“Best for flexibility”
“Notes are ordinary local Markdown files.”
“Full-text search runs locally.”
“Obsidian Sync supports E2EE for remote vaults.”
“Works across desktop and mobile.”
“Obsidian: Most flexibility, particularly if you value Markdown, plugins and ownership of your files.”
“Important caveat: E2EE protects the remote Sync vault, not the local files on your devices.”
“Obsidian, for example, documents certain metadata that isn't end-to-end encrypted.”
“Encrypts notes on your device before syncing.”
“Encrypts titles, notebooks, tags and attachments according to its documentation.”
“Supports multi-device sync.”
“Designed around private note-taking rather than ordinary cloud-document collaboration.”
“Notesnook: Very attractive combination of straightforward E2EE, convenient sync and local search.”
“*Notesnook has an important exception: locked Private Vault notes aren't included in full-text search; their titles remain searchable.”
“Open-source and offline-first.”
“Full-text search.”
“E2EE can be enabled independently of the sync destination.”
“Supports Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV and other sync targets.”
“You have more control over where your data lives.”
“The trade-off is that initial encryption and device setup take more work.”
“E2EE is built into its normal account-based sync.”
“Encryption and decryption happen on your devices.”
“Offline access to previously synced notes.”
“Strong focus on privacy and long-term data protection.”
“Standard Notes: Strong security-oriented design, but check its search and editing capabilities against your requirements before committing.”
“Standard Notes: Strong security-oriented design, but check its search and editing capabilities against your requirements before committing.”