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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Web App

Flatnotes

A simple self-hosted notes app that stores everything as Markdown files.

Visit Flatnotes4.5

  • Rating

    4.5 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Web, Cross-Platform

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What is Flatnotes?

Flatnotes is a free, open-source note-taking web app that saves every note as a plain Markdown file in a single folder, with no database to manage. It offers fast full-text search, tags, a clean editor with a live preview and optional login, so your notes stay portable and easy to back up.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what Flatnotes does well

  • Notes stay as plain Markdown files
  • Quick full-text search
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Needs a server to self-host
  • No folders or nested notebooks

Who Flatnotes is for

People who want a distraction-free notes app without locking their notes into a database.

Who can skip it

Anyone who needs real-time collaboration or rich page layouts.

Flatnotes alternatives

Not sold on Flatnotes? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Note-Taking resources

zk

Focus: zettelkasten and command line. Shares markdown notes and open source with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Linux and Offline. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

TiddlyWiki

Focus: wiki, notebook and single file. Shares open source and github with Flatnotes. Adds Offline. Same 4.5 rating.

Web AppFreeWeb, Offline
4.5Visit

Memos

Focus: quick notes, markdown and journaling. Shares self-hosted and open source with Flatnotes. Rated 4.7 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

SiYuan

Focus: second brain, block editor and backlinks. Shares open source and github with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds Windows, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.7 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit

Free alternatives to Flatnotes

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

Trilium Notes

Focus: notes and knowledge base. Shares self-hosted and open source with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds Windows, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.6 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

nb

Focus: notes, bookmarks and command line. Shares open source and github with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Linux and Windows. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

Foam

Focus: notes, wikilinks and backlinks. Shares open source and github with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.4 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

DokuWiki

Focus: wiki, documentation and knowledge base. Shares self-hosted and open source with Flatnotes. Rated 4.3 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb
4.3Visit

QOwnNotes

Focus: plain text and nextcloud. Shares markdown notes and open source with Flatnotes. A desktop app, not a web app. Adds Windows, macOS and Linux. Rated 4.6 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

claude-obsidian

Focus: obsidian, claude code and second brain. Shares open source with Flatnotes. An AI tool, not a web app. Adds macOS, Windows and Linux. Rated 4.8 (Flatnotes: 4.5).

AI ToolFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
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