Standard Notes

Standard Notes: Open-Source, Secure Notes App

Standard Notes is an open-source, encrypted notes app that focuses on privacy and security. It stores all notes locally by default and syncs encrypted data across devices. Core features include customizable themes, keyboard shortcuts, tagging, and markdown formatting.

What is Standard Notes?

What Is Standard Notes?

Standard Notes is an encrypted note-taking app that prioritizes privacy, longevity, and simplicity. All notes are end-to-end encrypted by default — even on the free plan — meaning the company cannot read your notes.

Key Features

The core app is a clean, distraction-free text editor that syncs across all platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and web). Notes are organized with tags rather than folders, supporting a flat organizational structure.

The Extended subscription adds rich editors (Markdown, code, spreadsheets, tasks), themes, nested tags, revision history, and automated encrypted backups to cloud storage. The app uses a standardized note format, so your data is never locked in — you can export everything as plain text at any time.

Pricing

The free tier includes unlimited notes, end-to-end encryption, and sync across all devices. The Productivity plan (approximately 90 dollars per year) adds editors, themes, and advanced features. A 5-year plan offers significant savings.

Standard Notes vs Obsidian

Standard Notes prioritizes encryption and cloud sync. Obsidian prioritizes local-first storage and bidirectional linking. Standard Notes is simpler; Obsidian is more powerful for knowledge management. Both respect user privacy.

Standard Notes Features

Official Links