Head-to-head · Notes
OneNote vs Joplin
Which one to pick in 2026 — comparing 🇺🇸 OneNote with the European alternative 🇪🇺 Joplin on the things that actually decide who can read your data.
🇺🇸 OneNotevs🇪🇺 Joplin
Verdict
Who has stronger privacy guarantees by law?
Joplin — GDPR-native and outside the US CLOUD Act / FISA 702 reach.
Which one encrypts your data end-to-end by default?
Joplin ships E2E encryption by default. OneNote does not.
Which one tracks you for ads?
Joplin also tracks for ads — verify in the table.
Which one is open source?
Joplin is open source. OneNote is proprietary.
Side-by-side
OneNote vs Joplin — full comparison
Criteria
🇪🇺 Joplin
🇺🇸 OneNote
Headquarters
Paris, France
Redmond, USA
Jurisdiction
EU
USA
Data location
Local-first, user choice
Global
GDPR-native
Yes
No
CLOUD Act / FISA exposed
No
Yes
Ad tracking
Yes
No
End-to-end encryption
Yes
No
Open source
Yes
No
Ownership
Joplin community
Microsoft Corp.
Founded
2017
2003
Make the switch
Try Joplin instead of OneNote
Open-source notes with end-to-end encryption.