Santiago Mallea
Content Writer At Gradehacker
Note taking-apps are a MUST for every college student, and having a place where you can keep your notes, annotations, to-do lists, and reminders can genuinely save your life. And among the many options available, Evernote stands out because of its popularity and many years of existence. However, in 2018, a new and solid contender was released: Notion.
Maybe you are old-school and leave your comments on handwritten notes. Or it could be that you use simpler solutions, like Google Docs or the Quick Notes app on your phone. Either way, the truth is that you might be missing out on the essential features of a note-taking tool like Evernote and Notion.
Both are truly helpful and efficient apps that can alleviate the everyday college experience. Even if Notion and Evernote were made for taking notes, each has its unique way of doing that. Same purpose, but different features, structure, prices, and design.
Is Notion useful if I only want to use it myself? Does Evernote have the best features? Which is the best option for my entire team to use?
These are only a few of the most common questions that new users have. Since you are wondering which note-taking application you are going to choose, all you need is a direct comparison between Evernote and Notion. Here is where we come in.
Here at Gradehacker, we are experts in helping students improve their college experience. Useful apps are part of our daily lives too, and we know how much of a difference it makes using the best ones. Today we’re sharing their differences and similarities and committing to answering the decisive question: Evernote or Notion, which is the best note-taking app?
But before we start, let’s cover the basics. What are these apps?
What is Evernote?
Evernote is a cloud-based service that helps you capture everything around you. It’s been around for over 20 years and is one of the world’s leading productivity tools nowadays. Over 3 billion people use the app across platforms like PC, Mac, iOS, and Android, with over 100 million people using it every month.
With Evernote, you can snap photos, record audio notes, and even scan documents directly into your projects. These notes can then be organized into notebooks and tagged so that you can find them when you need them again.
One of their best characteristics is that they offer collaborative features such as sharing your notebook with friends, collaborating on projects, and commenting on each other’s content.
What is Notion?
Notion is an online platform for creating and managing work. Its main feature is a powerful task management system that allows you to plan and organize ideas, tasks, and projects.
You can create multiple pages for any idea you may have, and add tags, notes, files, and media to help you focus better. It also offers collaboration features like chat rooms and live meetings, so you can see what everyone else is working on in real-time.
It was founded in 2016, and because of its focus on the collaborative workspace, it has rapidly grown to be one of the main note-taking applications around, trusted by companies like Pixar, TravelPerk, and Spotify.
But that’s enough of contextual background. Let’s jump into the first main topic of their features.
Note-taking Features
Evernote and Notion have a few similarities. Besides having the same purpose, they share some basic functions and are intuitive and easy to understand. Both have group and personal plans, with free versions for individual users.
The differences begin with how each app designs its workspace.
Evernote
Evernote has a simple design. You can take unlimited notes, and the app automatically saves them online and syncs them to all your devices. The only equipment that can’t support it are Amazon devices, since in 2021 the app was removed from the Amazon Appstore.
But you can use it on your desktop or your phone, regardless of your operating system!
A big plus for Evernote is that they have a wide range of custom templates for every occasion. Calendars, to-do lists, business plans, and more! Just open their templates gallery, choose the one that fits your needs, and use it as you please! They’re fully customizable and endlessly reusable.
When you are writing your notes, instead of interrupting your flow by switching between files, you can create tasks within it. Set reminders, due dates, flags, and add context to any to-do list! Evernote also gives you suggestions while you type and allows you to assign tasks to other people and even track their progress.
Another great feature is connecting your Google Calendar with the app and synchronizing all your meetings and tasks into Evernote. You can set up a new note with all event details with just one click, so you can keep your ideas connected to the people, places, and activities they came from.
Their Home-page is a feature on its own because they let you customize it with the widgets you need. Organize the quick notes, calendars, screenshots, and audio files as you wish, and improve your efficiency by having everything in an all-in-one workspace.
With their search bar, you can find notes by titles, dates, keywords, content types, and even words in pictures! You can facilitate the search by adding tags on your notes with keywords and arranging them by any category you want.
One of their key features is their document scanning software. You can scan any physical document with your camera and upload it to your notes. Healthcare or insurance files, product information, ID cards, and even handwritten notes! Even more incredible is that the app recognizes the words on an image and lets you find them through their search bar.
Finally, Evernote has a chrome extension that adds a lot to its features. With Web Clipper, you can save websites, articles, and PDFs in the app. You can take a screenshot of the entire page or only the part you want, and add highlights and text! It removes ads and sidebars and lets you add titles and tags with keywords so you can find what you saved quicker.
Notion
While Notion lets you create notes just as Evernote, its layout is a bit more modern and straightforward. Instead of having the main home where you have many widgets, you choose on the side which project you are going to work with.
With their built-in task manager, you can track and organize everything you need in one place. This makes them stand out because it lets you create sub-notes within each note. Since adding many individual subitems in a single file can sometimes make it lengthier and harder to read, with Notion, you can create a new page that is directly connected with the main note.
And you can do this as many times as you wish!
Another of the greatest Notion features is their extensive templates catalog. They have over 250 custom templates to choose from, each with its own style and structure. You can use them as they are, change them to fit your needs, and even create your own!
