Taking notes to the next level

The note-taking app market is crowded, competitive, and harder to monetize than it seems. Which companies are struggling — and why? This analysis explores the shifting landscape, the role of AI in shaping the future, and offers a deep dive into features, target segments, and strategic positioning across leading players

The Note Wars

A Brief History

When note-taking apps first appeared, they were limited to storing local information. 

It is difficult to determine the first note taking software ever released. It was probably WordStar, which can be considered the first word processor, launched in 1979. 

It was only in 1983 when Microsoft launched Word, and in 2003, when Microsoft released OneNote as part of its Microsoft Office suite. It allowed users to create and organize notes and embed multimedia content, but only limited to the local computer. 

But this all changed when the California-based company Evernote launched its app in 2008, with the ability to sync notes across devices. The feature then positioned Evernote as an all-in-one option that took just three years to reach 11 million users. As a response, 3 years later, Apple introduced iCloud, making it possible to sync notes between multiple devices. Samsung followed introducing the once names S-Memo, which was later renamed to Samsung Notes. Yet another major player, Google, couldn't be left lagging behind, as it was a major player in the smartphone software industry, with Android accounting for a large portion of the smartphone market share. So Google released Keep in 2013 as a free note-taking app for Android devices, allowing users to take and sync notes, set reminders and create to-do lists.

The apps that followed had a much harder time gaining traction, as previous established apps had captured most of the market. As a result, smaller players focused on targeting specific niche markets.

One of which was Simple Note, focusing on minimalist design and simplicity. Bear was released in 2016 as a markdown-based note-taking app for iOS and Mac. UpNote as an alternative to Bear was launched in 2016, but made available on all platforms. Also in 2016, Notion was launched as a feature-rich productivity and organization app that can organize notes, as well as add tasks, wikis, complex databases and external plug-ins. It was aimed at businesses. The last player to enter the market was Obsidian, releasing in 2020, with an emphasis on connecting and organizing notes using wiki-style links linked by a mind map and allowing external plug-ins.

Competitive Landscape

This study is going to focus on 11 widely used note-taking applications, which include:

Porter's Five Forces Analysis

A brief Porter analysis reveals this is a very challenging market.

Threat of new entrants: Medium

Factors that hinder the entry of new players:

Factors that simplify the entry of new players:

Threat of substitutes: High

Due to the fact that there are a multitude of substitutes: memorizing information, old-fashioned pen and paper, and even writing on whiteboards.

Bargaining power of buyers: High

Bargaining power of suppliers: High

Intensity of competition: High

Sizing the Potential Market

There are no official figures about the number of users for note taking apps, but we will use two different methods to estimate the current users.

Top Down Approach

Top-down market sizing is a method for estimating a market size starting with a broad, macro-level view and breaking it down into more granular subgroups. This strategy is typically used when there is little knowledge available about the subject in question and may be beneficial for firms looking to join a new market or industry.

For this case, we will begin with the total number of people connected to the Internet. There are between 5.22 and 7.9 billion smartphone users in the world, all of which are potential customers. We will stick to 7.9 billion. However, we are looking at multi-platform apps, for which we have to narrow the number down to the number of people with computers, a smaller percentage. For this, we will assume that all people with PCs also own smartphones.

In 2021, it is estimated that about 3.5 billion people, or just over half the world's population, owned some kind of personal computing device, including desktop computers, laptops and tablets. We limit the number and exclude two etary groups: 

According to UN 2021, the percentage of the world's population in these age groups is 8.3% (663.11 million over 8 billion) and 10%, respectively. So we can limit the market to 18.3% of 3.5 billion.

Now, assuming that computer ownership is evenly distributed across all age groups, we can nail down the total usable market to 2.86 billion.

Sources: 

Bottom Up Approach

Bottom-up market sizing is a technique for calculating the size of a market or industry by first having a thorough grasp of each of the constituent parts of the market and then adding them together to get an overall estimate. When there is considerable information about the market in question, this strategy is often used, and it can provide a useful tool for firms looking to enter a new market or industry.

