If you choose a note app by its feature list, you tend to regret it a few months in. Use one long enough and the differences that matter come down to two things: where your notes are stored and who you write with. This post compares six note and document apps on those two points.
First, a map
Before listing features, look at where each app sits. The horizontal axis is whether you mostly write alone or with others. The vertical axis is whether your notes are files on your own device or sit on the app company's servers (the cloud). The positions are my own judgment. I placed each app only by where the notes are stored and how many people usually write together, not by how many features it has.
Each app in brief
Apple Notes: the lightest way to start
No install, no sign-up. Checklists, tables, document scanning, folders and sharing all work out of the box. Since iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 it can also import and export Markdown (a simple plain-text format where you mark up styling with symbols; the files end in .md). Links between notes can be lost when you move them, and images and attachments only come along if you export the whole folder. If you only use Apple devices, this is often enough. Add a Windows PC and you can open your notes only in a web browser, which gets awkward.
Google Docs: the default for writing together
Simultaneous editing, comments, suggestion mode and version history are solid. A link shares a document with anyone on any device, and you can download a document as Markdown. But one file is one document, so it feels heavy as a notepad for a steady stream of short thoughts.
OneNote: closest to a paper notebook
You can put text, images and handwriting anywhere on a page, which suits lecture notes and idea sketches. With that freedom, keeping things organized and easy to find is up to you. The old OneNote for Windows 10 app reached end of support in October 2025. If you are starting now, install a version that is still supported.
Notion: documents and tables on one screen
You can mix text, tables, kanban and calendar views in one place, and there are plenty of templates. Many teams use it as their wiki, a shared set of linked documents. The freedom means you have to design the structure. When the person who built it leaves, the structure can easily become something nobody understands, so decide who will look after it before you adopt it. Export formats are Markdown & CSV, HTML and PDF, and databases come out as CSV. Each format keeps different content, so it is worth doing a test export before you rely on one.
Obsidian: when you want your notes as your own files
Your notes are plain Markdown files on your own device. If the app disappears, your notes stay. When you link one note to another, the other note shows that link too, which makes it popular with people who build up notes over the years. Plugins can extend it a great deal. The core app is free. Sync (across devices) and Publish (to the web) are paid, though you can also sync the folder yourself with a service such as iCloud or Dropbox. It is a poor fit for several people editing the same note at once.
Tabple: where you build up wiki-style documents and notes
Tabple is a collaboration tool, but it is built so you can use just the documents and notes as a note app. Here I cover only the parts that matter for this comparison.
Page tree and block editor. Pages nest in a hierarchy, and the slash key (/) inserts blocks such as tables, callouts (highlight boxes), toggles (fold-away lists), code, math and diagrams.
Two-way links. Type
[[and pick a page to link to it, and the linked page also lists yours under pages that link to it.Memos. There is a separate memo screen for jotting down thoughts before they take the shape of a document.
Export. Download a page as a
.mdfile, or as a.zipthat includes subpages. Saving as PDF is available on paid plans.
Version history builds up automatically for the day you ruin a document. A version is saved when 15 minutes have passed since the last save or the text has changed by 300 characters or more, and each page keeps its latest 50. You can pick two versions, compare what changed and restore one. Deleting a page also deletes its version history.
If you want files too: folder sync
Your notes and documents in Tabple live on its server. The server holds the original, so the same page opens on the web, desktop and mobile. That is a weak spot for people who want their notes as their own files, so the desktop app has folder sync. Connect a folder on your computer (an Obsidian folder works too) to a Tabple project (a workspace that holds your documents) and .md files and wiki pages are kept in step both ways. A folder becomes a parent page and a subfolder becomes a child page.
At the top of each file, the app records the title and a marker that links it to its wiki page. You do not need to edit it, but keep it, because without it the file is treated as a new page.
---
title: Weekly meeting 2026-10
---
<!-- tabple_id: 1234 -->
# Meeting notes…Limits of this feature
It works only in the desktop app. The web and mobile apps have no menu for it.
The wiki tree goes four levels deep. Files in deeper folders are left out of the sync.
Pages with diagrams, databases, embeds (external video or document inserts), attachments or math cannot be written as
.md. Edits you make to such a page in the file are not sent to the server, so edit those pages in the wiki.If you edit the same page in the folder and the wiki at the same time, a conflict window asks which side to keep. Neither choice deletes the whole page. What you lose is one side's changes.
When Tabple does not fit
If handwriting and free-form notes are the center of your work, OneNote is better.
If you want every note only as a file on your own device, Obsidian is better. In Tabple the server holds the original.
If your team passes documents around inside Google Drive, there is little reason to leave Google Docs.
The free plan has limits. Check that it fits your usage on the pricing page first.
Choosing by situation
If you use only an iPhone and a Mac and mostly write short notes, pick Apple Notes.
If several people edit a report at the same time, pick Google Docs.
If you take lecture or meeting notes by hand, pick OneNote.
If you build a team wiki that mixes documents and tables, pick Notion.
If you keep notes as your own files for years, pick Obsidian.
If you build up wiki-style documents and memos, and sometimes want them as
.mdfiles too, pick Tabple.
What people miss when they switch
When you change apps, first check how you will move your notes. Tabple can import from Simplenote, Bear, Apple Notes, Evernote, Obsidian and plain Markdown folders. For Notion, upload the zip you exported as Markdown to the Obsidian / plain Markdown option under Import notes from other tools in settings, and the folder structure becomes the page hierarchy.
Check the export format first. Apps that export Markdown or HTML are easy to leave. Apps that export only a proprietary format are hard to leave.
See whether images and attachments come out too. It is common for the text to move and the images to stay behind as broken links.
Links and tags that only worked inside the old app may disappear. Try a few notes first.
Use both apps for a month. If you delete from the old app right away, you may not notice missing notes until it is too late.
Wrapping up
There is no best app. Decide whether you write alone or with others, and whether you want your notes as your own files or are fine leaving them with a service. That narrows the field to two or three. Pick one, use it for a month, and switch when you can name a specific annoyance.
You can start Tabple for free. Step-by-step instructions are in the wiki guide and the folder sync guide.