One aspect that really sets Notion apart from Evernote is its integration with other services and platforms. It is integrated with apps and websites like Slack, GitHub, Asana, Dropbox, and Microsoft Teams. You can even integrate it with Google Drive and easily bring Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides into it!
So if you’re using any of these apps, Notion will automatically sync all the information related to your projects and tasks. This includes files, images, links, and even calendar events.
As many of the integrated apps are related to programming, Notion has also developed an API that lets you connect your pages and databases to the tools you use every day, creating powerful workflows. If you are a developer, with Notion, you will be able to build blocks and aggregate data into your team’s workspace.
Finally, it offers a wide range of collaboration tools perfect for any team. Notion users can make use of its live chat, file sharing, and project planning. With their customizable workflow, you can create tasks, assign people to them, and change their status.
Prices
Now that we have seen what each productivity app has to offer, it’s time we answer one of the most important questions: How much do they cost?
Well, the good news is that both Evernote and Notion have a free version that includes most of their features. However, their prices do change.
Evernote
With Evernote’s Free Plan, you have unlimited notes, can sync up to 2 devices, have maximum monthly uploads of 60MB, three widgets per home dashboard, and all the in-note tasks.
If you decide to try their Personal Plan of $7.99 per month or $69.99 per year, you can sync unlimited devices, have maximum monthly uploads of 10GB, customize your home with more widgets, integrate your Google Calendar, add due dates, reminders, and notifications to your task, and create custom templates.
However, if you are part of a team, you can try the Premium Plan for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, which includes 20GB of monthly uploads, access to all home widgets, export notebooks as PDF files, connect both personal and workplace Google Calendar accounts, and create, manage, and assign tasks to others, and track their progress.
Notion
Notion’s Personal Plan is free and made for individuals. It has unlimited pages and blocks, lets you share it with up to five guests, use their API, and sync across unlimited devices.
With the Personal Pro Plan, you pay $5 per month or $48 per year and also get unlimited file uploads, unlimited guests, and a 30-day version history.
Teams can access the Team Plan for $10 per month or $96 per year. This option includes unlimited team members, admin tools, sharing permissions, and collaborative workspaces.
Lastly, the Enterprise Plan is for bigger companies that lets you control your company from one place. This package also offers unlimited version history, a dedicated success manager, advanced security and controls, user provisioning (SCIM), and SAML SSO. Since it’s made for large-scale companies, the contract is customized and you need to contact their Sales department to find out how much it would cost.
Evernote Pros and Cons
Evernote has more than 20 years on the market and has kept itself on top for a reason. They have a simple design and offer unique features like the document scanner and their Web Clipper Chrome extension.
While it covers all the needed basic note-taking features, they stand out by letting you connect your Google Calendar, create tasks within the notes, and their home page is a visually compelling site to organize your dashboard. It’s also impressive that their search bar can find the words within the images or handwritten notes you upload.
However, their free version doesn’t let you use many of these features to the fullest, and their prices, while not necessarily expensive, are higher than Notion’s.
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited notes |
Their free version doesn't include some of the features or limits those that are included |
|
Effective home dashboard |
Higher prices |
|
Useful Chrome Extension |
Cannot be used on Amazon devices |
|
Document Scanner |
|
|
Powerful search bar that finds words in images |
|
|
Lets you connect your Google Calendar |
|
|
Assign tasks to other people and track them |
Notion Pros and Cons
While Notion hasn’t been around as long as Evernote, it stands out for its simple design and complete features. These include unlimited pages and blocks, letting you sync your account with all your devices and creating sub-notes within each file.
Plus, they have a more complete templates gallery and are better prepared for groups. It can be integrated with popular platforms like Slack and GitHub, perfect for any company looking to place all its tasks in one place.
And while it is a great all-in-one workflow for teams, it is more than enough for an individual user. It may not have the same advanced features that Evernote has, but its cheaper cost and a more complete free version are worth the try.
Pros |
Cons |
|---|---|
|
Unlimited notes |
Their free version doesn't include some of the features or limits those that are included |
|
Easy to use built-in task manager |
Doesn't have a web clipper |
|
Extensive templates catalog |
The search bar doesn't read images |
|
Lets you connect with important platforms like Google Drive, GitHub, and Slack |
|
|
Assign tasks to other people and track them |
|
|
Create sub-notes |
|
|
Sync with all devices |
|
|
The free version doesn't limit their features a lot |
|
|
Cheaper cost |
Which One Should You Choose?
Ultimately, the answer depends on how much you value simplicity over other features. If you don’t mind having fewer features, then Notion might be the way to go. You have all the basic note-taking needs covered in their free version, so a paid subscription may not even be necessary.
But if you are looking for more advanced features and don’t mind paying for them, Evernote will be the best choice for you. Their document scanner and search engine are highly useful features that make the difference.
Still, both apps proved to be quite effective. Different on many levels, but in the end, they cover the most important features that will certainly improve the way you organize everything in your life.
Now you are ready to choose which note-taking app you are going to use. If you still haven’t tried Evernote or Notion, stop wasting your time and try the one that suits your needs best!
If you want to learn more tips on how to improve your college journey, check out some of our related content!
