Why I Started This Experiment
Six months ago I made a decision that felt mildly obsessive at the time: I would use every major note-taking app seriously, for at least two weeks each, before deciding which one actually deserved to live on my devices. Not a surface-level spin, not a YouTube review based on feature lists — a real working test with real work poured into each one.
The apps I tested, in order: Notion, Obsidian, Roam Research, Apple Notes, Evernote, Bear, Capacities, Craft, Logseq, and a brief but painful stint with Tana. That’s ten applications, roughly 180 days, and more friction than I care to admit.
Here’s what I learned — and more importantly, what I kept.
The Problem with Testing Note-Taking Apps
Before we get to results, it’s worth acknowledging the fundamental flaw in any note-taking app review: the app you love depends almost entirely on how your brain works. What feels like elegant simplicity to one person is maddening limitation to another. What feels like powerful flexibility to someone else is paralysing complexity to you.
With that caveat out of the way, I do think there are patterns that cut across different thinking styles. Some apps fail in ways that are genuinely universal. Some succeed for reasons that are more broadly applicable than their marketing suggests.
The Apps That Didn’t Survive
Roam Research was the first casualty. The bidirectional linking concept is genuinely interesting, but after two weeks I had a sprawling graph of connected ideas that I could barely navigate. Roam rewards people who think in networks. I apparently think in sequences. The pricing — $165 per year for a tool that still feels like a beta — didn’t help.
Tana lasted nine days. It introduced more new concepts per onboarding screen than any software I’ve encountered outside of enterprise database tools. Supertags, nodes, instances — the vocabulary alone requires a learning investment that I couldn’t justify. It may be extraordinary for power users. I am apparently not the target.
Evernote, despite its decade of history, felt like visiting a house that used to be nice but hasn’t been renovated since 2015. The interface is slow, the sync occasionally fails, and the free tier is now so restricted it barely functions. A product that used to define the category now struggles to compete with free alternatives.
The Surprising Contenders
Bear surprised me. It’s iOS and Mac only, which rules it out for many people, but as a writing environment it’s genuinely beautiful. The typography is excellent, the tagging system is clever without being complicated, and the app is fast in a way that almost nothing else on this list is. If you live in the Apple ecosystem and write a lot, Bear deserves serious consideration.
Craft also deserves mention. It looks stunning — probably the best-designed app on this list — and the block-based structure works well for documents you intend to share. Where it fell short for me was in capture speed. When I need to get something out of my head quickly, Craft’s document metaphor creates just enough friction to interrupt the thought.
What I Actually Kept (and Why)
I ended up with two apps, which feels like a defeat until you realize that different note types have genuinely different requirements. For quick capture, reference notes, and anything I want to search later: Apple Notes. It’s fast, free, syncs instantly, and search actually works. For everything that requires connected thinking, longer writing, or project documentation: Obsidian.
Obsidian won because of one thing that turned out to matter more than anything else: your data is plain text files stored on your own device. No subscription required to access your own notes. No risk of the company pivoting or shutting down and taking years of your work with it. The plugin ecosystem is vast enough that any workflow can be accommodated, but the base app works perfectly well without any plugins at all.
Notion, which I expected to win on features, lost on speed. Every action requires a round-trip to their servers. On a slow connection, it becomes genuinely frustrating. As a team wiki or project management tool it remains excellent. As a personal note-taking system, the latency is a deal-breaker for daily use.
The Framework I’d Use to Choose
| If you primarily need… | Use this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Fast capture on mobile | Apple Notes or Bear | Native apps, instant sync, no friction |
| Connected / networked thinking | Obsidian or Logseq | Bidirectional links, local files |
| Team collaboration + docs | Notion | Best-in-class sharing and permissions |
| Beautiful long-form writing | Craft or Bear | Typography and formatting are excellent |
| Zero cost, good enough | Apple Notes or Google Keep | Free, reliable, searchable |
The Real Lesson
After six months of deliberate testing, the most valuable insight wasn’t about any specific app. It was about the trap of tool optimization itself. The weeks I spent migrating between apps, tweaking setups, and watching tutorial videos were weeks I wasn’t actually using the notes I was taking. The best note-taking system is the one you stop thinking about.
Pick something that feels fast enough not to interrupt your thinking. Use it consistently for three months before evaluating. You will almost certainly not need to switch after that.
Key Takeaways
- No single app is best for everyone — match the app to how your brain actually works
- Speed of capture matters more than features for daily use
- Local-first apps (Obsidian, Logseq) offer long-term reliability that cloud-only tools don’t
- Using two apps for different purposes is a legitimate and often better strategy
- The time you spend optimizing your note system is time you’re not using your notes
Watch: Related Video
Sources
- Tiago Forte (2022). Building a Second Brain. Atria Books.
- Ahrens, S. (2017). How to Take Smart Notes. CreateSpace.
- Newport, C. (2019). Digital Minimalism. Portfolio/Penguin.