Microsoft OneNote vs Evernote

by Gralio Mar 12, 2025

OneNote and Evernote are popular note-taking apps catering to different needs. OneNote excels with its Microsoft integration, free-form note-taking, and organizational features, while Evernote shines with its powerful search, web clipping, and cross-platform compatibility. The best choice depends on individual preferences and existing software ecosystem.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 5329 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 6 hours, 6 minutes of reading.

Microsoft OneNote

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Evernote

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About

Microsoft OneNote is a versatile digital notebook for capturing, organizing, and sharing your thoughts and information. It's a free, cloud-based app that allows you to create notes, store files, and collaborate with others. OneNote integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, making it a convenient tool for individuals and teams already using the Microsoft suite.

Evernote is a note-taking software designed to help you capture and organize information. You can use it to write notes, save documents, scan images, record audio, and clip web content. Evernote allows you to access your information from various devices, even offline. Its powerful search function helps you quickly locate specific notes, including handwritten text within images. Evernote aims to provide a centralized platform for managing your thoughts, projects, and tasks.

Summary

Main difference

Microsoft OneNote is deeply integrated with the Microsoft Office suite, making it a natural choice for users already invested in that ecosystem. Evernote stands out with its powerful search functionality, web clipping capabilities, and cross-platform compatibility, catering to users who prioritize flexible information capture and retrieval.

Relative strengths of Microsoft OneNote (compared to Evernote)

Seamless integration with Microsoft Office suite: OneNote integrates effortlessly with other Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, facilitating smooth data transfer and streamlined workflows.
Free-form note-taking: OneNote allows for flexible note placement on the page, resembling a physical notebook, which can be advantageous for visual learners and brainstorming.
Strong organization features: OneNote offers robust organization with notebooks, sections, and pages, allowing users to structure their information effectively.

Relative weaknesses of Microsoft OneNote (compared to Evernote)

Limited free plan functionality: Compared to OneNote's free offering, Evernote's free plan restricts users to two devices, potentially hindering access for users with multiple devices.
Less powerful search: While OneNote offers search functionality, it is not as robust as Evernote's, which excels at searching within images and handwritten notes.
Web clipping limitations: OneNote's web clipping feature is not as comprehensive or user-friendly as Evernote's Web Clipper, which simplifies saving web content.

Who should use Microsoft OneNote VS. Evernote

Microsoft OneNote is a versatile digital notebook ideal for students, professionals, and teams. Users praise its ease of use and integration with other Microsoft applications, especially for daily tasks and interactive discussions. Some users have reported syncing issues and occasional difficulties with tables.

Evernote is a versatile note-taking app for individuals, teams, and businesses seeking to organize information, projects, and tasks. Users praise Evernote's web clipping and organization features. However, some find the free plan's device limit restrictive. Consider Evernote if you need cross-platform note-taking with robust features like handwriting recognition and web clipping.

Ideal for businesses of all sizes (1-1000+ employees).
Particularly well-suited for Education and Professional Services.

Excellent for small businesses (1-100 employees), suitable for medium and large enterprises.
Suitable for various industries including Healthcare, Finance, Education, and more.

Microsoft OneNote and Evernote features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Cross-device access

Supported

OneNote supports cross-device access by syncing notebooks via OneDrive.

Supported

Evernote supports cross-device access, but the free plan has a two-device limit.
Content organization

Supported

OneNote supports notebooks, sections, pages, tags, and web clipping. Subpages can be used instead of stacks.

Supported

Evernote supports organizing notes with notebooks, tags, and stacks.
Web clipping

Supported

OneNote supports web clipping via the OneNote Web Clipper extension.

Supported

Evernote supports web clipping via its Web Clipper browser extension.
Note organization

Supported

OneNote supports organizing notes into notebooks, sections, and pages.

Partially supported

Evernote supports organizing notes into notebooks and stacks but does not natively support sections and pages within those notebooks.
Cross-platform support

Supported

OneNote supports notes on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android through cloud syncing.

Supported

Evernote supports note access across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
Windows support

Supported

OneNote syncs notes to Windows computers via cloud storage like OneDrive.

