#31 in Notes & Knowledge ManagementUpdated 2026-08

Standard Notes

by Standard Notes · End-to-end encrypted notes and file storage across unlimited devices

34.9 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Overview

Standard Notes is a note-taking app that encrypts notes and files end to end using XChaCha20-Poly1305, so only the account holder has the keys to decrypt them. It syncs across web, desktop and mobile on unlimited devices, keeps an offline copy of data, and runs automated encrypted email backups. Paid plans add richer note types, folders, and encrypted file storage.

Best for: People who want encrypted notes and files synced across unlimited devices, with offline access
Pricing: Free Standard tier, then $90/year for Productivity or $120/year for Professional, with a 30% student discount.
Runs on: WebAndroidmacOSWindowsLinuxSelf-hosted

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

End-to-end encrypted with XChaCha20-Poly1305; you hold the keys
Free tier covers unlimited device sync and offline access
Open source code with published independent security audits
Full data export in encrypted or plaintext format on all plans

Trade-offs

Free tier is plain text only; rich text, folders and files need a paid plan
Note history on the free tier covers the current session only
No free trial; you rely on the 14-day or 90-day refund window instead
Paid plans are shown as annual prices only, with no monthly option listed

Pricing

Published plans from Standard Notes’s own pricing page, in USD. Usage charges and add-ons may apply on top.

Standard Notes pricing tiers, monthly and annual rates in USD
Plan	Monthly	Annual (per month)	Includes
Standard	—per account	—	End-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication Unlimited device sync on web, desktop and mobile Plain text notes, tags and offline access Daily encrypted email backups and full data export
Productivity	—per account	$7.5	Super note type: markdown, rich text, checklists, code snippets Spreadsheets, Daily Notebooks and folders Built-in 2FA authenticator and Web Clipper 1-year note revision history and 14-day refund period
Professional	—per account	$10	100GB encrypted cloud storage, no file size limit (tested to 2GB) Subscription sharing with up to 5 accounts Offline file access and local file backups Unlimited note history, hardware security keys, 90-day refund

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: 30 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 53 out of 100
Pricing transparency: 85 out of 100
Changelog: 100 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 50 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: 65 out of 100
Maintenance: 100 out of 100

This doesn’t look right — report a problem with Standard Notes’s score

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