Joplin review: the free, open-source, end-to-end encrypted note app. See 2026 Joplin Cloud pricing, features, pros, cons and Evernote/Notion alternatives…
Joplin was started in 2016 by developer Laurent Cozic, who wanted a note-taking app that stored data in an open, exportable format rather than locking notes inside a proprietary commercial service like Evernote. The first CLI version shipped in mid-2017, quickly followed by Android, desktop and browser clipper releases, and the app was named after ragtime composer Scott Joplin.
As an open-source, non-profit-oriented project, Joplin has no venture funding; it is sustained by user donations, a small core team of a few regular contributors led by Cozic, and revenue from the optional paid Joplin Cloud sync service, which operates as a registered business in France and launched in 2021 alongside a self-hostable Joplin Server option.
The apps and sync protocol are designed around markdown notes, full data portability, and true end-to-end encryption, making Joplin a favorite among privacy-conscious users and developers who don't want to be locked into a single vendor's ecosystem.
Joplin notes are written in markdown with live preview, organized into notebooks and tags, and support to-do items with checkboxes and reminders, file and image attachments, and full-text search across the entire note collection. Native apps exist for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, along with a terminal client and Chrome/Firefox web clippers for saving content from the browser.
A plugin system lets the community extend Joplin's functionality much like editor extensions, and a public API supports custom integrations and automation. Most importantly, Joplin supports end-to-end encryption on synced data, meaning notes can be encrypted before they ever leave the device, regardless of which sync backend is used.
Sync is backend-agnostic: users can choose Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive, WebDAV, Amazon S3, or a self-hosted Joplin Server, giving privacy-conscious users full control over where their data physically lives.
The core Joplin apps are free and open source forever, with no feature gating, and users can sync for free using their own Dropbox, OneDrive, Nextcloud, WebDAV or S3 account, or a self-hosted Joplin Server. This makes Joplin fully usable at zero cost for technically comfortable users.
For users who want managed sync without setting up their own backend, Joplin Cloud offers paid tiers: Basic at EUR2.99/month (2GB storage), Pro at EUR5.99/month (30GB storage plus sharing and email-to-note), a 100GB Pro tier at EUR9.99/month, and Teams at EUR7.99/month per user for multi-user collaboration with consolidated billing. A custom-quoted Joplin Server Business plan supports self-hosted, unlimited-storage team deployments.
Yes, the Joplin apps for desktop, mobile and terminal are free and open source with no feature restrictions. Only the optional managed Joplin Cloud sync service is paid, starting at EUR2.99/month.
Joplin was created by developer Laurent Cozic, who began building it in 2016 and released the first versions in 2017.
Yes, Joplin supports end-to-end encryption on synced data, so notes can be encrypted on-device before syncing to any backend, including Joplin Cloud or third-party storage.
Yes, Joplin supports self-hosted sync via a self-hosted Joplin Server, as well as Nextcloud, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive and S3, at no cost beyond your own infrastructure.
Joplin Cloud is the project's optional managed hosting and sync service, launched in 2021, offering paid tiers from Basic (EUR2.99/month) up to Teams (EUR7.99/month per user) for users who don't want to manage their own sync backend.
Common alternatives include Evernote, Notion, Obsidian and Standard Notes, though Joplin is distinguished by being fully open source with true end-to-end encryption and no proprietary file format.