Supported

Evernote supports syncing notes to Windows computers.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.11

Neutral sentiment

-1

Strongly negative sentiment
Customer Service

No data

No data
Ease of Use

+0.92

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.38

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.1

Neutral sentiment

+0.25

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.27

Neutral sentiment

No data
Scalability

+0.09

Neutral sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

Microsoft OneNote and Evernote Pricing

Microsoft OneNote is free to use and available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and web. It is also included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.11

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Strongly negative

-1

See full Pricing page

Microsoft OneNote and Evernote review insights

5329 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Its a very easy to use and implement app and can be integrated easily with other microsoft applications.
It has multiple features such as taking notes, sharing the same with others, interactive discussions.
creating a to do list, organising pages into sections etc.
I use it quite often for my day to days tasks.

Web Clipper is very useful for saving web pages.
Excellent organization features with notebooks and tags.
Handwriting recognition is a helpful feature.
Cross-platform compatibility ensures access to notes from any device.

Users dislike

Syncing problem happens.
Having some Issues while creating tables sometimes.
It is a versatile software but it may take some time to understand to use all features.

The free plan is very limited, only allowing 2 devices.
Limited import/export functionality for notes.
Occasional syncing issues leading to data loss.
Desktop app can be slow and resource intensive.

Microsoft OneNote and Evernote Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(1813)
Capterra

4.6/5

(1502)

G2

4.4/5

(2014)
Glassdoor

4.3/5

(311)

Company health

Employee growth

3% increase in the last year

6% decrease in the last year

Web traffic

3% decrease in the last quarter

10% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

August 2014 - $290M

Which product best integrates with my existing Microsoft ecosystem?

Microsoft OneNote is the better choice for integrating with an existing Microsoft ecosystem. It offers seamless integration with other Microsoft products, allowing for easy sharing and collaboration within the Microsoft suite. While Evernote does offer cross-platform support, it lacks the deep integration with Microsoft services that OneNote provides.

How do OneNote's free-form notes compare to Evernote's structured notebooks?

OneNote emphasizes free-form note-taking, allowing users to place content anywhere on a page like a physical notebook. Evernote, while offering flexibility, uses a more structured approach with notebooks, tags, and stacks to organize notes, promoting a hierarchical system for information management.

What are the advantages of Microsoft OneNote?

OneNote offers seamless integration with other Microsoft products, making it a convenient choice for users already within the Microsoft ecosystem. It provides free-form note-taking capabilities, allowing for flexible placement of notes, along with robust organization features using notebooks, sections, and pages. As a free, cloud-based application, OneNote offers cross-platform support across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices, ensuring accessibility and synchronization across various devices.

What are the disadvantages of Microsoft OneNote?

OneNote users have reported occasional syncing problems leading to data loss. Some users find the software's extensive features can be initially overwhelming and require time to master. While OneNote integrates well with other Microsoft products, it may have limitations when integrating with non-Microsoft services. Some users have also reported issues with table creation within the application.

Alternatives to Microsoft OneNote and Evernote

Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace platform designed to help teams organize information, manage projects, and collaborate effectively. It centralizes notes, documents, tasks, and databases, making it easy for teams to access and share information. Notion allows users to customize their workspace with templates and integrations and offers AI features for writing assistance and information retrieval. It aims to be a flexible solution that adapts to various work styles and replaces the need for multiple single-purpose tools.

xTiles

xTiles is a visual workspace that helps you organize your ideas and projects. It uses a flexible, card-based system that allows you to arrange information, notes, and media in a way that makes sense to you. xTiles allows you to embed images, videos, and links, making it suitable for brainstorming, planning projects, or creating presentations. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, even for non-technical users.

Outline

Outline is a digital note-taking app that works on Apple devices. You can organize information into notebooks, similar to a physical notebook. Outline lets you import and export Microsoft OneNote files and store your notes on your computer or in popular cloud storage services like Dropbox and iCloud.

Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a versatile note-taking application suitable for individuals and businesses. It allows you to create and organize notes in various formats, including text, checklists, audio recordings, images, and files. Zoho Notebook sets itself apart with its focus on visual organization and user-friendly interface. It seamlessly syncs across multiple devices, ensuring your notes are always accessible and backed up. The software is free to use, with no ads, and prioritizes data privacy.

Bear

Bear is a note-taking app developed for Apple devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad). Created by an international team, Bear focuses on providing a simple, elegant writing experience. It allows users to organize notes with hashtags and offers features like cross-device syncing and various export options. Bear prioritizes privacy and a clean user interface.

Evernote Teams

Evernote Teams helps businesses organize information and work together more efficiently. It provides a central location for storing notes, documents, and files, making it easy for team members to access and share information from any device, even offline. With powerful search and integration capabilities, teams can quickly find what they need and streamline their workflow.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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