Evernote vs OneNote: Discover 7 Best Top Key Differences

However, for years these powerful productivity tools have been helping millions of users organize their thoughts, ideas, and information. But which is right for you?

In this, a detailed comparison of these 7 main differences between Evernote and OneNote, we will help you choose the digital organization tool that would best serve you.

Evernote and OneNote both strive to be your personal digital brain in which you store, organize, and retrieve information from all of your devices.. Yet they take different approaches to this effort, with strengths and weakness of their own. So let’s look at these differences and find out how they compare to each other.

Here’s a quick summary of the 7 key differences we’ll be covering:

1. User Interface Design
2. Organizational Structure
3. Web Clipping and Content Capture
4. Collaboration Tools
5. Pricing Models and Free Features
6. Cross-Platform Availability
7. Integration with Other Apps

With that said, it’s time to delve into each of these differences a bit more to pick the best note taking app for your requirements.

The latest tips and Reviews straight to your inbox!

Join 10,000+ subscribers for exclusive access to our Daily newsletter with insider software trials and recommendations!

Subscribe Now

1. How Evernote and OneNote Differ in User Interface Design

The strongest differentiating factor between Evernote vs OneNote will be their respective respective user interfaces. Make these differences paid big time to your usage experience, industrial productivity.

Evernote employs a sleek, simple design with minimal distraction aimed at maximum simplicity and ease of use. Particularly, its interface feels like a familiar traditional filing system, presenting a sidebar for navigation and the main content area showing and editing your notes. It’s a simple approach that allows for easy beginners to get going fast.

On the other hand, OneNote is inspired from physical notebooks to provide a more freeform canvas to your notes. The interface is a tabbed notebook with sections and pages that you can customize exactly as you want. More creative freedom in how you organize and present your information is possible with this design.

Let’s compare some key aspects of their user interfaces:

Various interfaces have their merit and most of what you prefer will be how you like to place details. Here are Evernote in case you prefer a structured, no nonsense solution. And for one thing, if you want to be a bit more visual and plastic layout wise, the option is OneNote.

Evernote might work better if you’re looking for something more structured and no nonsense. If you like more visual and flexible layout, OneNote might be the winner.

Want to explore more productivity tools beyond note-taking? Check out our guide on the “7 Best Productivity Apps to Supercharge Your Day” to find the perfect combination for your workflow.

2. Comparing Evernote and OneNote’s Organizational Structures

Evernote and OneNote do different things, how do they structure and organize your notes? Now you know these each one’s differences and which productivity tool will best serve your digital organization.

Maybe you can find one of these alternative notes app for notetaking. Understanding these differences is going to be crucial in deciding which app will best work for your digital organization.

Evernote uses a three-tiered organizational system:

1. Notes: Individual pieces of content
2. Notebooks: Collections of related notes
3. Stacks: Groups of notebooks

The structure is straight forward and intuitive to categorize and locate your information. Tags are also used heavily in Evernote, permitting you to tack multiple tags on every note and substantially more flexible structuring of your notes.

OneNote, on the other hand, uses a structure that more closely resembles a physical notebook:

1. Pages: Individual notes
2. Sections: Groups of related pages
3. Notebooks: Collections of sections

However, as you can see, OneNote also works with hierarchical structure, you can for example create subpages located within pages. It doesn’t have a native tagging system as strong as Evernote.

Here’s a comparison of their organizational features:

Of these two organizational structures, you will choose to go with whichever way you like to categorize and access your information. However, if you’re using tags and search (a lot), you might want Evernote.

If you’d rather prefer a more visual, hierarchical structure, OneNote may be more to your liking.

Ready to take your Evernote skills to the next level? Don’t miss our article on “5 Hidden Gems: Unlock Evernote’s Potential Now” to discover features you might have overlooked.

3. Evernote vs OneNote: Web Clipping and Content Capture Features

Evernote and OneNote are two powerful pieces of software both of which have a feature that allows you to capture content from the web and other sources. Nevertheless, these approaches to this functionality are different in various respects.

Evernote’s web clipper is renowned for its versatility and power. It allows you to:

• Clip entire web pages
• Save articles in a simplified, reader-friendly format
• Capture screenshots
• Save bookmarks
• Annotate clipped content

OneNote’s web clipper, while functional, is somewhat more basic. It offers:

• Full page clipping
• Region selection for partial page clipping
• Article mode for cleaner text capture
• Simple bookmarking

Let’s compare their web clipping features:

Both apps also have mobile scanning capabilities to grab content from other sources — you can digitize documents or handwritten notes. Out of the box, Apple Notes has really little to offer in this department, save for a few editing options for text fields (bold, italics, underlining, etc.).

However, Evernote generally provides a bit more in this feature set, with the exception of a feature that became a standard over the past decade: document scanning and automatic OCR (Optical Character Recognition).

Evernote’s more fancy Web clipper might have the edge on you if web research and curation are a big part of your workflow. Nevertheless, if you’re mostly a Microsoft guy, OneNote’s tight integration with other Office apps may be more worthwhile to you.

Want to supercharge your web research? Learn how “3 Ways Evernote Web Clipper Boosts Research” can streamline your online information gathering process.

