The best note-taking app depends on what you want to do with your thoughts. Apple Notes is enough for quick notes and checklists; anyone building a knowledge system is better served by Obsidian or Bear; and for long-form…
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The best note-taking app depends on what you want to do with your thoughts. Apple Notes is enough for quick notes and checklists; anyone building a knowledge system is better served by Obsidian or Bear; and for long-form writing and structured text, iA Writer or Ulysses deserve a look.
March 2026: Google NotebookLM is gaining strongly as an AI-powered research tool, while Obsidian remains the reference for the Zettelkasten approach.
The right iPhone note app decides whether ideas are lost or grow into a real knowledge system, and requirements could hardly differ more. Some people want to capture ideas quickly and keep working immediately, others build a personal wiki with backlinks and a knowledge graph as Obsidian allows, and some need encrypted, secure notes without being forced into the cloud. This comparison covers the leading Markdown apps for iOS, from Bear's award-winning design through Obsidian's plugin ecosystem to Standard Notes, which combines encryption and open source without compromise. Specialists are included too: Drafts for the fastest capture, Craft for visual block-based work and Ulysses for long-form and book projects. Apple Notes is preinstalled and sufficient for many people, especially after updates adding tags, smart folders and scanning, but anyone who needs Markdown, backlinks or real encryption will need one of the apps tested here. The list is for iPhone users who want more than Apple Notes, for writing, thinking, planning or building a personal knowledge system.
Our verdict
For most iPhone users Bear is the best note app: beautiful design, real Markdown, nested tags and seamless iCloud sync. Anyone building a knowledge system should take Obsidian, whose plugin ecosystem and local data storage are unmatched, even though the iPhone app takes some getting used to.
For maximum security Standard Notes is the first choice: open source, encrypted, and the company has committed itself to a 100-year plan. Drafts is ideal as an entry point, since every text lands there first and is then routed elsewhere.
Our advice is to test Bear or Obsidian for a week in everyday life. Both have free versions that are enough to try, and you only notice which note app is right once you use it every day.
Bear is one of the most beautiful note apps for iPhone, iPad and Mac and a daily companion for anyone who values design, Markdown and reliable offline availability. It invites writing with a clean interface, strong iOS integration and nested tags for organization.
The subscription costs around €2 per month or about €15 per year, and there is no one-time purchase, with syncing between iPhone and Mac requiring it. It is better than Apple Notes but less powerful than Obsidian, and linked notes are supported.
Obsidian stores notes as local Markdown files and connects them through a knowledge graph and backlinks, supported by a large plugin ecosystem. It is aimed at people who want full control over their knowledge system without being forced into the cloud.
Local use is completely free; the optional Catalyst offering at around €8 per month adds sync, plugins and advanced customization. There is a learning curve, and complex graph browsing or plugin configuration works better on an iPad or Mac.
Standard Notes is built around end-to-end encryption and open source, with a focus on long-term archiving rather than feature sprawl. It is aimed at users who treat privacy as the decisive criterion and want a deliberately simple interface.
The base app is free and open source, with source code on GitHub, while the Professional subscription costs around €10 per month for advanced features. The company has committed itself to a 100-year plan, and it offers less functionality than Obsidian or Bear.
Sorted³ is a hyper-scheduler that combines a calendar, tasks and notes in one app, with auto-scheduling to structure the day. It is aimed at highly structured planners who want to arrange events, to-dos and notes on a single timeline.
The base app is free, and Sorted+ as a one-time purchase for around €8 unlocks hyper-scheduling and advanced features. It is a niche approach that either fits perfectly or not at all, and it is overkill if you have few appointments and simple planning needs.
Freeform is Apple's own infinite whiteboard for visual brainstorming and planning, with real-time collaboration for up to 100 people. It is aimed at people who like to think visually and arrange notes, images and sketches on an open canvas.
The app is free, developed by Apple and integrated into the platform, with no subscription and no in-app purchases. It is not a note tool in the classic sense, and it lacks standard export formats such as PDF.
Google NotebookLM is an AI-powered research tool that works on your own documents: upload PDFs, ask questions and generate summaries or podcast-like audio overviews without answering from outside sources. It is not a classic note app but is strong in research workflows.
The base version is free with generous usage limits, while NotebookLM Plus with higher limits and premium features is available through the Google One AI Premium subscription. The interface is not fully German, and advanced features require the paid plan.
Taio is a Markdown editor combined with a clipboard manager and text automation, supporting scripting for everything from quick notes to complex texts. It is little known but aimed at technically inclined writers who want snippets and workflows on the iPhone.
The core features are free, and all Pro features are available as a one-time universal purchase for iPhone, iPad and Mac. There is no German-language app, and it is overkill if you simply want a plain note app without technical features.
Drafts treats fast capture as its central idea: open the app and start typing immediately, then route the text to other apps and services, with deep support for Shortcuts. It is aimed at power users with a clear workflow and a defined inbox.
The base app is free, and the Pro subscription costs around €2 per month for sync, themes and advanced actions. It takes some learning to use the action system, and it is not the best fit if you want every feature without a Pro subscription.
Craft is a visually polished, block-based editor for native documents with strong collaboration and Apple integration. It is aimed at people who want to create and share beautiful documents on Apple devices and need good export options for structured writing.
The base app is free, and the Creator subscription costs around €5 per month for more blocks, version history and exports. The free tier is more generous than the competition, though Craft is less powerful than Notion for databases.
