Best Notion alternatives in 2026 (offline and private)
The best Notion alternatives in 2026 for offline, private notes: Loam, Obsidian, Craft, Anytype, Joplin and Logseq, plus when to stay on Notion instead.
The best Notion alternative for offline, private notes is an app that keeps your notes as files on your own disk. Loam is our app, and it does that: free, open source, no account, with every note a Markdown file in a folder you choose. Obsidian, Anytype, Joplin and Logseq are strong picks too, and this guide says where each one wins, including when you should stay on Notion.
Why look for a Notion alternative?
Notion keeps your pages on Notion's servers, as blocks in a format only Notion reads. Its offline support is limited, and you need a Notion account to open your own notes. For a team, that is a fair deal. For one person who wants private notes that open on a train or a plane, it is a lot to depend on.
You can export a Notion workspace as Markdown and CSV, but the export is a snapshot that you convert after the fact. An app that stores plain files has nothing to export, because the files are the notes. That is the idea behind the apps in this list. Most of them are local-first, which means the main copy of your data sits on your own device. Local-first by default explains what that means in practice.
What makes a notes app offline and private?
Four checks separate a private, offline notes app from a cloud workspace that has an offline mode.
- Where the notes live: files on your disk beat pages on a server.
- Whether the app works offline by design, or offline is an add-on.
- Whether you need an account just to open your own notes.
- Whether you can leave: plain Markdown files open in any other app.
Files on disk answer most of these at once. A Markdown file opens in any editor, any backup tool keeps it, and no company needs to stay in business for you to read it. Why Markdown is still the right format covers the format itself.
Notion alternatives compared
The table puts each app on the same checks, with Notion as the baseline in the last row. The ranking after it puts Loam first because it is ours, and each entry says where another app is the better choice.
| App | Where notes live | Offline | Account | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loam | Markdown files in a folder you choose | Always: everything runs on your Mac | None | Free and open source |
| Obsidian | Markdown files in a vault folder | Yes: it opens files on your disk | None needed to use the app | App free; Sync and Publish are paid |
| Craft | Blocks, synced through Craft's cloud | Yes on Mac, iPhone and iPad | Craft account for cloud sync | Free plan, then paid plans |
| Anytype | Objects in a local database | Yes: data stays on your devices | A recovery-phrase key, no email | Free to use locally; paid memberships |
| Joplin | Markdown notes in the app's own storage | Yes: sync is optional | None; only for Joplin Cloud | App free; Joplin Cloud is paid |
| Logseq | Local Markdown or Org files | Yes: local files | Not listed | Free |
| Apple Notes | Apple's Notes database, synced with iCloud | Yes: notes sit on your devices | Your Apple Account, for iCloud | Free with Apple devices |
| Notion | Notion's cloud, in its own block format | Limited: cloud first | Notion account required | Free plan, paid plans for teams |
Facts checked on official sites, November 2026.
1. Loam: plain files and no account
- Best for
- One person on a Mac who wants files they own
- Notes stored as
- Markdown files in a folder you choose
- Platforms
- macOS 26 or later, on Apple silicon
- Price model
- Free and open source
Loam is a native Mac notebook, and a disclosure: it is ours, so weigh this entry with that in mind. A vault is a plain folder. There is no database behind it and no server of its own, so nothing needs a connection. Everything beyond writing is a plugin: tasks, daily notes, collections, boards, habits and projects.
The part people miss most from Notion is the database. Loam's answer is the collection: a .base file that shows a folder of notes as a table, a kanban board or a gallery, driven by the properties in each note's frontmatter. One command turns a folder into a collection, and another adds a board view:
loam --vault ~/Notes collection.create folder=Reading
loam --vault ~/Notes collection.add-view path=Reading/Reading.base type=kanban name=BoardThe first command writes Reading/Reading.base. Each entry in the collection is a note, so a row of your database opens in any text editor. See Collections for the field types and the commands.
Loam has limits you should know before you switch. It runs on macOS only, with no iPhone or Android app. It is for one person, and you can share a vault through Git but not edit it together. Its collections are views over note properties, not relational databases. The plugin catalog is younger and smaller than Obsidian's, and there is no web clipper. Details: Loam vs Notion.
2. Obsidian: the largest plugin catalog
- Best for
- Files in a folder on every platform, plus plugins
- Notes stored as
- Plain Markdown files in a vault folder
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad and Android
- Price model
- App free; Sync and Publish are paid
Obsidian is the best-known app that keeps notes as Markdown files in a folder. The core app is free and needs no sign-up, and its paid extras are Sync and Publish. It has a very large community plugin catalog and a Canvas for boards. The app itself is closed source.
Pick Obsidian over Loam if you need Windows, Linux or a phone app, or if you rely on a specific community plugin. Loam can open an Obsidian vault as it is, since both read plain Markdown. Details: Loam vs Obsidian and Notion vs Obsidian.
3. Craft: polished documents for Apple devices
- Best for
- Good-looking documents you share with other people
- Notes stored as
- Blocks, synced through Craft's cloud, with a copy on your Apple devices
- Platforms
- Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Android and the web
- Price model
- A free plan (1,500 blocks, 1 GB), and paid plans
Craft feels the closest to Notion: block-based documents, nested pages, sharing by link and shared spaces. On Mac, iPhone and iPad, Craft stores your documents on the device, so you can open and edit them offline and the changes sync when you reconnect.
