Paste vs Turtl

Paste is a private notepad and clipboard for syncing text, links, and code snippets across macOS, Linux, and Windows. Notes may be plain text, Markdown, or code, and users can pin frequently used items. It works offline and merges changes automatically after devices reconnect. The site says local search can find items in under 30 ms across 10,000 entries. Pairing uses a QR scan, short code, or recovery phrase, and each device receives a revocable signing key. Paste says it encrypts content on the device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before storage or syncing, deriving keys from the recovery phrase. Optional relays store encrypted blocks and can see network metadata, but cannot read note contents or keys. The encryption envelope, sync engine, relay client, and verifier are open source; Paste also includes a verifier and standalone CLI. Desktop versions run through the Pear runtime, which installers require. On Windows, the first launch fetches the app peer-to-peer and may take about one minute. iOS and Android are in development. Paste is free and requires no account; it does not provide anonymity or provable physical deletion of ciphertext retained on third-party disks.

Turtl is a collaborative notebook for organizing bookmarks, passwords, files, shopping lists, and other notes. It supports text, bookmark, password, image, and document notes, with full-text search, tag filtering, Markdown, and TeX math rendering. Users can create Spaces, choose collaborators, and set permissions from read-only access through full ownership. Turtl says data is encrypted in the app before leaving the device, using keys derived from the user's email and password. Shared items get separate random keys, so recipients can unlock only the item shared with them. The service warns that an intercepted email invitation could expose a shared Space if its secret is not communicated separately. Users can import or export their full profile for backup or migration, and can install the open-source server to host their own data. Listed platforms include Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android, with Chrome and Firefox bookmarking extensions; offline access is supported. Premium costs $3/mo and includes 10GB note data and 10 collaborators per Space; Business costs $8/mo and includes 50GB and dedicated support.