However, this approach is more time and information intensive, but it is more accurate and provides a more conservative estimation than the Top Down method.

Let's start with already existing apps, those from the previous list. We must, as a starting point, however, estimate the number of people using each platform.

Method A

Assume the platforms on which the app is available and calculate the usable available market. The table below will use either 0 or 1, depending on whether the app is available on the corresponding platform. The SAM (Serviceable available market) consists of the total number of usable users with support in that operative system.

Users (billions)4.951.62.81.20.10.0310.721.38App / OSWebWindowsAndroidiOSmacOSLinuxSAM (billions)Percentage of Total MarketZoho Notebook11111110.7100%Microsoft OneNote11111010.7100%Notion11111010.7100%Evernote11111010.7100%Google Keep1011109.185%Simple Note1011019.084%Apple Notes1001106.358%Bear1001106.358%Obsidian0111115.754%UpNote0111115.754%Samsung Notes0110004.441%

Apple Notes, Samsung Notes and Microsoft OneNote have the trump card because their apps come preinstalled on devices with iOS, Galaxy and Windows respectively. That poses a considerable threat for other competitors: If only 1% of iPhone users made use of Apple Notes, it would mean 12 million people. For the case of Google Keep in Android, the figure increases to 28 million people. 

Method B

Estimating the current users for each app. For the case of Google PlayStore, the marketplace already revealed information about the number of downloads. However, for the case of Apple AppStore, a series of estimations were performed to determine the current users.

For the case of Google PlayStore, the number of downloads for each app is at least the following

AppGoogle PlayStore Accumulated DownloadsAppleNotesNABearNAKeep   1 000 000 000SamsungNotes   1 000 000 000OneNote       500 000 000Evernote       100 000 000Notion          10 000 000SimpleNote             1 000 000ZohoNotebook             1 000 000Obsidian                 100 000UpNote50 000

However, there is no information for apps on the AppStore, so we will estimate the downloads based on these 5 criteria:

Now we have 4 estimations for each app. We are going to create 4 variables from that estimations:

From those 4 estimations, we will exclude outliers and calculate an average.

Having estimate number of downloads for apps on the AppStore and PlayStore, we will assume that 75% of downloads translate in users. These are the apps with more users, ranked from highest to lowest. 

AppiOS UsersAndroid UsersMobile UsersKeep59 499 987          750 000 000          809 499 987SamsungNotes-          750 000 000          750 000 000OneNote 170 129 655          375 000 000          545 129 655Evernote11 406 249            75 000 000            86 406 249AppleNotes52 848 426                           -            52 848 426Notion1 914 538              7 500 000              9 414 538Bear3 692 259                           -              3 692 259ZohoNotebook2 925 164                 750 000              3 675 164SimpleNote635 156                 750 000              1 385 156Obsidian143 918                   75 000                 218 918UpNote95 184                   37 500                 132 684

Now, these numbers are more conservative as compared with Method A. But note that the sum of Mobile Users is 2.2 billion people, not too far from the 2.86 we calculated using the Top Down Approach.

If the estimations are correct, 93% of the market is split between the 3 dominant apps: GoogleKeep, SamsungNotes and OneNote. While the 8 remaining of this list account for only 7% of the users. 

It may seem ironic to think that

If these apps come pre-installed, what would  Google, Samsung and Microsoft allow other note apps to be installed on their hardware?

There are 2 answers:

As ironic as it may seem, the top 3 players don’t earn money through their apps. (In the case of OneNote it depends on whether the user is subscribed to OneDrive). Instead, they earn more money through other note apps. Why is that? Because when users subscribe to other apps like Notion or Evernote, Google and Apple receive a comission. That is in part the reason why default apps have so many users but so few features.The owner of the marketplace cannot limit which apps can or cannot be published based on obscure criteria, such as being a rival firm.

