Cabinote vs the Alternatives
How does a private, offline, freeform canvas notebook stack up against the big names? Let's find out.
The lineup
We compared Cabinote against the most popular note-taking apps as of 2026.
Side-by-side
| Feature | Cabinote ★ Us | Notion | Obsidian | Apple Notes | OneNote | Evernote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Access | ||||||
| Price | Free | Freemium $10/mo paid |
Free Sync $10/mo |
Free | Free | Paid $14/mo |
| Account required | No account | Required | No account | Apple ID | Microsoft | Required |
| Free tier limits | No limits | 1000 blocks | None local | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1 notebook |
| Privacy & Data | ||||||
| Data stays on device | Always | Cloud only | Local files | iCloud sync | OneDrive | Cloud only |
| Analytics / telemetry | None | Yes | Optional | Apple | Microsoft | Yes |
| Data used for AI/ads | Never | AI features | No | Siri data | Copilot data | Yes |
| Platform & Offline | ||||||
| macOS | ✓ Native | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Limited | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ Native | ✓ | ✓ | iOS/Mac only | ✓ Native | ✓ |
| Works 100% offline | Always | Cache only | Yes | iCloud sync needed | Limited | No |
| Apple Silicon native | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Rosetta | ✓ |
| Note Taking & Canvas | ||||||
| Freeform canvas | ✓ Infinite | Block-based | Markdown text | Limited | ✓ | Basic |
| Built-in drawing / pen | ✓ 4 tools | No | No | ✓ | ✓ | No |
| Image embedding | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Note organisation | Notebooks + 3D shelf | Pages & databases | Files & folders | Folders | Sections | Notebooks |
| PIN / password lock | ✓ Per notebook | No | No built-in | ✓ Per note | No | No |
| Global search | ✓ ⌘K | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Undo levels | 30 snapshots | Limited | Unlimited (file) | Standard | Standard | Standard |
| Visual & Fun | ||||||
| Bookshelf / visual org | ✓ 3D shelf | No | No | No | No | No |
| Custom covers / themes | ✓ Full design | Page icons | CSS themes | No | Section colour | No |
| Dark mode | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Note badges / labels | ✓ 8 badges | ✓ Database props | Tags (text) | ✓ Tags | Tags (text) | ✓ Tags |
When to pick each app
★ Cabinote
Best if you want a private, fully offline notebook with a freeform canvas and a beautiful bookshelf. Perfect for journals, sketch notes, quick ideas, and anything you don't want in the cloud. Zero setup, zero account, zero cost.
Notion
Best for team wikis, databases, and structured project management. Notion is a powerhouse — but it's cloud-first, requires an account, and your data lives on their servers. Not ideal for truly private notes.
Obsidian
Best for knowledge graphs and linked markdown notes. Obsidian is also local-first and privacy-respecting, but it's text/markdown-only with a steep learning curve. No freeform canvas, no drawing tools.
Apple Notes
Best for quick iPhone/iPad/Mac notes with seamless iCloud sync. It's convenient inside the Apple ecosystem but limited in layout freedom and unavailable on Windows.
Microsoft OneNote
Best for hand-writing on a Surface tablet or deep Microsoft 365 integration. It does have a freeform canvas, but requires a Microsoft account and has limited macOS support.
Evernote
Once the king of notes apps, now expensive and cloud-dependent. It has declined significantly in value as the free tier was gutted. Hard to recommend when better free alternatives exist.
Ready to switch to something private?
Free download. No sign-up. Works offline. Your notes, your device.