Find the perfect note-taking app by focusing on these essential features for an enhanced experience - we've been talking to users for years for this list!
You've got your stack of apps figured out, except for one crucial piece: finding a note-taking app that actually works the way you need it to. If you're like most users we've talked to, you've probably tried Notion, experimented with Apple Notes, or cycled through countless free note-taking apps trying to find the perfect fit.
But here's what we've learned after years of conversations with power users: the features that look impressive in marketing materials aren't always the ones that matter in day-to-day use. What really counts? Data ownership, offline reliability, and the freedom to work your way.
Let’s look at the truly essential features you should evaluate when choosing a note-taking app in 2025. We'll cover everything from basic necessities to advanced capabilities that can transform your workflow:
- Why offline support matters more than you might think
- The real impact of open-source vs. closed-source on your data
- How cross-platform support affects your daily workflow
- What to look for in AI features (beyond the buzzwords)
- Performance considerations for large-scale note collections
Whether you're a Mac user looking for the best note-taking app for your workflow, or you need something that works seamlessly across all your devices, this feature-focused guide will help you make an informed decision.
We'll be honest - we built AppFlowy, and we think it's the best note taking app out there! But we know that everyone has unique needs for their personal productivity - which is why this guide reflects our broader industry expertise and conversations with thousands of users about what actually matters in a note-taking app.
Our goal? To help you understand the key features that will impact your daily experience.
The Evolution of Note Taking: Why We Keep Switching Apps
Remember when note-taking was simple? You had a notebook, a pen, and your thoughts. Today, we're drowning in options. Each new note-taking app promises to revolutionize how we think, work, and organize our lives. Yet somehow, many of us find ourselves in an endless cycle:
- Get excited about a new app's fancy features
- Spend hours setting up our "perfect" system
- Use it religiously... for about two weeks
- Gradually drift back to basic tools
- Repeat with the next promising app
Sound familiar?
The Real Problem Isn't You—It's the Tools
The truth is most note-taking apps fall into two problematic categories:
Too Basic: Like Apple Notes or traditional text editors. They're reliable and simple, but they lack the powerful features you need to truly organize and connect your thoughts.
Too Complex: Think Notion and its closed-source alternatives. They offer everything under the sun—databases, widgets, embeds, and integrations. But this power comes at a cost: complexity, performance issues, and often, a feeling that you're building a digital palace you'll never actually live in.
Why We Keep Going Back to Basics
When faced with too much complexity, we often retreat to what we know works:
- Physical notebooks that never crash
- Simple text files that always open
- Excel spreadsheets that just get the job done
We do this because these tools offer something crucial that many modern note-taking apps don't: reliability and control. They might not be perfect, but they're:
- Always available
- Never too slow
- Completely within our control
- Simple to understand
Breaking the Cycle
But settling for basic tools means missing out on the genuine benefits of modern note-taking:
- Connected thoughts and ideas
- Powerful search capabilities
- Collaboration features
- AI assistance
- Cross-device synchronization
The good news? You don't have to choose between simplicity and power. The key is focusing on the right features—ones that enhance your workflow without overwhelming it. Modern note-taking should feel like an extension of your brain, not a second job.
After years of watching users cycle through apps, we've identified what makes a note-taking app "sticky"—one you'll actually stick with long-term:
- It works reliably offline
- It starts up instantly
- You own your data
- It's powerful when you need it, invisible when you don't
- It grows with you without growing complex
Now, let's look at these essential features in detail. Because understanding what matters (and what doesn't) is the first step to finding a note-taking app you'll actually use—not just another shiny object to add to your digital graveyard.
The Features To Look For In The Best Note Taking Apps
Data Control & Privacy Features
You've spent years building your digital brain—thousands of notes, projects, and ideas.
Then, one morning, you wake up to find that your note-taking app is having an outage. Or worse, they've changed their pricing model, and your data is now behind a higher paywall. Or perhaps most concerning, you discover they're using your notes to train their AI models without your express permission.
