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Evernote v. Notion? Opinion From A Note-Taker

Sarah Brennan
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There's a lot of noise around what productivity program is the best choice between Notion, Evernote, Roam, Obsidian, RemNote, etc. This debate is a bit misguided in my opinion because the features in each program can cater to certain users over others. For example, Notion's native web clipper is a weakness for the note-taker, but its database structure is extremely useful for the team manager or wiki builder.

I want to break down every pro and con from Notion and Evernote with the note-taker in mind and get right into what both programs have to offer. With that being said, it is obvious that I'm a Notion-lover, but I will approach this comparison justly.

Where Evernote Is Better Than Notion

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Better Offline Notes

  • The ability to work offline is more reliable in Evernote. Notion is yet to roll out a legitimate offline experience. This can be frustrating for those who want to quickly sync between devices regardless of wifi connection.

    • However, one must purchase the premium version for this offline access ($7.99)

Better Web Clipper ⭐

  • Ability to clip full webpages, simplified web pages, bookmarks, and screenshots. This is an extremely useful clipper that makes any productivity program pale in comparison.

    • There's also settings for web clipper shortcuts.

    • Also a really cool feature with Evernote's web clipper is the ability to see "related notes" after saving a clip.

More Text Formatting

  • Notion's text customization is more minimal than Evernote. Change color of text, ability to align text, and most importantly, remove formatting.

Better Advanced Search

  • Inside the search field a user can narrow documents more precisely. The following are some handy search features:

    • todo:true → to find all documents with checked boxes

    • source:mail.smtp → to find all documents added through email

    • There is also a save search feature that allows to user to save frequent searches.

Evernote's Unique Features I Enjoy

Where Notion Is Better Than Evernote

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Better Free Version And Bulk Export

  • There is no block limitation and most features are available. 5 guests allowed and bulk export are also two free features that are very generous (not including PDFs).

    • I particularly like the idea of bulk exporting markdown files from a database.

    • I can recall trying to download .txt files from each row in my spreadsheet and jumping over backwards to make it happen via VBA scripting. This is a bit odd, but I use Notion to export excel files in this manner now. (excel > notion > .md files)

Better Tables ⭐️

  • Notion provides filters, sorting, automation and different ways to visualize tables. These databases can connect, sync and read each other.

    • For those looking to create productivity systems that involve a lot of dates and automation, Notion's database structure is great for project ideation and task management in addition to note-taking.

Better Document Sharing

Far easier to share documents with non-Notion users. Every user plan is able to share documents to the web as a direct link, or a template for others to use. There is also the ability to control comments.

  • As well, you can control the 'type' of access permissions members in your workspace and guests have in a particular page.

Better Customization Features

  • The sandbox nature of Notion opens up a wide range of operations that can reside in one Notion workspace. For example, all task management, notes, project ideation, brainstorming, habits, appointments, etc. can be connected.

    • The ability to create unique systems that cater to my specific projects is really important to me. For research, working inside searchable tables with multiple quick-to-access views is preferable to a loose note-taking structure like Roam.

    • Evernote has a classic "notebook" structure that can get a bit overwhelming after some time.

Better Template Creation

  • Create templates inside databases to streamline tedious/repetitive tasks. You are able to create templates in Evernote, however these templates aren't nearly as robust as Notion's. For example, a Notion user can nest templates and make database connections via templates to really integrate templates into a custom workspace.

    • This follows the "better customization" point.

    • An added tid-bit: both programs offer 50+ default templates to choose from.

Notion's Unique Features I Enjoy