Tame your work, organize your life
Evernote is a note-taking app acquired by Bending Spoons 2023. Trustpilot: 1.2/5 from 558 reviews. 'Forced upgrade' to $249-350/year without consent, 4+ day support, locked out of paid accounts. Massive decline since acquisition.
Patterns extracted from real user feedback — not raw reviews.
Since being acquired by Bending Spoons in 2023, subscription prices have skyrocketed. Some users report pricing has tripled, with annual costs reaching $250/year for Advanced and $99/year for Starter. Long-time users are particularly frustrated by these sudden increases to a product they've used for years.
The free plan now limits users to just 50 notes, one notebook, and syncing to only 1 device plus web. This is a massive reduction from the previous unlimited notes. Many users feel their data is being held hostage to force upgrades.
Users report being charged without authorization and facing difficulties canceling subscriptions. One long-time user had their 13-year subscription cancelled due to a credit card glitch, then was charged twice ($62 and $309.99) before access was restored. Account deletion requests are ignored.
After Bending Spoons laid off nearly all US employees in 2023, customer support has deteriorated significantly. Users report accounts cancelled without reimbursement, being charged while locked out, and receiving only automated replies. Some cannot even contact support because their accounts were cancelled.
46% of users report encountering synchronization delays across devices. Common issues include version conflicts, incomplete uploads, note duplication, and connectivity interruptions. When multiple devices modify a note simultaneously, conflicts result in duplicates or unsaved changes.
The app suffers from slow loading and lag, particularly on mobile. The web app takes 30 seconds to a minute to load before you can do anything, with upgrade pop-ups appearing every time. Users report V10 getting slower on loading notes and searching, with frequent crashes especially when handling large amounts of data.
The Version 10 redesign introduced GUI changes nobody asked for, added functions that ruined workflows, and in some cases the app doesn't start after updates. Users describe V10 as making once-simple things now take more steps. The forced migration from Legacy was costly in workflow disruption.
The free version prompts users to buy the paid version every time they open it, with intrusive pop-ups that require navigating through UX traps to close. Users find this experience hostile and indicative of a product prioritizing revenue extraction over user experience.
The interface can be cluttered and overwhelming, making navigation difficult. The search functionality barely works, and it's not obvious when search is within a note versus across all notes. Customization options are limited compared to competitors.
Users report being unable to export notes, with the export feature crashing for large note collections. Export can only be done from desktop (not web/mobile), limited to 100 notes at a time. Evernote's proprietary ENEX format requires third-party tools to convert. Many users feel trapped with their data.
Powerful web clipper for saving content
Evernote's web clipper remains one of the best in the industry, allowing users to save articles, PDFs, and web content directly to notebooks with various formatting options.
Excellent OCR and document search
The ability to search text within images, PDFs, and handwritten notes is powerful. OCR works reliably across uploaded documents, making all content searchable.
Wide range of integrations
Evernote integrates with many popular apps including Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Outlook. The ecosystem built over 20 years remains valuable.
Rich note formatting options
Notes support tables, checkboxes, attachments, audio recordings, and formatted text. The note editor handles complex content well when it works properly.
Users: 1 user
Storage: 250MB monthly upload
Limitations: 50 note limit is extremely restrictive, Cannot sync across devices, No customer support
Users: 1 user
Storage: 1000 attachments
Limitations: Not unlimited notes, Limited notebooks, No teams features
Users: 1 user
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: No team collaboration features, Still reports of sync issues
Users: Per user
Storage: Unlimited
Limitations: Team features are basic compared to alternatives, Limited admin controls
Sales teams
Web clipper useful for research, but no CRM features. Better as supplementary tool than primary sales workspace.
Researchers and academics
Good web clipping and OCR, but limited linking and organization compared to modern alternatives like Obsidian or Notion.
Users heavily invested in web clipping workflow
Evernote's web clipper remains one of the best. If web clipping is your primary use case and you're willing to pay, it may still work. But consider alternatives like Raindrop.io or Notion.
Engineering teams
No code blocks, no Git integration, poor Markdown support. Engineers should use Obsidian, Notion, or dedicated documentation tools.
Long-time Evernote users with large note collections
The drastic price increases (up to 3x) combined with data export difficulties create a situation where years of notes are effectively held hostage. Consider migrating to alternatives before investing more in the platform.
Budget-conscious users and students
The 50-note free tier limit is absurdly restrictive, and paid plans start at $99/year. Free alternatives like Notion, Obsidian, or OneNote offer far more value.
Users who need reliable sync across devices
With 46% of users reporting sync issues, device limits on free/starter plans, and data conflict problems, Evernote is not reliable for multi-device workflows.
Teams looking for collaboration tools
After laying off most staff, Evernote's team features are underdeveloped compared to Notion, Confluence, or even free tools like Google Docs. Customer support is unreliable.
Power users wanting customization
V10 removed many power user features, the interface is rigid, and competitors like Obsidian and Notion offer far more customization. Evernote's development appears focused on monetization, not features.
Common buyer's remorse scenarios reported by users.
Long-time users realize their years of notes are difficult to export. The export feature crashes, only works from desktop, and exports in proprietary format. By the time they want to leave, migration is a massive undertaking.
Users trying Evernote hit the 50-note limit quickly, often while organizing existing notes or in the middle of an important project. The aggressive upgrade prompts create immediate pressure to pay.
Users who auto-renew are shocked to see prices 2-3x higher than previous years. Some report charges of $309.99 after previously paying ~$70. The lack of grandfathering or gradual increases feels like betrayal.
Users who bought lifetime or multi-year plans before the acquisition feel their investment was wasted. The product has changed dramatically under new ownership, but they're locked into a service that no longer matches what they bought.
Scenarios where this product tends to fail users.
Free users are limited to 1 device. Even paid users experience sync conflicts, duplicate notes, and delays. When you need the same note across phone, tablet, and computer, Evernote's sync issues become a daily frustration.
Export is limited to 100 notes at a time from desktop only. Large collections crash the export. The ENEX format requires conversion. Users report spending days or weeks migrating their notes, if they can export at all.
After laying off most staff, support is unreliable. Users report being charged while locked out of accounts, cancelled subscriptions without refunds, and automated responses with no human follow-up. BBB complaints have increased.
At 50 notes and 1 device, the free tier is barely functional. Most serious users hit these limits within weeks. The jump to $99+/year is steep compared to free alternatives like Notion or OneNote.
Microsoft OneNote
Free alternative with no note limits, deep Microsoft 365 integration, and infinite canvas. Great for users who don't want to pay after Evernote's price increases. Especially popular with students.
Joplin
Open-source Evernote alternative that imports ENEX files directly. Free, supports end-to-end encryption, and you control where data is stored. Popular among privacy-conscious users fleeing Evernote.
Notion
Users switch for modern interface and flexibility. Gain: databases, better collaboration, more features. Trade-off: slower, requires internet.
Obsidian
Users switch for local storage and linking. Gain: offline-first, own your data, powerful plugins. Trade-off: no web clipper, learning curve.
Apple Notes
Apple users switch for simplicity and free. Gain: native iOS/macOS integration, fast, free. Trade-off: Apple ecosystem only, basic features.