This isn't a hypothetical scenario—it's happened to users of major note-taking platforms repeatedly. The truth is, in our rush to embrace powerful features, we've somehow accepted that losing control of our data is just part of the deal.
True data control isn't just about being able to export your notes (though that's important). It's about having fundamental guarantees about how your information is handled and accessed. Here's what matters:
And we get it - when you're looking for a paid or free note taking app, you aren't always interested in security features. You just want a system that works for you! But you risk a lot when you don't know if your note apps are handling your data with integrity.
Open Source Transparency
With open source software, you're not just trusting marketing promises—you can see exactly how your data is handled, with every line of code open to community verification and security auditing. No more wondering about hidden tracking or unexpected data collection.
Self-Hosting Options
Self-hosting puts you in complete control of your infrastructure, allowing you to keep sensitive data within your organization and scale your setup without surprising cost increases. It's the difference between renting and owning your digital home.
Local-First Architecture
A local-first approach means your data lives on your device, not in someone else's cloud. You decide when to sync, how to sync, and whether to sync at all—your notes are always accessible, internet or not.
AI on Your Terms
Modern AI features shouldn't mean sacrificing privacy. You should be able to choose your AI models, control what data they can access, and never worry about your personal notes being used for training without your explicit consent. You can choose to self-host AppFlowy or use our cloud services as needed, allowing you to control your data's location and usage.
More importantly, we believe this level of control should be the industry standard, not a premium feature. The best features in the world don't matter if you can't trust what's happening with your data. Start here, then build up to evaluating other capabilities.
Accessibility & Reliability Features
You know that moment when inspiration strikes—maybe it's during a flight, in the middle of a meeting, or while you're reviewing last month's project notes.
But instead of capturing that thought, you're staring at a loading spinner, dealing with sync conflicts, or worse, completely locked out of your notes because you're offline. And just like that, the idea’s gone.
The most powerful note-taking app in the world is useless if you can't access it when you need it. Somehow, we've normalized waiting for our thoughts to load.
Here are some of those features that other note taking apps might not take seriously enough:
Cross-Platform Availability
Your ideas don't care what device you're using. Whether you're on Linux, Mac, Windows, or mobile, your note-taking experience should be consistent and native to each platform—not just a web wrapper that kind of works when your browser isn't overwhelmed.
Genuine Offline Support
Real offline support isn't just a read-only mode when you lose connection. It means full functionality whether you're in airplane mode, in a basement office, or choosing to work unplugged.
Your entire workspace should be available and fully functional – sync status irrelevant.
Performance at Scale
The true test of a note-taking app isn't how it handles your first 100 notes—it's how it performs when you've built up years of knowledge. Your app should scale with your ideas, maintaining speed and reliability whether you're managing 10 notes or 10,000.
Device-Native Experience
A proper native app doesn't just mean faster performance—it means respecting your device's features, shortcuts, and design patterns. Your note-taking should feel like a natural extension of your operating system, not a foreign element fighting against it.
AppFlowy is built around native apps for every major platform - ensuring you get genuine offline functionality and native performance everywhere. Our local-first approach means your data is instantly available, and our native apps respect platform-specific design patterns and shortcuts.
Even those huge notebooks stay responsive because we process data locally, avoiding the latency and bottlenecks of constant server communication.
User Experience & Productivity
Here's the big one - how well does the note taking app work? A note app can quickly be passed over if it doesn't have that UI and UX that draws you into wanting to make a to-do list!
But while pretty interfaces are nice, true user experience is about how smoothly you can capture and organize your thoughts without breaking your flow.
While tools like Apple Notes may not have the flashiest look and feel, you'll find that many go back to apps with basic features because the actual use is just so smooth!
So, what should you look for in the user experience of note taking apps? Here are some of the big ones we've found - and ones that we built AppFlowy to offer as well:
Markdown and Shortcuts
Markdown isn't just for developers anymore—it's about keeping your hands on the keyboard and your mind on your ideas.
