- The beta warning to read before you move a single note
- Four questions that point you to the right group
- Encryption, servers and sharing at a glance
- Free personal apps with optional extras
- Encrypted apps for anyone worried about sync
- Ownership with no central server
- Workspaces you can host or keep all in one place
- When staying is the smarter move
- A careful plan for moving your graph
- Frequently asked questions
Logseq users usually move when its beta database version or the file-based graphs stop fitting how they work. A personal app with optional add-ons suits solo note keepers, an end-to-end encrypted app suits anyone worried about sync privacy, and a shared workspace with databases and whiteboards suits teams. If linked outlining already does the job, staying put is a sensible answer.
If you've built up months of daily journals and linked blocks in Logseq, you're probably here because something has shifted. Maybe the new database version makes you nervous, maybe sync on your phone isn't where you'd like it, or maybe a colleague wants to share pages with you and an outliner isn't the right home for that. Whatever the trigger, the aim is to find a note app that keeps what you liked and fixes what you didn't.
The beta warning to read before you move a single note
Logseq's own README says its new Database version is still in beta, while the new mobile app and real-time sync are in alpha. It goes further and says plainly that data loss is possible with the Database version, and it recommends backups.
That matters whichever way you're heading. If you're staying and trying the new version, keep a full copy of your old graph somewhere it can't be touched. If you're leaving, the export you take is the only copy you'll be working from during the move, so make two. A switch that loses a year of journals isn't a switch worth making.
Read that alongside the way Logseq describes itself: a privacy-first, open source platform for knowledge management and collaboration. If collaboration is the part you're counting on, remember that real-time sync is one of the pieces still marked alpha, so test it with low-stakes pages before you trust it with shared work.
It also helps to separate two worries that often get tangled together. One is about the software's stage of development. The other is about where your notes live and who can read them. The groups further down are built around the second worry, because that's the one a new app can settle for you.
Four questions that point you to the right group
- Do you think in nested bullets, or in pages and documents? If bullets are how your brain works, test any new app with your messiest journal entry first.
- Who else needs to read or edit your notes? If the answer is nobody, a personal or encrypted app is enough. If it's a team, look at the workspaces.
- Where are you happy for your notes to be stored? Your own disk, a sync service you pick, an encrypted service, or a server your organisation runs.
- How much do you rely on your phone? Check each candidate's mobile app before you commit, since that's where many switches fall apart.
Your answers to the second and third questions will usually narrow seven options to two. Use the grid below to see which two.
Encryption, servers and sharing at a glance
| App | Group | End-to-end encryption | Runs without a hosted server |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin | Personal | Not stated | Picks your sync service |
| Obsidian | Personal | Not stated | Sync optional |
| Notesnook | Encrypted | Says zero knowledge | Not stated |
| Standard Notes | Encrypted | Yes | Not stated |
| Anytype | No server | Not stated | Yes, peer-to-peer on local networks |
| AFFiNE | Workspace | Not stated | Not stated |
| AppFlowy | Workspace | Not stated | Yes, even air-gapped |
Free personal apps with optional extras
These two suit a single person who wants a dependable home for notes and only adds services when they need them.
Joplin
A free, open source note taking and to-do app organised into notebooks. It syncs through services including Joplin Cloud, Dropbox and OneDrive, so you choose where the copies live.
Obsidian
Bills itself as a free and flexible space for your own thinking, and treats its Sync and Publish services as extras you can skip rather than requirements.
If Obsidian is your front-runner, there's a closer look at how Logseq and Obsidian differ that goes into more depth on the move.
Encrypted apps for anyone worried about sync
If the thought of your notes sitting readable on someone else's server is what keeps you up, start here.
Notesnook
Presents itself as an open source, zero knowledge private note taking app. Unlimited notes are free, and paid plans add storage and features.
Standard Notes
Describes itself as a free, secure note-taking app with end-to-end encryption at its heart.
Ownership with no central server
Some people don't want a sync service at all, encrypted or not.
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Anytype
It says everything inside is owned and controlled by you, and devices sync peer-to-peer across local networks with no server in the middle.
Workspaces you can host or keep all in one place
These two answer different needs. AFFiNE merges docs, whiteboards and databases into one workspace, while AppFlowy runs on your own infrastructure. Decide which of those matters more before you try either.
AFFiNE
It describes its workspace as docs, whiteboards and databases fully merged into one place.
AppFlowy
You can run it on your own infrastructure, in your own cloud, or in a fully air-gapped environment, which suits teams with strict rules about data.
When staying is the smarter move
Leaving isn't always the answer. If your current file-based graph works, nobody else needs access, and you aren't tempted by the new database version yet, there's little to gain from moving today. Those privacy-first and open source labels were probably reasons you chose it in the first place.
If you stay, a few habits protect you. Keep a dated backup of your graph folder somewhere outside your sync service. Re-read the README every few months, because the beta and alpha labels will change as the work moves on. And if you do try the new version, do it on a copy, never on the only graph you have.
A careful plan for moving your graph
- Back up the whole graph folder, then make a second copy and keep it offline. Don't skip this, given the data-loss warning above.
- Pick two candidates from different groups so the test tells you something.
- Import a small slice: one month of journals plus the five pages you link to most.
- Open those pages in each app and check whether links, tags and nested bullets came across the way you expect.
- Set up sync on your phone and your computer, then edit the same note on both.
- Use both apps for real work for two weeks, writing new notes rather than tidying old ones.
- Only then move everything across, and keep the old folder untouched for a few months in case you need to go back.
If an import goes wrong, look for the new app's import guide before you try again. Formats change, and the help pages are the most reliable guide to what carries over.
Frequently asked questions
Can I try a new note app without paying anything?
Yes. Most of the seven describe themselves as free to start, so you can test before deciding whether any extras are worth it.
Which of these call themselves open source?
Joplin and Notesnook both describe themselves as open source on their own pages. For the other five, check the licence each one publishes before you count on it.
What if I forget the password to an encrypted notes app?
Recovery rules differ from app to app, so read the help pages on account recovery before you store anything you can't afford to lose.
Will my plugins come with me?
Assume they won't until the new app's documentation says otherwise. List the plugins you depend on before you start, and look for an equivalent in each candidate.
Can I use two of these apps at once?
Yes, and some people do: one private app for journals and a shared workspace for team pages. Set a clear rule about which notes go where so nothing falls between them.
