Evernote was the note-taking king of the 2010s. Microsoft OneNote has been free and quietly excellent for years. Both are mature products with strong search and clipping features, but Evernote's 2023 pricing changes — dramatically restricting the free tier — shifted the calculus significantly.
OneNote
OneNote wins for most people. It's free, syncs via Microsoft 365, has unlimited storage, and doesn't nickel-and-dime note limits.
Specs Comparison
| Spec | Evernote | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier notes | 50 notes max | Unlimited |
| Free tier notebooks | 1 | Unlimited |
| Paid plan price | $14.99/mo (Personal) | Included with M365 ($6.99/mo) |
| M365 integration | Limited | Native |
| Web clipper quality | Excellent | Good |
Free Tier Reality
Evernote's free plan now limits you to 1 notebook, 50 notes, and 60 MB uploads per month. That's a dramatic restriction from the old free tier that made Evernote famous. Users who built extensive Evernote libraries on the old plan were essentially forced to pay or migrate.
OneNote is free with a Microsoft account and gives you access to multiple notebooks, unlimited notes, and 5 GB of OneDrive storage (expandable with Microsoft 365). There's no note count limit. For most users, this is a better deal by a wide margin.
Microsoft 365 Integration
If you use Microsoft 365 at work or school, OneNote is already in your toolkit. It integrates with Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and the full Microsoft Office ecosystem. Meeting notes can sync to Outlook calendar events automatically.
Evernote integrates with Google Workspace and Slack, but the Microsoft ecosystem integration is where OneNote has an insurmountable advantage for organizations already paying for M365.
Web Clipping and Search
Evernote's web clipper is still one of the best in the business — it can clip full pages, articles (reader view), bookmarks, or screenshots with formatting intact. OneNote's clipper works well too, though it's slightly less refined at preserving article formatting.
Both have strong full-text search. Evernote can search text within images; OneNote does too via its OCR engine. Neither has a clear advantage here.
Evernote Strengths
- Excellent web clipper and email forwarding
- Strong OCR for handwritten notes and images
- Multi-platform including a solid Android app
- Tasks integration in Evernote Personal+
OneNote Strengths
- Free with Microsoft account — no note limits
- Deep Microsoft 365 / Teams integration
- Unlimited free storage via OneDrive
- Flexible freeform canvas layout
Evernote Weaknesses
- Free tier drastically reduced in 2023
- Personal plan is $14.99/mo — expensive for notes
- Product roadmap has felt stagnant
OneNote Weaknesses
- Less polished mobile experience than Evernote
- Sync can occasionally lag
- Web clipper slightly less refined
Best For
- a: Power users who rely on web clipping and email archiving and are willing to pay $14.99/mo for the full feature set
- b: Microsoft 365 users, students, and anyone who wants free unlimited notes with Office integration
FAQ
Is Evernote dying?
Evernote was acquired by Bending Spoons in 2023, which cut staff significantly. Product development has continued, but the community is anxious about long-term viability. OneNote or Notion are safer bets for new users.
Can I import Evernote notes into OneNote?
Yes — Microsoft provides an Evernote importer tool. Export your Evernote notebooks as .enex files, then import into OneNote. Most formatting and attachments transfer, though some fidelity is lost.