Fastest Growing Apps

By functionality

AppNew Features per YearObsidian                         6.7UpNote                         3.4ZohoNotebook                         2.8Notion                         2.6Bear                         2.0Evernote                         1.2Keep                         1.0AppleNotes                         0.9OneNote                         0.7SimpleNote                         0.6SamsungNotes                         0.6

By number of users

AppNew Users per YearKeep            80 949 999SamsungNotes            62 500 000OneNote            27 256 483Evernote              5 760 417AppleNotes              3 303 027Notion              1 344 934ZohoNotebook                 525 023Bear                 461 532SimpleNote                   92 344Obsidian                   72 973UpNote                   26 537

Most Profitable Apps

After estimating the number of users, we are going to estimate the gross margin or each company. For this, we will assume a 6% conversion rate (percentage of users that become paying customers) to the cheapest plan, which generates this table:

AppMobile UsersNumber of Paid UsersUSD Price/month (yearly subscription basis)Monthly IncomeOneNote      545 129 655         32 707 779 $                     6.00      196 246 676Evernote        86 406 249           5 184 375 $                     6.67        34 558 179Notion          9 414 538              564 872 $                     8.00          4 518 978ZohoNotebook          3 675 164              220 510 $                   16.66          3 674 429AppleNotes        52 848 426           3 170 906 $                     0.99          3 139 197Obsidian             218 918                13 135 $                   25.00             328 377Bear          3 692 259              221 536 $                     1.25             276 735SimpleNote          1 385 156                83 109 $                     0.83               69 258UpNote             132 684                  7 961 $                     0.99                 7 881Keep      809 499 987         48 569 999 $                          -                         -SamsungNotes      750 000 000         45 000 000 $                          -                         -

To estimate costs, we start from the number of employees. For simplicity we will assume that all all of them are software engineers working in the headquarters earning the average software programmer salary. For some big companies, wuch as Microsoft, Apple, Google, Samsung and Zoho, we suppose that a small share of the employees work in the notes apps.

AppSize of the CompanyNumber of ProductsNotes part of one pointPercentage of Company Working on NotesHeadquartersMean monthly Software Developer Salary (USD) in that CountryMonthly CostOneNote        221 000160.252%United States9000     31 078 125AppleNotes        164 000140.252%United States9000     26 357 143Keep        150 028190.251%United States9000     17 766 474SamsungNotes        266 673160.252%South Korea4250     17 708 754Evernote               40011100%United States9000       3 600 000Notion               20011100%United States9000       1 800 000SimpleNote            2 0292115%United States9000          869 571ZohoNotebook          12 0004212%India2250          642 857Obsidian                 2311100%United States9000          207 000Bear                   611100%Ireland6000            36 000UpNote                   611100%Vietnam1750            10 500

Having an estimate of the monthly cost and income, we can do the math to figure out their Gross Margin. For this calculation we used many suppositions, but it is an interesting exercise to make a notion of which players earn the most and the attractiveness of the industry.

AppMonthly CostMonthly IncomeGross MarginOneNote       31 078 125   196 246 675.66     165 168 551Evernote         3 600 000     34 558 179.39       30 958 179ZohoNotebook            642 857       3 674 428.81         3 031 572Notion         1 800 000       4 518 978.39         2 718 978Bear              36 000          276 734.80            240 735Obsidian            207 000          328 377.48            121 377UpNote              10 500              7 881.45-              2 619SimpleNote            869 571            69 257.81-          800 314SamsungNotes       17 708 754                        -  -     17 708 754Keep       17 766 474                        -  -     17 766 474AppleNotes       26 357 143       3 139 196.53-     23 217 946

Google PlayStore has a list of the top grossing apps, where we can see some of these apps positions, which matches the top 2 apps we estimated to be the most profitable: Microsoft OneDrive is in the 16th place, while Evernote is in the 119th.

Relevant Features

1. Multiplatform

Given that fact that the purpose of notes apps is to sync content, the most important feature is the platforms the app is available in. 

