Head-to-head · Notes
Evernote vs Standard Notes
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Evernote with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Standard Notes on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Evernotevs🇪🇺 Standard Notes
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Standard Notes — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Neither ships full E2E by default — check the table for nuance.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Neither monetises through ad tracking.
Which one is open source?
Standard Notes is open source. Evernote is proprietary.
Side-by-side
Evernote vs Standard Notes — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Standard Notes
🇺🇸 Evernote
Headquarters
France
Redwood City, USA
Jurisdiction
France
USA / Italy (Bending Spoons)
Data location
France
EU
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
No
No
End-to-end encryption
No
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
Self-hosted
Bending Spoons
Founded
2016
2008
Make the switch
Try Standard Notes instead of Evernote
A private, secure, and simple note-taking app.
Other European alternatives to Evernote