4. Collaboration Tools in Evernote and OneNote: A Comparison

Today, many users of note taking apps have to be able to collaborate with one another effectively. Both keep in mind the collaboration feature, but when it comes to collaboration feature, they have their own strategies.

Evernote’s collaboration tools include:

• Shared notebooks
• Work Chat for real-time communication
• Note sharing via email or link
• Activity feed to track changes

OneNote, being part of the Microsoft ecosystem, integrates well with other Microsoft tools and offers:

• Shared notebooks
• Real-time collaboration (similar to Google Docs)
• Integration with Microsoft Teams
• Version history

Let’s compare their collaboration features:

Both apps feature solid collaboration features, though OneNote is usually the winner as it leverages other Microsoft work together if you’re currently working with other Microsoft had outputs. However, its real time collaboration feature comes in very handy when you’re working on team projects. But Evernote’s Work Chat is a useful way to talk about specific notes in short format.

Although there is a ton of overlap, your choice may hinge on whether you want deep integration with Microsoft’s suite of tools or if you prefer a more closed and standalone solution with integrated communication capabilities.

Working with a team? Discover how to make the most of Evernote’s collaborative features in our guide “6 Collaborative Features in Evernote Teams” and take your teamwork to the next level.

5. Pricing Models and Free Features: Evernote vs OneNote

Pricing and available features on free plan are biggest deciding factors when choosing between Evernote vs OneNote. Let’s look at the pricing models and what you get with each plan.

Evernote offers three tiers:

1. Basic (Free)
2. Premium
3. Business

OneNote is free with a Microsoft account, but additional features are available with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Here’s a comparison of their pricing and features:

While OneNote’s free version will provide you with more features, bigger heavy users could justify the price tag for Evernote’s premium features such as advanced PDF search and larger upload allowance. The choice depends on the uniqueness of your needs as well as your budgetary constraints.

6. Cross-Platform Availability: Evernote vs OneNote

As the world moves to a more mobile place, we need your notes to be available on any device and any platform. Both have cross platform support; OneNote also offers a few more options for use on devices, but they aren’t always available.

Evernote is available on:

• Windows
• Mac
• iOS
• Android
• Web browsers

OneNote is available on:

• Windows
• Mac
• iOS
• Android
• Web browsers

The good thing is that both apps are available on all the major platforms however the functionality may vary with each of the versions.

Here’s a comparison:

Whether you’re using a Windows PC or an iPhone, both note taking apps have good cross platform support, so you know that you can access your notes no matter what device you have your fingers on.

Overall Evernote feels like more consistent, where OneNote is probably more Microsoft heritage, it has some features that are only available on Windows.

The choice between these probably depends on which devices you use most often and just how much functionality you want in every one of them.

Want to make the most of Evernote on your mobile device? Check out our guide on “5 Steps to Master Evernote Tags Effortlessly” to keep your notes organized on the go.

7. Integration with Other Apps: Evernote vs OneNote

In our digital, connected world, having an app that plays nice with other ‘productivity tools’ can have a really meaningful impact on your workflow. Both apps integrate with other apps, with Evernote and OneNote approach being different.

Evernote offers a wide range of integrations with third-party apps, including:

• Google Drive
• Slack
• Salesforce
• Zapier (allowing connections to hundreds of other apps)

OneNote, being part of the Microsoft ecosystem, has deep integration with other Microsoft products:

• Outlook
• Microsoft Teams
• OneDrive
• Other Office apps

Here’s a comparison of their integration capabilities:

OneNote’s deep integration with other Microsoft tools is bound to be a big plus if you’re heavily in the Microsoft ecosystem.

But if you rely on more types of apps and services then Evernote’s more expansive set of third party integrations could be much more useful.

Looking to streamline your workflow even further? Discover how “4 OCR Tricks: Turn Evernote Images into Text” can help you digitize and organize your handwritten notes and documents.

Conclusion: Choosing Between Evernote and OneNote

After reading this, you’ll see that the two apps are powerful note taking apps with their own strengths and weaknesses. Largely it will depend on what you need, your way of working, others tools you use.

Choose Evernote if:

• You prefer a clean, minimalist interface
• You rely heavily on tagging for organization
• You need a powerful web clipper
• You want extensive third-party app integrations

Choose OneNote if:

• You like a more freeform, visual organization style
• You’re already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem
• You need real-time collaboration features
• You want a fully-featured free version

Conclusion

Take it from me, all the different note taking apps throughout the universe are all the best—even more so than the starship enterprise and captain Kirk on Star Trek! And we urge you to give a shot to both Evernote and OneNote to find out which one fits your own workflow the best.

Whatever app you choose, the thing is to use it regularly and tap fully on its features. While their tools for digital organization both are powerful, both Evernote and OneNote can actually help boost your productivity and keep you on top of your information.

back to top | Latest blogs | Home | Web Application

FAQ

The latest tips and Reviews straight to your inbox!

Join 10,000+ subscribers for exclusive access to our Daily newsletter with insider software trials and recommendations!

Subscribe Now

#EvernoteVsOneNote #NoteTakingApps #ProductivityTools #DigitalOrganization #CloudStorage #Evernote #OneNote #NoteOrganization #WebClipper #Collaboration #CrossPlatformApps #AppIntegration #WorkflowOptimization #PersonalProductivity #freetrialtracker