A proper implementation means you can format text naturally while typing, use keyboard shortcuts that make sense, and never have to reach for your mouse just to make a heading or create a list. At AppFlowy, we give you the power of customization – you can create custom shortcuts for your most common function from within the settings.
Data Visualization Flexibility
Your notes aren't just blocks of text—they're interconnected ideas that need different views. Being able to switch between document views, tables, boards, and calendars isn't about having more features—it's about seeing your information in whatever way makes the most sense for the task at hand.
True Customization
Real customization goes beyond changing colors and themes. It means being able to adapt your workspace to your thinking style, whether that's customizing keyboard shortcuts, adjusting your layout for right-to-left languages, or setting up your own organizational system that matches how your brain works.
Smart Defaults, Flexible Options
Ever feel like you need a Ph.D just to figure out how to use the basic features of a software tool? You shouldn't have to spend hours setting up basic functionality, but you should have the power to tweak things when necessary.
These are the big features that note taking software must have to stand out. That's why we built our editor to support natural Markdown while typing, with keyboard shortcuts that feel intuitive across all platforms.
Our block-based system lets you switch between different view types (documents, boards, tables) without losing data, and everything from fonts to layouts can be customized to match your workflow. But most importantly, it all works out of the box—customization is there when you want it, not required to get started.
AI Integration
You know we had to include this one. AI in note-taking apps has become like a game of feature checklist bingo—everyone claims to have it, but few implement it in ways that actually enhance your workflow.
Seriously, we put in “AI note taking apps” in Google (which also uses AI now), and here’s what it gave us:
- Notion (AI assistant for meeting transcription and summaries)
- Evernote (AI-powered search across documents and images)
- Fireflies.AI (automatic transcription of conversations and meetings)
- Otter.ai (AI note-taking tool for recording audio and capturing meeting points)
- Reflect (AI-enhanced notes with "second brain" features)
- Microsoft OneNote (note-taking app with audio recording capabilities)
- Mem (AI-powered note organization and knowledge base creation)
- Fathom (AI notetaker specifically for Zoom calls)
Great - so you have all the features you need… but spread across eight different platforms? Goodbye, RAM.
The real question isn't whether an app has AI features, but whether those features give you more control over your notes or less.
As we covered in our data privacy feature section above, you want to know that your task management data isn't being used to feed power-hungry learning models (especially if you include details about your personal life!)
Here at AppFlowy, we aren't anti-AI. In fact, we think that AI has incredible potential to turn basic sticky notes or text notes into highly detailed notes that you can interact with and learn from.
We believe that the best note-taking apps use the best AI solutions available today - and should utilize the latest versions as they’re released. Here are the key AI features that you'll want your notes app to include:
Model Choice and Control
AI isn't one-size-fits-all. Sometimes, you need the power of GPT-4 for complex analysis; other times, you want a local model for private brainstorming; occasionally, you might not want AI touching your data at all.
True AI integration means having the freedom to choose the right tool for the moment, not being locked into whatever model the app provider chose for you.
Privacy-Conscious Implementation
Your notes often contain sensitive information—personal thoughts, business strategies, private conversations. AI features should enhance your note-taking without requiring you to share your entire knowledge base with third-party servers. You should be able to decide exactly what data your AI assistant can see and use.
Practical, Not Just Powerful
AI should solve real problems: summarizing long documents, extracting action items from meeting notes, helping you reorganize information, or providing writing assistance when you need it. But it should do so in ways that fit naturally into your workflow, not as a separate tool you have to context-switch to use.
Transparent Operation
We designed our AI integration to put you in control. Run local models like Mistral 7B directly on your machine for complete privacy, or choose cloud providers like GPT-4 or Claude when you need more power. Plus, by deeply integrating AI into your existing workflows, you keep AI right where you need it, when you need it.
AI features are integrated naturally into the editor—highlight text for instant summaries, ask for writing suggestions, or extract tasks from notes. But importantly, you always know what's happening with your data, and you can work completely offline with local models when privacy is paramount.
