Skip to content
Day 69: new resources are added every day. See what's new
Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

QOwnNotes

A plain-text Markdown notepad and to-do manager for your desktop.

Visit QOwnNotes4.6

  • Rating

    4.6 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    Windows, macOS, Linux

Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com

Free: 1,100+ ways people make money onlineFree: 399+ ways to make money online

What is QOwnNotes?

QOwnNotes is a free, open-source note-taking app for Windows, macOS and Linux that stores notes as plain Markdown files. It is fast, works offline, includes to-do lists and scripting, and can sync with Nextcloud, Syncthing or Dropbox so your notes stay in your own hands.

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 QOwnNotes does well

  • Notes stay as plain Markdown files
  • Fast and works offline
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Interface feels dense at first
  • Sync relies on a separate service

Who QOwnNotes is for

People who want fast, private notes in files they fully control.

Who can skip it

Anyone who prefers an all-in-one cloud notes app.

QOwnNotes alternatives

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

All Note-Taking resources

jrnl

Focus: journal, daily log and command line. Shares plain text and open source with QOwnNotes. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

zk

Focus: zettelkasten and command line. Shares markdown notes and open source with QOwnNotes. Adds Offline. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

Flatnotes

Focus: self-hosted and search. Shares markdown notes and open source with QOwnNotes. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit

SiYuan

Focus: second brain, block editor and backlinks. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. Adds iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit

nb

Focus: notes, bookmarks and command line. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. Adds Offline. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit

Foam

Focus: notes, wikilinks and backlinks. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. Rated 4.4 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit

Free alternatives to QOwnNotes

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

Memos

Focus: quick notes, markdown and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

Obsidian Git

Focus: obsidian, git sync and backup. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. Same 4.6 rating.

OtherFreeCross-Platform
4.6Visit

Alexandrie

Focus: markdown, knowledge base and latex. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit

TiddlyWiki

Focus: wiki, notebook and single file. Shares open source and github with QOwnNotes. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web and Offline. Rated 4.5 (QOwnNotes: 4.6).

Web AppFreeWeb, Offline
4.5Visit

Logseq

Focus: PKM, Note-Taking and Graph Database. Shares Open Source with QOwnNotes. Adds iOS, Android and Web. Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Are you the maker of QOwnNotes?Get a free Featured badge for your site, a share image and ready-to-paste posts. No sign-up.

Free Notion database

1,100+ ways people are making money online

Real online businesses, creators and projects, broken down by how they make money: apps, online stores, AI tools and more. Free on Gumroad.

Get the free database

Free Notion database

399+ ways to make money online

Hundreds of online income methods in one place, so you can compare options and pick one to try. Free on Gumroad.

Get the free list

For research and ideas only. Results vary and nothing here is a promise of income. See our Disclaimer.

Weekly newsletter

Everything new, every Monday.

One short email every Monday with everything shipped that week: new free tools and websites, new guides, new free browser tools and what's new in my free Gumroad libraries, plus how the site is growing. Free, and you can unsubscribe anytime.

Join the newsletter

You sign up on Gumroad, which stores your email to send the newsletter. See our Privacy Policy.