Evernote vs OneNote Comparison: Is OneNote or Evernote Best?

Welcome to the ultimate showdown in the realm of digital note taking!

Two of the most popular note taking apps, Evernote and OneNote, go head-to-head, each armed with unique features and functionalities.

If you can’t decide between these two apps, this Evernote vs OneNote comparison can help you make a well-informed choice.

So, join us as we compare these titans in great detail.

What is the Difference Between Evernote and OneNote?

The main difference between OneNote and Evernote lies in their approach to organization and ecosystem integration. OneNote, developed by Microsoft, seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft Office suite and offers a familiar interface for Windows users. In comparison, Evernote focuses on meticulous organization, allowing tagging, categorizing, and searching notes effortlessly.

As you can learn more about in our OneNote review, this app allows for capturing ideas and encourages free-form note taking with a flexible layout.

On the other hand, Evernote, as explained in our Evernote review, excels at capturing information from various sources and offers robust cross-platform compatibility.

Overall, OneNote embraces a fluid and creative approach, whereas Evernote prioritizes precise organization and accessibility.

Evernote vs OneNote Comparison Chart

Here’s which note taking tool comes out on top in crucial categories:

Evernote vs OneNote Pricing

Evernote has various pricing plans, whereas OneNote is 100% free to all users with a Microsoft account.

Winner: OneNote

Evernote offers various pricing plans that meet different needs.

Their free plan provides basic features at no cost. However, consider the Personal plan if you’re looking for a more advanced plan with more features. It starts at $7.99/monthly or $69.99/annually.

This plan includes offline access, increased upload limits, advanced search capabilities, and more.

For professionals and teams, Evernote offers the Professional and Teams plans.

In comparison, OneNote has a slightly different pricing structure. It’s available for free to all users with a Microsoft account.

Additionally, if you have a subscription to Microsoft 365, OneNote is included at no extra cost. However, the pricing for Microsoft 365 varies depending on the plan chosen.
 

Microsoft OneNote vs Evernote Free Versions

Both apps have free versions. However, we believe OneNote takes the throne here, as Evernote has reduced the features of the free plan, forcing users to pay for some of the features they once got for free.

Winner: OneNote

OneNote’s free version is easily accessible with a Microsoft account and offers better note taking features, synchronization through OneDrive, and collaboration.

On the other hand, Evernote’s free version has a more robust set of features, including unlimited note creation, advanced organization tools, web clipping, document scanning, and PDF search.

Evernote is ideal for better organization and information management, while OneNote is suitable for personal and simple team use.
 

Customer Support

Evernote’s support primarily depends on the user’s plan. At the same time, OneNote provides a comprehensive support ecosystem through various channels, including a community forum, a support website, and direct contact with Microsoft Support.

Winner: Evernote

Evernote provides customer support options that vary depending on the user’s plan. Free users can access support through the active community forum, where they can seek answers to their questions from fellow users.

Evernote also offers a help & learning center, which provides comprehensive guides, how-tos, and FAQs.

For paid Evernote users, Evernote offers additional support options.

They can file a support ticket to receive assistance directly from customer support or engage in live chat for immediate help.

In the case of OneNote, users have multiple channels for accessing support.

The Microsoft Support website offers many articles and guides to address common issues and questions.

The OneNote Community Forum allows users to connect with other OneNote users to exchange tips, troubleshoot problems, and share best practices.

If users can’t find answers through the website or forum, they can contact Microsoft Support using live chat, phone support, or email, depending on their location.

Additionally, OneNote provides a help center with frequently asked questions and tutorials to assist users in exploring various application features.

Overall, Evernote and OneNote offer customer support resources to help users find answers, troubleshoot issues, and learn more about the applications.
 

Knowledgebase & Learning

Evernote and OneNote understand the importance of providing users with knowledge and learning materials.

Users can access extensive documentation, tutorials, and guides through their learning centers, knowledgebases, and help centers.

These resources serve as valuable references for users to optimize their note-taking experience and discover innovative ways to leverage the features and capabilities of Evernote and OneNote.

Winner: Tie

Evernote has a great knowledge base and learning center on-site to support users in understanding and maximizing the application’s features.

The knowledgebase offers many articles, tutorials, and guides covering note taking, organization, collaboration, and productivity.

Users can explore these resources to learn about advanced features, tips and tricks, best practices, and how to effectively integrate Evernote into their workflow.

The learning center serves as a hub for educational content, providing users with step-by-step instructions, video tutorials, and interactive guides.

OneNote also offers a help center and learning resources to aid users in mastering the application.

