHub stars and releases shipping through 2026 (v3.6.x); the optional Joplin Server component carries a proprietary personal-use license. Honest tradeoffs: the UI feels dated, the mobile apps lag the desktop (plugin support is desktop-only), sync setup has a learning curve, and there is no web client or native backlink graph — note linking exists via plugins.
What it can do
- Offline-first notes with Markdown and rich-text (WYSIWYG) editors
- End-to-end encrypted sync to Joplin Cloud or your own backend (Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, S3)
- Web clipper for Chrome and Firefox
- Multimedia notes: images, audio, video, PDFs, file attachments
- OCR search inside images and PDFs
- To-do lists with reminders and notifications
- Plugin API with 200+ community plugins (desktop)
- Terminal (CLI) client for keyboard-driven use
- Note history and revision restore
- Import from Evernote (ENEX), Markdown, and more
- Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Setup
Download the desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux), mobile app (iOS, Android), or terminal app from joplinapp.org — all free. Create notebooks and notes locally. For sync, choose Joplin Cloud (paid, simplest) or configure your own target: Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV, or S3, optionally enabling end-to-end encryption in the sync settings.
Prerequisites
Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, or Android; a cloud storage account only if you want multi-device sync.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 9/10
Scored 9/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: ~56.8k GitHub stars with commits pushed October 16, 2026; MIT-licensed clients; independent 2026 reviews confirm offline-first operation, E2EE with bring-your-own-backend sync (WebDAV/Nextcloud/S3/Dropbox), web clipper, OCR search, and the Joplin Cloud pricing ladder ($2.99-$7.99/mo). Strengths: the most mature self-hostable sync story of any free notes app, no device or note limits, genuine privacy posture with a published warrant canary. Docked for: (1) dated UI and rough mobile experience with desktop-only plugins; (2) sync setup has a learning curve for non-technical users; (3) the optional server component is under a proprietary personal-use license, not open source. License: MIT (apps); Joplin Server proprietary personal-use.
★ 56,756 GitHub stars
How the trust score is built
Full methodology →- Adoption · stars/downloads, log-scaled vs peers
- 10.0/10
- Maintenance · recency, releases, issue load
- 9.0/10
- Openness · license + docs
- 9.0/10
- Manual review · sanity read + red-flag check
- 8.0/10
- · ~56.8k GitHub stars (Oct 16, 2026 snapshot), commits pushed same day; MIT-licensed clients; v3.6.x releases 2026; public warrant canary (Jun 2026)
- · E2EE sync to own backend (WebDAV/Nextcloud/S3/Dropbox/OneDrive) or Joplin Cloud $2.99-$7.99/mo; web clipper, OCR search, 200+ plugins
- · Joplin Server under proprietary personal-use license; mobile UX rough, plugins desktop-only; dated UI
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.