AppWebWindowsAndroidiOSmacOSApple NotesYesNoNoYesYesMicrosoft OneNoteYesYesYesYesYesGoogle KeepYesYesYesYesYesBearYesNoNoYesYesObsidianNoYesYesYesYesNotionYesYesYesYesYesSimple NoteYesNoYesYesNoEvernoteYesYesYesYesYesZoho NotebookYesYesYesYesYesSamsung NotesNoYesYesNoNo

Knowing which platforms the apps are available in, we can estimate the potential market and contrast that to the actual market. 

Other Features

I analized 29 different features, including the following:

  1. Speed
  2. Simplicity
  3. Beautiful design
  4. Collaboration, for companies
  5. Markdown
  6. Rich links
  7. Chunks of code
  8. Hashtags labels
  9. Labels
  10. Internal Wiki Linking
  11. Share note via web link
  12. Share note as PDF
  13. Collaborative work
  14. Note history
  15. Search within a note
  16. Calendar Integration
  17. Tables
  18. Drawing
  19. Widgets
  20. Table of Contents
  21. To do list
  22. Offline Access
  23. Word count
  24. E2EE
  25. Templates
  26. Record audio
  27. Shortcut rich
  28. Photo editing
  29. External Plug-in Compatibility

2. Pricing Tiers and Revenue Model

Free service without paid plans

Standalone app with paid subscription SaaS (software-as-a-service) plans:

*Note that some of these prices may have changed when you read this article.

3. Features

Summarized SWOT Analysis

AppStrengthWeaknessOpportunityThreatAppleNotesIt comes pre-installed in all Apple hardware and it Integrates well within the Apple ecosystem. Easy and intuitive interface. Part of a big tech company.Lack of advanced options, such as real-time collaboration or integration with third parties. Only for basic users.Potential for further integration with other non-Apple services to attract a wider user base. It could also include more advanced options.Low appeal from non-Apple customers (only available on Apple devices). It also faces competition from Google Keep, with larger user bases or more innovative apps like Notion.MicrosoftOneNoteFeature-rich, including support for multimedia. It integrates well within Microsoft suit, which comes preinstalled in all Window PCs. Multiplatform availability.Limited mobile app functionality and it requires a Microsoft account, which may be a barrier for some users.Expend its user base by including Linux or ChromeOS support, or outside the Microsoft ecosystem. Integrate with other productivity tools, such as project management or time tracking software.Strong competition from other note-taking apps, such as Notion or Evernote, which have smaller teams that may be able to develop features faster.GoogleKeepSimple and easy to use interface. Well established player and part of a big tech company. Well integrated within Google Workspace, such as Gmail and Google Calendar.Lacks some advanced features, such as note organization,  formatting options, lack of customization options and difficulty organizing notes. Only for basic users.Potential for integration with Google Workspace and expanding its features to a more advanced set, in order to attract a wider range of users. Improving privacy protection.Limited feature set compared to other note-taking apps, such as lack of backup options. Competition from Apple Notes.ZohoNotebookIntuitive and user-friendly interface, ability to collaborate on projects Know-how from being part of Zoho, and integration with other Zoho products. Available in all platforms, including Web and Linux.Limited user base and brand recognition.Potential for integration with other Zoho apps.Limited brand recognition compared to other note-taking services, such as Evernote or Notion.BearClean and award winning minimalist user-friendly interface, with markdown support.Limited features compared to other note-taking apps, such as poor collaboration capabilities.Expand collaboration capabilities and Expand device support outside Apple ecosystem to increase its user base.Limited feature set compared to other note-taking apps, particularly the free Apple notes and Evernote.ObsidianMarkdown support,  strong linking features and compatible with a library of external plugins. It has advanced features like backlinking and Zettelkasten. Multiplatform availability.Limited mobile app functionality, a limited collaboration and a steep learning curve, which may limit its potential reach.Expand collaboration capabilities, making it more user-friendly and increasing its user base.Limited brand recognition compared to other note-taking apps, such as Evernote or Notion.AppStrengthWeaknessOpportunityThreatNotionWide range of advanced features, such as templates, databases and connection to external apps. Multiplatform availability.Inability to work offline, and a steeper learning curves, making it difficult to learn for new users.Making it more easy to use for a wider range of usersStrong competition from other note-taking apps, particularly Evernote, OneNote and Obsidian.SimpleNoteMinimalistic and easy-to-use for users of all skill levels. Limited advanced features and integrations. Limited to basic users.Include more advanced features and integrationswith other apps, to attract a wider range of usersLimited feature set compared to other note-taking apps, such as Bear and Apple notes.Evernotewell-established note-taking app with brand recognition. Its wide range of advanced features include real-time collaborate and integration with other services.User complaints about the new Evernote version, particularly its speed.AI-based note-taking, enter into new markets such as education, enterprise or healthcare market where note-taking is an essential part of the daily tasksThe emergence of new apps with more advanced capabilities threat Evernote's market share.Evernote's subscription pricing model may also be a deterrent for some users, causing them to switch cheaper alternatives, such as OneNote or Notion.SamsungNotesIt comes pre-installed on all Samsung devices, making it easily accessible for users, especially for having a simple and intuitive interface. It is also part of a big tech company.Lack of some advanced features and integrations compared to other note-taking apps.Potential for further integration with other Samsung and Microsoft services. And Samsung could expand the app's capabilities to include more advanced featuresLimited platform availability (only available on Samsung devices).UpNoteAvailability of a wide variety of features, such as Markdown, in a simple and intuitive interface. It also has multiplatform availability.Limited user base and brand recognition, making it less accessible to a wide range of users.Potential for integration with other apps and improve its marketing efforts to reach more users.Limited brand recognition compared to other older note-taking apps, such as Evernote or Bear.