The help center provides frequently asked questions, troubleshooting guides, and tutorials that address common queries and issues. Users can access tutorials and how-to articles to learn about various features and functionalities of OneNote.

The Microsoft Support website also provides many resources, including articles and guides on the OneNote productivity app.

Microsoft OneNote vs Evernote Features & Functionality

Evernote and OneNote offer many features and functionalities to enhance productivity and streamline your note taking experience.

However, they excel in different sections. So, let’s dive into the battle of both platforms, exploring their unique capabilities and discovering which reigns supreme in features and functionality.

Evernote or OneNote for Ease of Use?

Evernote offers a customizable screen. You can add and remove widgets as you wish. OneNote is also user-friendly but doesn’t have various customization options that can make your experience even easier.

Winner: Evernote

The best note taking app in this category is Evernote, as it has a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy to navigate and find your notes quickly. It offers a variety of formatting options, allowing you to create content.

The search functionality in Evernote is powerful, enabling you to locate specific notes, even within scanned docs or images.

It supports several platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, PC, and tablet), providing seamless synchronization.

With Evernote’s web clipper extension, you can easily save web pages directly to your Evernote account, making it convenient for research and bookmarking.

OneNote is also user-friendly, with a familiar interface resembling a physical notebook. Therefore, it’s easy to grasp for those accustomed to traditional note taking.

It supports various formatting tools, allowing you to customize your notes and organize content effectively.

OneNote excels in collaborative features, enabling real-time collaboration and user sharing, making it suitable for team projects or group work.

It integrates well with other Microsoft products, such as Outlook and Teams, enhancing productivity within the Microsoft ecosystem.

OneNote is available across different platforms, including web, desktop, and mobile, ensuring accessibility on various devices.

Ultimately, the choice between Evernote and OneNote for ease of use depends on your preferences and specific requirements.

Evernote might be better if you prioritize a clean, intuitive interface with robust search options.

But OneNote could be more suitable if you prefer a familiar notebook-like interface with powerful collaboration features and integration with other Microsoft tools.
 

Microsoft OneNote vs Evernote Online Versions

Both tools have online versions. However, Evernote’s online version is better for various reasons. Take a look.

Winner: Evernote

OneNote Online is tightly integrated with the Microsoft Office ecosystem and is easily accessible through Office.com.

It allows you to sign in with your Microsoft or work/school accounts, giving you seamless access to your notes from any browser on any device.

This integration with Office can be beneficial if you frequently use other Microsoft tools.

In contrast, Evernote has a web version available on multiple platforms, including Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web browsers.

Moreover, it excels at syncing your notes across all devices, enabling you to access your individual notes from anywhere. This makes Evernote’s online version convenient for users who prioritize cross-platform compatibility and synchronization.
 

Evernote vs OneNote Desktop Versions

Evernote can be suitable for a more flexible and free-form note taking approach. At the same time, OneNote might be a better fit if you value advanced formatting options, tight integration with the Microsoft Office suite, and a structured note taking experience.

Winner: Tie

Evernote is a standalone note taking application available for Mac and Windows.

It offers a flexible and free-form approach to note taking, allowing you to capture and organize information in various ways.

Evernote emphasizes tagging and notebooks for better organization.

It also syncs your individual notes across all devices.

Evernote offers free and premium subscription plans, with the premium plan providing offline access, larger upload limits, and advanced search capabilities.

On the other hand, OneNote is part of the Office 2019 and Microsoft 365 suite, but it can also be downloaded as a standalone app for Windows.

It follows a structured note taking approach, resembling a physical notebook with sections, pages, and subpages.

OneNote provides a full Office ribbon interface and offers advanced formatting options, including rich text formatting, tables, drawing tools, and layout customization.

It’s tightly integrated with the Microsoft Office ecosystem and allows seamless collaboration and sharing with other tools.

OneNote supports cloud and local notebook storage space on your PC’s hard drive.

Updates for OneNote typically come through Office updates, either through Office 2019 or Microsoft 365 subscriptions.
 

Mobile Apps

Evernote and OneNote provide user-friendly mobile apps—the choice between the two apps depends on your preferences and note taking needs.

Winner: Tie

Evernote provides mobile apps for Apple and Android, offering a consistent note taking experience across platforms.

The mobile app lets you capture and access your notes on the go, making it convenient for users who frequently use smartphones or tablets.

It syncs your notes across devices and supports various note formats, including text, images, audio, and attachments.

Evernote’s mobile app includes tagging, notebooks, and search functionality to help you organize and find your notes.

It also offers offline access to your notes.

OneNote also has mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Like the desktop version, OneNote’s mobile app ensures seamless synchronization across devices.

You can create and edit handwritten notes on your smartphone, including text, images, templates, drawings, screenshots, and attachments.

