Joplin vs PrivacyNotes
Joplin
joplinapp.org
PrivacyNotes
privacynotes.appSide by side
| Figure | Joplin | PrivacyNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €2.39/mo | $0.40/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 10 | 5 |
| Spec score · Secure Notes Apps | 9.2 (#2) | 8.9 (#5) |
| End-to-end encryption | Joplin uses end-to-end encryption to secure notes so only the user can access them. | The clients encrypt note data locally with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before synchronization. |
| Integrations | Joplin Cloud,Nextcloud,S3,WebDAV,Dropbox,OneDrive,Local filesystem | Sign-in can use Google, Apple or GitHub, while Bitwarden, browser passwords and browser bookmarks have import paths. |
| Self-hosting option | Joplin Server Business is a self-hosted solution for businesses and organisations. | The client is downloadable and open source, but the hosted sync backend is not offered as a self-hosted deployment. |
Plans
Joplin
- Basic€2.99 a month
- Basic€28.69 a year
- Pro€5.99 a month
- Pro€57.48 a year
- Pro 100 GB€9.99 a month
- Pro 100 GB€95.88 a year
- Teams€7.99 a month
- Teams€80.28 a year
- Joplin Server BusinessPrice not published
- Joplin Server BusinessPriced on request
PrivacyNotes
- FreeFree
- 1 GB storage add-on$4.80 a year
- 2 GB storage add-on$8.40 a year
- 5 GB storage add-on$18 a year
- Pro$48, paid once
In their own words
Joplin
Joplin is an open-source note-taking app with offline access and support for notes containing images, videos, PDFs and audio. It runs on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux and the web, with a Chrome extension and API also listed. A web clipper for Chrome and Firefox saves pages or screenshots as notes. Notes can sync through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, S3, WebDAV or a local filesystem. Joplin uses end-to-end encryption, and shared notebooks can be set to editable or read-only. Basic costs €2.99 a month, with 2 GB of storage and a 10 MB limit per note or attachment. Pro costs €5.99 a month for 30 GB and a 200 MB per-note or attachment limit; Pro 100 GB costs €9.99 a month. Teams costs €7.99 a month per user, with a minimum of two users, and includes 50 GB of storage. Plans include a 14-day free trial. Students and teachers can receive a 50% discount for one year, renewable while in education.
PrivacyNotes
PrivacyNotes is an end-to-end encrypted workspace for notes, tasks, files, a vault, journals, and bookmarks. It encrypts notes on the device before synchronization using XChaCha20-Poly1305, with keys derived from a 12-word BIP-39 phrase. Its local-first design supports reading, writing, and searching offline, then syncs changes when connectivity returns. The synchronized copy is stored in Zurich, Switzerland, as encrypted data rather than readable note text. Users can create a vault without email or sign in with Google, Apple, or GitHub; provider sign-in offers server-held or device-only key custody. Imports cover many note, journal, password, and bookmark services, along with Markdown files. PrivacyNotes has no AI features or background AI processing and does not train models on user content. Its web, desktop, and mobile apps and encryption code are published on GitHub under the AGPL. The Free plan costs nothing forever; Pro costs $48, paid once. Under self-custody, losing the phrase without a signed-in device means the company cannot recover notes.