Closest Competitors

There are many ways to segment the market. On one hand, the target user can be companies or natural people. But on the other hand, considering note taking apps are a sandbox software, users can use the app in many ways, so I am of the view that notes apps should be classified in terms of functionality rather than the prior intended segment. In fact, many apps offer exclusive features for company customers and charge by the number of people using it. Even more, some users use the same app for taking notes on both their work and their personal life.

Segmenting by Target Segment

Targeted to personal users

Targeted for companies:

What do companies use notes apps for? They can be roughly classified 

  1. Project tracking: Note-taking apps are used by businesses to promote teamwork, collaboration and task management. Team members can assign tasks, track project progress, and communicate notes and suggestions. As a result, team members may communicate and coordinate more effectively, which can boost output and efficiency.
  2. Meeting notes and minutes: Organizations keep track of meeting notes and minutes using note-taking software. This makes it simpler for team members to access and consult meeting notes, which can ensure that crucial information is not overlooked or forgotten. To make sure everyone is on the same page, notes can also be distributed to team members who were unable to attend the meeting.
  3. Knowledge management: Organizations use note-taking apps to archive and distribute crucial information including best practices, regulations, and procedures. New hires can use these notes as a resource to learn about the business and its processes, which can be extremely helpful. In order to make it simple to locate and obtain the information you need, notes can also be categorized and tagged.

What are notes apps used for by natural people?

  1. Personal task management and organization: To-do lists, shopping lists, and reminders are just a few examples of the private tasks that people use note-taking software to keep track of. People can use these apps to help them stay organized and in control of their obligations at work and at home.
  2. Studying and learning: Students and other learners frequently use note-taking apps to take notes during lectures, classes, or other educational activities. These notes can be used as a study resource to help with test preparation and memory retention. Finding and reviewing specific information is made simple by organizing and categorizing notes with note-taking apps.
  3. Brainstorming and idea generation: Many people use note-taking software to capture thoughts, inspiration, and ideas as they come to them during brainstorming sessions. This may be quite useful for authors, artists, and other creative people who wish to keep track of and organize their thoughts and ideas.

