Battle of the Note-Taking Titans: Evernote vs. OneNote

The digital age has led to several innovations that have made life more efficient, including note-taking. Remember when you used a pen and paper for your task list? It’s now replaced by sophisticated tools catering to many users for personal organization and professional collaboration. Evernote and OneNote are two of the most popular software used by many today. Both platforms have unique strengths, sparking ongoing debates about which is the better choice for productivity enthusiasts.

Both apps were developed around the same time to help business professionals and students organize, take notes, and store information. Since their development, these apps’ features and integrations have significantly evolved. We’ll comprehensively inspect each of the vital features of Evernote vs OneNote. This will help you choose which works best for you. 

Comparison Table

Features Comparison between Evernote and OneNote

1. User Interface and Design

Evernote - Productivity is relatively evident in Evernote’s layout. There’s a homepage dashboard with various widgets. Users can see all the Scratch Pads, Notes, and Recently Captured widgets. 

OneNote - The toolbar at the top of the page holds all the user’s formatting and styling tools, allowing easy navigation. 

2. Note Organization

Evernote - Users can organize their notes by project, department, product, or event. 

OneNote - The OneNote notebook comprises multiple notebook sections with individual pages and subpages where users can take notes. 

3. Note-Taking Capabilities

Evernote - Text-based notes, multimedia integration, handwritten notes and sketches, web clipping 

OneNote - Drawing, handwritten notes, text-based notes, organization features, multimedia integration, task management, web clipping

4. Search Functionality

Evernote - OCR, search bar, advanced search, search within notes, saved searches, PDF search, search in titles and tags

OneNote - OCR search, audio and video search, search filters, Boolean operators

5. Collaboration and Sharing

Evernote - Real-time collaboration, comments and notifications, task management, email and external sharing, version history, team collaboration

OneNote - Permissions control, real-time collaboration, cross-device access, version history, comments, and task management

6. Integration with Other Tools

Evernote - Integrations with Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Slack, Zapier, Todoist, Trello, Microsoft Teams, ScanSnap, Microsoft Outlook, Penultimate, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook Calendar, Gmail, Evernote Email, Salesforce

OneNote - Integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, SharePoint, Planner, OneDrive, Trello, To-Do, Teams Chat, Slack, Web Clipper, IFTTT, ScanSnap, Office Lens, Power Automate, Zapier, OneNote API, HubSpot

7. Offline Access and Syncing

Evernote - Real-time syncing across various devices; complete offline access available for Premium and Business subscribers; recent notes can be accessed online for free users

OneNote - Automated and manual synching are available across all devices; Microsoft 365 users can maximize offline access for mobile and desktop apps

Pricing and Plans

OneNote offers better value for money, especially for users who don’t need advanced search features or heavy multimedia storage. The software is free, with unlimited notes and comprehensive features. If you need a more advanced feature like web clipping or OCR search, go for Evernote. 

Use Cases and Target Audience

Evernote

• Personal use
• Business and work-related collaborations
• Information and research gathering
• Task and project management
• Travel planning
• Ideation

Individual users, small to medium businesses, large-scale companies, researchers, students, and professionals can maximize the software's features. 

OneNote

• Education purposes
• Business collaboration
• Research
• Creative project development
• Task management
• Personal note-taking
• Travel planning
• Health and fitness tracking

Travelers, small and large businesses, creative professionals, and individuals in the academia can use OneNote to organize tasks and notes. 

Recent Updates and Future Directions

Evernote - Users can expect a more intuitive interface for the most effortless navigation. There will be more customization options to make note-taking more personalized. Also, you can look forward to the continued AI integration of this software. 

OneNote - There’s a broader integration of OneNote features to ensure a seamless integration with the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. OneNote is also expected to have faster synching processes across several platforms and offline access. 

Conclusion

Users looking for Evernote vs OneNote discussions should know that both provide significant benefits and ensure an efficient workflow for personal or business use. Evernote is known for its structured note-taking system and advanced search capabilities. Its simplicity and robust search functionality are ideal for users who need straightforward yet extensive note-taking tools. Meanwhile, OneNote is a flexible tool that offers free note-taking. Generally, this software is heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem. If you have been using various Microsoft products like Word and Excel, it might be ideal to utilize the features of OneNote for a seamless and hassle-free integration. 

Before deciding which software you choose, remember to consider your note-taking needs. You can refer to the list of features we have to ensure you have the right tools to make note-taking easier.