How To Find Your Perfect Note-Taking App
Remember those old magazines where you could find the perfect partner for your star sign? (We loved those, too.) So here’s our quiz to help you find the best note taking app for you and your team.
Answer these questions honestly—they'll help you understand what features actually matter for your workflow.
What Type of Note-Taker Are You?
1. Your Notes Are Mostly...
- Simple text and basic lists
- Complex documents with lots of formatting
- A mix of text, tables, and databases
- Everything, including the kitchen sink
2. How Often Do You Work Offline?
- Rarely, I'm always connected
- Sometimes during travel
- Frequently, I like to work unplugged
- My best ideas come when I'm offline
3. Your Biggest Note-Taking Frustration Is...
- Apps that are too complex
- Slow loading times
- Privacy concerns
- Limited feature set
4. What's Your Data Privacy Priority?
- I just need it to work
- I prefer keeping sensitive data local
- I want full control of my data
- Privacy is my top concern
5. How Do You Use AI in Your Workflow?
- I don't use AI features
- Basic writing assistance
- Advanced analysis and summaries
- I want AI, but I worry about data privacy
Breaking Down Your Answers
If You Chose Mostly First Options:
You need a straightforward, reliable tool that doesn't overwhelm you with features. Focus on apps with clean interfaces and fast performance.
If You Chose Mostly Second Options:
You're a power user who needs flexibility but values simplicity. Look for apps with advanced features that stay out of your way until needed.
If You Chose Mostly Third Options:
You're serious about your digital workspace and need a tool that can handle complexity while maintaining performance. Privacy and control are important to you.
If You Chose Mostly Fourth Options:
You're a privacy-conscious power user who needs complete control over your data and workflow. Open-source solutions with self-hosting options might be your best bet.
Why Note Takers Are Switching to AppFlowy
After looking at all these essential features, you might be wondering how AppFlowy stacks up.
As an open-source alternative to traditional note-taking apps, we've built AppFlowy by listening to users who were tired of compromising between power and privacy. That means we’ve got plenty of features you want – while focusing on developing the features you need.
Complete Data Control
- Offline Capability: Everything works without an internet connection
- Self-Hosting Option: Run it on your own infrastructure
- Data Ownership: Your data is yours—no vendor lock-in
- Open Source Security: Transparent, community-verified codebase
Powerful Yet Fast
- Native Apps: True desktop and mobile applications, not web wrappers
- Instant Load Times: No more waiting for your notes to appear
- Scalable Performance: Stays fast with thousands of notes
- Cross-Platform Sync: When you want it, how you want it
Flexible AI Integration
- Multiple Model Options: From local Mistral 7B to cloud-based GPT-4
- Privacy-First Processing: Run AI locally on your machine
- Contextual Assistance: Smart features that enhance your workflow
- Complete Control: AI models deeply integrated across the platform (no jumping back and forth)
Thoughtful User Experience
- Natural Markdown Support: Format while you type
- Multiple Views: Switch between documents, boards, and tables
- Custom Workflows: Adapt the app to your thinking style
- Keyboard-First Design: Stay in your flow – but faster – with personalized shortcuts to your liking.
Ready to Try The Best Note Taking App?
We’re hard at work building AppFlowy because we believe note-taking could be better—more private, more reliable, and more user-focused. But don't take our word for it. Our 58,000+ GitHub stars and growing community of users tell the story better than we can.
Getting Started with AppFlowy Is Simple:
- Download AppFlowy for your platform
- Choose between cloud sync or local-only
- Import your existing notes (yes, even from Notion!)
- Start experiencing note-taking on your terms
Download AppFlowy Now and join hundreds of thousands of users who've found a note-taking app they actually want to stick with. Because your ideas deserve a home that puts you in control.
Looking for templates to get started? Check out our community template gallery for inspiration and ready-to-use setups – as well as our user docs to help you build a better note taking system.