Segmenting by Functions

Used variables:

  1. App
  2. Speed
  3. Simplicity
  4. Beautiful design
  5. Number features
  6. Collaboration, for companies
  7. Apple Device Only
  8. Web
  9. Windows
  10. AndroidCla
  11. iOS
  12. macOS
  13. Linux
  14. Number of Platforms
  15. Part of a Big Tech Group
  16. Markdown
  17. Rich links
  18. Chunks of code
  19. Hashtags labels
  20. Labels
  21. Internal Wiki Linking
  22. Share note via web link
  23. Share note as PDF
  24. Collaborative work
  25. Note history
  26. Search within a note
  27. Calendar Integration
  28. Tables
  29. Drawing
  30. Widgets
  31. Table of Contents
  32. To do list
  33. Offline Access
  34. Word count
  35. E2EE (End to End Encryption)
  36. Templates
  37. Record audio
  38. Many Shortcuts
  39. Photo editing Capabilities
  40. External Plug-in Compatibility

According to functionality most similar notes apps are:

Analyzing Data

On average, apps developed by big tech companies were released 4 years before, are more aesthetically pleasant and have a simpler design. They also have 27.4% less amount of features.

Industry Trends

Zoho’s Zia

In 2017, Zoho introduced Zia, an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) powered virtual assistant available in the the Zoho productivity suite. That is, from Zoho Sheets to Zoho Notebook, Zoho CRM, Zoho Mail, Zoho SalesIQ, and Zoho Desk.

In Notebook, users can talk to Zia to execute functions such as searching notes, configuring reminders, sharing notes, suggesting which notebook (folder) to put a note in, list notes by filetype, emailing notes.

Notion AI

On November 2022, Notion launched the alpha version of Notion AI, an artificial intelligence (AI) based feature that is available in the note-taking and productivity app, Notion. 

The AI-based feature uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand and interpret the user's intent and provide relevant information from their notes, tasks, and databases. It also allows users to quickly search for notes, tasks and databases using natural language, making it more efficient and convenient for users to find what they need. Some of the AI-based features include the ability to automatically tag and categorize notes, predict and suggest tasks, and also predict and suggest pages as users are typing. Additionally, Notion AI allows users to set reminders, schedule events and also turn notes into tasks seamlessly.

VRIO Analysis

VRIO analysis is a tool used to assess the internal resources and capabilities of a firm to determine if they provide a sustained competitive advantage. The acronym VRIO stands for:

Value: The resource or capability must be able to generate economic value for the firm. It must be able to generate revenue or help the firm to save costs.

Rarity: The resource or capability must be rare or unique among competitors. It is rae if it is not easily attainable or obtainable by competitors.

Inimitability: The resource or capability must be difficult or costly for competitors to imitate or replicate.

Organization: The resource or capability must be well-organized and effectively utilized by the firm to generate economic value.

A resource that is valuable, rare, inimitable, and well-organized can be considered to provide a sustained competitive advantage for the firm, as it is difficult for competitors to imitate or replicate, and it is effectively utilized by the firm to generate economic value.

We will analyze the following resources present in one or some note taking apps:

ResourceValueRarityInimitabilityOrganizationVirtual AssistantYesYesYesYesAI text generationYesYesYesYesOCRYesYesNo-Big user baseYesYesYesYesRich functionalityYesNo--Positive reviews and awardsYesNo--Backed by a big tech companyYesYesYesIt depends

From this analysis we can conclude that only: (1) having a virtual assistant, (2) AI text generation, (3) a big user base and (4) being backed will provide a sustained competitive advantages, if effectively utilized, it will generate economic value. In this case, Zoho, Notion and Evernote have this resources. They all have in common their targeting of corporate customers.

Appendix

Awards

Another important point to consider is that some apps have been awarded in the App Store Awards. 

AppAwardsEvernote7Google Keep6Notion6Bear4Zoho Notebook4

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