Head-to-head · Notes
Evernote vs Trilium Notes
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 Evernote with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Trilium Notes on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 Evernotevs🇪🇺 Trilium Notes
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Trilium 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?
Trilium Notes is open source. Evernote is proprietary.
Side-by-side
Evernote vs Trilium Notes — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Trilium Notes
🇺🇸 Evernote
Headquarters
Germany
Redwood City, USA
Jurisdiction
Germany
USA / Italy (Bending Spoons)
Data location
Self-hosted or provided server
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
Individual developer
Bending Spoons
Founded
2018
2008
Make the switch
Try Trilium Notes instead of Evernote
Build your knowledge base.
Other European alternatives to Evernote