Ulysses is a professional Markdown editor for long texts such as articles, novels and reportages, with a focused interface, detailed statistics and direct publishing to WordPress, Ghost and Medium. It is aimed at people who write longer pieces regularly across iPhone, iPad and Mac.
The subscription costs around €6 per month or about €50 per year, covering all platforms with no one-time purchase. It is expensive and only worthwhile if you really write long texts regularly, and occasional writers should look elsewhere.
iA Writer is a minimalist Markdown editor focused on distraction-free writing and clarity rather than databases or linking. It is aimed at writers rather than thinkers, with a purist design that keeps attention on the sentence in front of you.
It is a one-time purchase for around €10 across platforms with no subscription. It offers no knowledge system, no note linking and no database approach, and it lacks the extensive library management of Ulysses.
Joplin is an open-source note app with optional end-to-end encryption and sync over your own cloud storage such as WebDAV or third-party providers. It is aimed at privacy-conscious users who want open source and control over where their notes are stored.
The base app is free and open source, with source code on GitHub, while the cloud subscription costs around €2 per month for sync between devices. It does not have native Apple design and offers a rougher, more technical experience than polished commercial apps.
Agenda ties date-based notes directly to calendar entries, organizing writing around projects and dates rather than loose notebooks. It is a niche approach aimed at people who want to link notes to meetings and see them in a timeline.
The base app is free, and the Premium subscription costs around €3 per month to unlock sync, widgets and calendar features. Many features sit behind the paywall, and it is not suited to building a large free-form knowledge database.
Notability combines handwriting with a distinctive audio-sync feature that aligns notes to the moment they were written during a recording, alongside PDF import and Apple Pencil support. It is aimed at students in lectures and people who want to document meetings.
The core features are free, while the Plus subscription at around €12 per year unlocks unlimited notes, audio sync, backups and gallery templates. It is made by Ginger Labs in San Francisco and does not pass data to third parties, and as a pure text note tool it is unnecessarily complex.
Paper is a minimalist digital sketchpad with realistic brush feel, focused on sketching and handwriting rather than structured text notes. It is aimed at creative journaling users who want to capture ideas visually without any learning curve.
The core features are permanently free with no advertising, and Evernote runs the app as part of its Paper ecosystem, with deeper Evernote integration requiring an Evernote account. The ownership change is a risk for long-term stability, and it is not built for professional illustration.
Goodnotes is built for handwritten notes and PDF annotation, optimized for the iPad and Apple Pencil, with searchable handwriting. It is aimed at students with an iPad and people who work heavily with PDFs and want to annotate them directly.
The subscription costs around €10 per year and covers handwriting and PDFs across all platforms. It is not the first choice as a text note app, and if you primarily use an iPhone the app is less comfortable than on an iPad.
Notion is a powerful all-in-one workspace built around databases, combining notes, projects and wikis with flexible blocks. It is aimed at teams and people who want to structure projects in one place and collaborate for free.
The base app is free, and the Plus subscription costs around €10 per month for unlimited blocks, guests and advanced AI features. As a pure note tool it feels overloaded and is slow on the iPhone, making it a poor fit for quick capture or reliable offline work.
Google Keep is a quick, simple app for short notes and checklists that sync immediately across devices and integrates tightly with Google services. It is aimed at people who already use Google and want fast capture without extra structure.
The app is free and developed by Google, funded through its advertising network with no premium tier and a Google account required. It offers no Markdown and little structure, and the source treats data privacy as questionable, especially for longer texts or formatting needs.
Apple Notes is Apple's built-in note app with folders, tags and live document scanning, syncing immediately across iPhone, iPad and Mac. It is aimed at people who already use Apple apps and want quick notes without installing anything else.
The app is free and integrated into iOS with no subscription and no in-app purchases, and it supports handwriting and collaboration. It offers no Markdown and limited structure such as nested databases, and the source considers it sufficient for about 80 percent of users.
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Questions & answers
Which iPhone note app is the most secure?
Standard Notes offers end-to-end encryption starting on the free plan, which no other provider in this comparison does. Obsidian stores every file locally on the device, which is also very secure, and Joplin offers optional end-to-end encryption when syncing.
Is Obsidian usable on the iPhone?
Yes, with limitations. Obsidian's iPhone app works reliably for reading and editing notes and for quick entries, but complex graph browsing and plugin configuration are better suited to an iPad or Mac. The sync solution, whether iCloud or Obsidian Sync, has to be set up once.
Which is better: Bear or Obsidian?
Bear is the better choice for anyone wanting a beautiful, fast note app with Markdown and no heavy configuration. Obsidian wins as soon as you need backlinks, knowledge graphs or plugins. Bear is simpler and Obsidian more powerful, and since both use Markdown, switching is always possible.
Is a note app subscription worth it?
That depends on usage. Bear costs €2,99 per month and offers sync and themes; Craft and Ulysses are more expensive at €5-6 per month but add AI features and publishing. Obsidian is completely free apart from the optional sync feature, and Apple Notes is enough for simple notes at no cost.
Can I export my notes from Apple Notes?
Apple Notes offers no native bulk export. Tools such as Exporter, a Mac app, can export Apple Notes as Markdown. Bear, Obsidian and Joplin all work with Markdown files, which makes moving between those apps considerably easier.
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