The trade is storage. Craft keeps documents in its own block format, synced through its servers, and it does not offer end-to-end encryption of documents. You can export to Markdown, TextBundle, PDF and Word. It has no plugin system, but it has an API and an MCP server. Details: Loam vs Craft.
4. Anytype: encrypted objects and relations
- Best for
- A structured, encrypted workspace on every device
- Notes stored as
- Objects with types and relations, in a local database
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android
- Price model
- Free for local and peer-to-peer use; paid memberships for more storage and shared spaces
Anytype is local-first like Loam: your data stays on your devices. It models a page, a task, a person or a book as an object with a type and relations to other objects, which is the closest thing to Notion databases among the local-first apps. Sync is end-to-end encrypted, peer to peer with a backup node, or on a server you host.
Your access is a key made of a recovery phrase, with no email, and Anytype states that a lost key cannot be recovered. Its source is available under its own license, which is not an open source license in the usual sense. It imports Markdown, Notion and Obsidian, and exports to Markdown. Details: Loam vs Anytype.
5. Joplin: open source on every platform
- Best for
- Open source notes on every platform, with a choice of sync
- Notes stored as
- Markdown notes in the app's own storage
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a terminal app
- Price model
- The app is free; Joplin Cloud is paid
Joplin is open source (AGPL-3.0) and runs on desktop, mobile and in a terminal. It syncs through Joplin Cloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, Nextcloud, S3 or a local folder, with end-to-end encryption. A community catalog adds several hundred plugins.
Joplin writes notes in Markdown but keeps them in its own storage, not in a folder you pick, so the app is the way in. Choose it when reach and sync choice matter more than plain files. Details: Loam vs Joplin.
6. Logseq: an outliner on local files
- Best for
- People who think in outlines and daily journals
- Notes stored as
- Local Markdown or Org files, written as outlines
- Platforms
- Mac, Windows, Linux and mobile
- Price model
- Free and open source
In Logseq every note is an outline of bullets, and the journal comes first. Each bullet is a block you can nest, reference and embed. It has its own query language, built-in whiteboards and a plugin and theme marketplace. If you think in nested lists, it fits better than a page-based tool. Details: Loam vs Logseq.
7. Apple Notes: already on your Mac
- Best for
- Quick capture on iPhone and iPad, with no setup
- Notes stored as
- Apple's Notes database, synced with iCloud
- Platforms
- Mac, iPhone, iPad and the web
- Price model
- Free, included with your Apple devices
Apple Notes is the fastest way to capture a thought. It uses rich text, not Markdown, it has no plugin system and no backlink graph, and you automate it with Shortcuts only. A common split is Apple Notes for capture and a Markdown vault for the notes you keep. Loam can pull your Apple Notes into the vault with import.apple-notes. Details: Loam vs Apple Notes.
Sources: Obsidian pricing ↗ · Craft: how offline works on your platform ↗ · Joplin ↗ · Logseq on GitHub ↗
When should you stay on Notion?
Stay on Notion if more than one person edits the same pages. Notion is built for teams: shared pages, comments and permissions. Loam is a notebook for one person, and an offline app cannot replace a shared workspace.
Stay on Notion if your work depends on relational databases. Notion pages link to other databases, with rollups and formulas, and Loam does not replace that. Anytype is the local-first app with relations, and it is the one to test first. Stay on Notion too if you need your notes on Windows, Android or the web, where Notion runs and Loam does not.
| Loam | Notion | |
|---|---|---|
| Where notes live | Markdown files in a folder you choose | Notion's cloud, in its own block format |
| Offline | Always: everything runs on your Mac | Cloud first, with limited offline support |
| Account | None; free and open source | Notion account required |
| Teamwork | Single user; share a vault through Git | Shared pages, comments and permissions |
| Databases | Collections: tables, boards and galleries over note properties | Full relational databases |
| Platforms | macOS 26 or later, on Apple silicon | Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android |
| Price | Free | A free plan, and paid plans for teams |
Facts checked on official sites, November 2026.
You do not have to pick one. Many people keep Notion for team pages and Loam for personal notes. Notion exports to Markdown, so you can move pages across whenever you want them as files.
How do I move from Notion to Loam?
Export your workspace from Notion as Markdown and CSV, then run the importer as a dry run. A dry run writes nothing. It reports what would be converted, copied or skipped, so you see the result before any file lands in your vault.
loam --vault ~/Notes import.notion source=~/Downloads/Export.zip dry-run=trueRead the report, then run the same command without dry-run=true. The importer removes the ids from names and links, turns page properties into frontmatter, and turns databases into collections. It copies the notes into Imported/<app> in your vault, it only reads the source, and it never overwrites a file that already exists.
For the export itself, step by step, read How to export Notion to Markdown. To start a vault from the folder you just filled, see Your first vault.
Which Notion alternative should you pick?
- One person on a Mac, files you own, no account: Loam.
- Files in a folder on every platform, with plugins: Obsidian.
- A structured workspace with end-to-end encryption: Anytype.
- Open source on every platform, with free sync choices: Joplin.
- You think in outlines and daily pages: Logseq.
- Polished shared documents on Apple devices: Craft.
- Quick capture on iPhone and iPad only: Apple Notes.
- A team workspace or relational databases: stay on Notion.
For a wider look at the Mac market, see the best note-taking apps for Mac.
Try Loam
Loam is free, and one command installs the app and the loam command line on a Mac with macOS 26 or later and Apple silicon. Start with Install Loam, open a folder of notes as a vault, and import your Notion export with a dry run first. Read Loam vs Notion for the full comparison, or browse every comparison.
