Evernote Review
Last updated: 2026-08-18
Overview
Evernote is one of the oldest note-taking applications, founded in 2008 by Stepan Pachikov. Once the default choice for digital note-taking, it now competes against newer entrants like Notion and Obsidian. Evernote focuses on capture-first workflow: web clipping, document scanning, handwriting recognition, and cross-device sync. Used by professionals for research, meeting notes, and document archiving. Rated 4.2/5 for its capture capabilities and OCR, though pricing changes and feature restrictions have frustrated long-time users.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Best web clipper in the industry — save articles, PDFs, screenshots with one click
- Document scanning with handwriting recognition
- Strong search — finds text in images and PDFs
- Notebook and tag organisation system is intuitive
- Templates for meeting notes, journals, to-do lists
Cons
- Free plan severely limited (50 notes, 1 device, 60MB uploads/mo)
- Expensive paid plans — Personal $14.99/mo, Professional $17.99/mo
- Interface feels dated compared to Notion
- No databases or project management features
- Has had multiple price increases and feature reductions
Features
Evernote's signature feature is the Web Clipper browser extension, which captures full pages, articles, screenshots, or bookmarks with one click and preserves formatting. Document Scanning via the mobile app captures receipts, business cards, and whiteboards with automatic edge detection. OCR (optical character recognition) runs on all images and PDFs, making handwritten notes and scanned documents searchable. Notes support rich text formatting, tables, checklists, code blocks, and embedded audio recordings. Notebooks organize notes, and Stacks group notebooks. Tags provide cross-notebook organization with hierarchical tag structures. The Home dashboard offers customizable widgets for pinned notes, recent captures, and scratch pad. Integrations include Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and Zapier. Real limitations: the free plan is heavily restricted (50 notes per month, 1 notebook with up to 50 notes, no offline access), collaboration is limited compared to Notion, no database or relational note features, and the editor feels dated compared to block-based competitors. Offline access requires a paid plan.
| Free plan | 50 notes, 1 device, 60MB uploads |
| Starting paid price | $14.99/mo (Personal) |
| Web clipper | Best in class (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) |
| Document scanning | Built-in with handwriting search |
| Sync devices | Unlimited (Paid), 1 (Free) |
| Notebooks | ✅ Yes |
| Tags | ✅ Yes |
| API access | ✅ Yes |
| Integrations | Google Drive, Slack, Outlook, Zapier |
| Support | Email (Paid), Community (Free) |
Pricing
Evernote completely restructured pricing in recent years. Free: 50 notes, 1 notebook, sync across 2 devices, no offline access, 60MB monthly upload limit. Personal: $14.99/month or $129.99/year — unlimited devices, offline access, 10GB monthly uploads, custom Home dashboard, and 50,000 note limit. Professional: $17.99/month or $169.92/year — includes 20GB monthly uploads, integration with Salesforce and HubSpot, advanced task management, and the ability to link notes to calendar events. Teams: $24.99/user/month — shared workspace, team activity history, and centralized admin controls. No free trial of paid plans, but the free tier serves as an ongoing trial with significant restrictions.
Final Verdict
4.2/5. Best for professionals who prioritize capture and retrieval — web research, document scanning, and searchable archives of mixed media. Strengths: Web Clipper remains the best in class, OCR across images and PDFs is reliable, and the capture-to-search pipeline is seamless. Drawbacks: the free plan is nearly unusable with its 50-note cap, pricing is higher than competitors like Notion and Obsidian, and the lack of relational/database features limits structured note-taking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Evernote worth it in 2026?
Only if you rely heavily on web clipping, document scanning, and OCR search across mixed media. For pure note-taking, Obsidian and Notion offer more value. Evernote's capture pipeline is still superior, but the pricing premium is hard to justify for casual users.
How much does Evernote cost?
Free (50 notes, 1 notebook, 2 devices). Personal at $14.99/month or $129.99/year with unlimited devices and 10GB uploads. Professional at $17.99/month with Salesforce integration and 20GB uploads. Teams at $24.99/user/month.
What are the best Evernote alternatives?
Notion (databases, collaboration, lower price), Obsidian (local files, markdown, free for personal use), Apple Notes (free, deep iOS integration), Google Keep (free, simple), and OneNote (free, strong handwriting support and Office integration).
Does Evernote offer a free trial or free plan?
The free plan is permanently available but heavily restricted: 50 notes, 1 notebook, 2-device sync, no offline access. No time-limited trial of paid plans is offered. Upgrading is the only way to test premium features like offline access and higher upload limits.