Note that both searches find lots of results. Search is usually much faster than travelling through levels of information to find what you want. But being able to find them quickly is crucial.įor both Evernote and OneNote, the primary way of finding a note is by Search. Note Organization Winner: OneNote Retrieving Information Overall, I prefer the additional organizing options that OneNote allows me within each notebook. So Evernote uses a combination of Search and Tagging to be able to find your notes and avoids hierarchical structure. Some people use elaborate tagging systems within Evernote to simulate hierarchical functionality but it is a cumbersome way to try to add a functionality that Evernote isn’t set up for.Įvernote’s approach is that search is more powerful and faster than finding notes by travelling through the various levels. So the big difference here is that OneNote gives you many more levels or hierarchies for organizing your notes. OneNote calls notes “pages,” so if I use the word page, it means note. The biggest difference is how you organize your notes in each system. More like a database with the focus on searching and filtering your notes and using tagging for organizing instead of sections.Like a notebook, you have sections (tab) and pages to organize.More like a notebook, workbook and binders with the ability to add background colours, gridlines and templates.Here is how each tool’s approach seems to me. The two tools have VERY different approaches. Later, when I became concerned about the direction Evernote was taking, I switched to OneNote to test to see if it would work for me.Īfter using both tools extensively, here are my impressions. Evernote became my default place to keep all my notes, web clippings, checklists and templates.

Later, when looking for “buckets” to keep all my information in, I came across Evernote and spent a couple of years using it. My wife liked it and thought it would work well for me, but at the time I just didn’t “get” it. I came across OneNote years ago but kind of ignored it. I have used both tools for years, so I decided to put together this article with my experiences to help others make the choice that is right for them.įor the purpose of this review, I have chosen only the free version of both tools – the paid version of Evernote does offer some additional functionality but I haven’t included those features. After all, when a tool holds so much of your personal and professional knowledge and life, you want to make sure you are using the right tool. Like many people, I have struggled with the “OneNote vs Evernote” decision.

Day one journal vs onenote vs evernote