It supports the organization through sections, pages, and subpages.

Additionally, the mobile app allows for collaboration and sharing, enabling you to work on shared notebooks with others and make real-time updates.

Lastly, OneNote’s mobile app also provides offline access to your notes.
 

Email Tracking

Evernote offers robust email tracking features, allowing for smooth saving, organization, and productivity enhancements.

In contrast, OneNote provides easy email integration for capturing important information on the go. So, they’re both excellent regarding email tracking.

When deciding between the two apps, consider your workflow and the types of content you frequently deal with to make a better choice.

Winner: Tie

Evernote’s email tracking feature allows you to save up to 200 emails daily using a unique email address. Forward an email to your Evernote address, and it becomes a new note with the subject line as the title.

You can customize organization by adding reminders, notebooks, and tags in the subject line. Auto-filing sorts emails and appending emails to existing notes is possible by adding a “+.”

Automatic email forwarding helps streamline workflows by sending specific emails to designated notebooks.

So, Evernote’s email tracking simplifies email management and improves productivity.

As for OneNote, by associating your email address with OneNote, you can easily send anything to your notebooks by emailing it to me@onenote.com.

This feature is ideal for capturing important information on the go, such as travel itineraries, confirmations, receipts, and quick notes.

To set it up, visit the website, select your email address and destination notebook, and save the settings.

Then, compose a new email or forward a draft to me@onenote.com with a description in the subject line, and it will be saved in OneNote.

You can access your saved emails from any device.

So, EneNote’s email integration simplifies note taking and ensures vital information is easily accessible.
 

Integrations

Both apps integrate with various tools and services, so there’s no clear winner regarding integrations.

Winner: Tie

OneNote integrates with popular tools and services for better collaboration, productivity, and more. It integrates with Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Microsoft Edge Web Clipper, and cloud storage services like Google Drive and IFTTT.

Similarly, Evernote offers various integrations with productivity tools (Slack, Salesforce, and much more), email clients, web clippers, cloud storage services, such as Dropbox, and automation platforms like Zapier and IFTTT.

A note on Evernote OneNote Integration

Unfortunately, there’s no native OneNote Evernote integration. However, that’s where third-party automation platforms like Zapier kick in and save the day.

These third-party automation platforms help users create connections and workflows from OneNote to Evernote and Evernote to OneNote.
 

Product Limitations

No online note taking tool is perfect. That goes for Evernote and OneNote as well. So, they’re both flawed in some ways but remain the best note taking app options.

Winner: Tie

OneNote has some limitations. Firstly, the mobile app version doesn’t offer the same comprehensive functionality as the desktop version, which may impact users who rely heavily on mobile devices.

Secondly, OneNote can be overwhelming for new users because it’s feature-rich.

Additionally, exporting notes from OneNote can be challenging, as it provides limited options for transferring notes to other platforms or applications.

Maintaining formatting consistency can also be problematic when accessing notes across different devices or platforms. And lastly, data storage on Microsoft servers can raise concerns about data security and privacy.

As for Evernote, the free plan has become more limited, with several features now only available on paid plans.

The free plan includes restrictions such as a monthly upload limit of 60 MB, maximum note size of 25 MB, and synchronization limited to two devices.

Moreover, Evernote’s monthly plans are relatively expensive compared to competitors. Starting at $8/month, it can be pricier than alternatives like OneNote’s $1.99/month plan or Bear’s $1.49/month plan.

Lastly, while Evernote can be customized for basic project management, it falls short compared to dedicated project management tools such as Basecamp, Asana, or monday.com regarding power and functionality.
 

Microsoft OneNote or Evernote for Small Businesses?

Microsoft OneNote and Evernote would help small businesses thrive as they’re feature-rich, reasonably priced, and incredibly flexible.

Winner: Tie

OneNote integrates well with Microsoft Office and offers a structured interface. On the other hand, Evernote has a minimalist design and extensive third-party app integration.

OneNote is best if you use Microsoft Office heavily, while Evernote is more versatile for businesses using various tools.

They’re available on multiple platforms and offer offline access.

Lastly, OneNote is a part of the Office 365 subscriptions, while Evernote has free and paid plans. Consider your integration needs and interface preferences when choosing between the two note taking software.

Is Evernote Better Than OneNote? Our Conclusion

In the realm of digital note taking, Evernote and OneNote stand tall, each with strengths and advantages.

Whether you seek meticulous organization or seamless integration, choosing between Evernote and OneNote ultimately rests on your needs.

Embrace the power of note-taking and unleash your productivity with the champion that aligns with your goals.

We leave the final decision to you!