BenchRank
#50 in Notes & Knowledge ManagementUpdated 2026-08

Beaver Notes

by Beaver Notes · Local-first open-source notes app that keeps notes on your device

24 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Homepage of Beaver Notes

Overview

Beaver Notes is a local-first, MIT-licensed notes app that keeps notes on your own device rather than on a server, with no accounts and no telemetry. Notes are written using markdown, commands and keyboard shortcuts, and can contain links to other notes, tags, PDFs and other files, images, audio, drawings and LaTeX equations. Syncing across devices is optional and uses a cloud provider you choose.

Best for
People who want a local-first markdown notes app with no accounts, cloud or tracking
Pricing
No prices are shown; the page offers a free download, states the app is MIT-licensed open source, and links to a donate page.
Runs on
macOSCLI

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

  • Notes stored on the device; no accounts or servers needed
  • MIT-licensed open source with no telemetry
  • Markdown, commands and keyboard shortcuts built in
  • Note linking, tags, files, drawings and LaTeX maths included

Trade-offs

  • Sync requires you to supply and configure your own cloud provider
  • No accounts or hosted service, so recovery relies on your own backups
  • No AI features, by design
  • Pages describe no team or real-time collaboration

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support
0 out of 100
API quality
0 out of 100
Documentation
50 out of 100
Agent friendliness
18 out of 100
Changelog
100 out of 100
Marketing site structure
25 out of 100
Operational trust
0 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness
60 out of 100
Maintenance
100 out of 100

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