Capture what struck you,
not just what you saved
Evernote is a great archive for things you decided to keep. Leo is a Mac-native notepad that captures what struck you the moment you read it — with the source attached automatically. No interrupting your reading to clip a page.
Download for MacFree · 7 days of Pro free · No account to start
Why people are leaving Evernote in 2026
Evernote's free plan was cut to 50 notes in December 2023, paid plans rose to $14.99–$17.99/month, and AI features were locked behind the top tier. After Bending Spoons acquired Evernote and laid off the US team in 2023, many long-time users started looking for a tool that felt actively built — by a small team, for the work they actually do.
Choose the tool for the job you actually do
Choose Leo if you…
- Read on Mac and want one keystroke to capture what struck you, with the source saved
- Want a calm, focused notepad — not a workspace, not a wiki
- Care that your notes stay as plain markdown on your machine
- Are happy on Mac today (iPhone coming)
Choose Evernote if you…
- Live in PDFs, scans, and OCR-heavy workflows
- Need handwriting and Apple Pencil annotation
- Need Evernote's web clipper for full-page archival of decided keepers
- Need cross-device sync today across Windows, iOS, and Android
What's different about Leo
Capture mid-read, not after
Evernote's web clipper saves a decided-keeper after you've stopped to clip it. Leo's popover sits beside what you're reading and captures the line that struck you with one keystroke — without leaving the article, video, or podcast.
Sources saved automatically
Every note lands with the URL, page number, podcast timestamp, or video frame attached. No manual copy-paste of citations later — the trail back to where the idea came from is always one click away.
AI chat across your notes — included
Ask Leo to find, summarize, or connect anything you've ever captured. Built in to the free tier, not gated to the top plan. Use Leo's built-in model or connect your own.
Side by side
Honest matrix — including the rows where Evernote still wins. If your work depends on the bottom four, Leo is probably not the tool to switch to (yet).
| Leo | Evernote | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture method | Mac-native popover, single keystroke, sits over your reading | Web Clipper (browser extension), share-sheet on mobile |
| Source attached automatically | URL, page number, video timestamp, podcast time — every note | URL on web clips; manual otherwise |
| File format | Plain markdown, on your Mac | Proprietary (.enex export, lossy) |
| AI chat across your notes | Built in, included | Professional plan only ($17.99/mo) |
| Free tier | 5 notepads, AI chat included | 50 notes, 1 notebook |
| Mac client | Native | Electron |
| iOS / iPad | Coming soon | Yes |
| Windows / Linux / Android | No | Yes |
| Handwriting, OCR, PDF annotation | No | Yes |
| Web clipper (full-page archive) | No — popover does a different job (see above) | Yes (industry-leading) |
Pricing and feature notes pulled from Evernote's public plans and the rolling teardown at /blog/best-evernote-alternatives. Verified 2026-05-01.
Moving from Evernote
Leo doesn't try to import your Evernote archive. The fastest way to switch is to leave the old archive in place and start fresh — your next note is the first one. If you do need everything in one place, the step-by-step below covers the route most people take.
-
1
Start fresh in Leo for the work you're actively thinking about
Download Leo and start capturing today. Most people who try this approach are surprised how little they actually pull forward from the old archive — the work you're doing now is the work that matters.
-
2
Leave Evernote on the free tier as a read-only archive
The free tier (50 notes / 1 notebook) won't fit a large library, but you can keep your existing Evernote account around as a search-only fallback for the few times you need to look something up.
-
3
If you really need to bring it all over, pair tools
Export each notebook as
.enexfrom Evernote desktop, then use UpNote, Joplin, or Apple Notes to read it. Each handles the import differently — see the full migration breakdown for tradeoffs.
What carries cleanly
- Anything you start fresh in Leo, with the source attached automatically
- A clean Mac-native library you actually use
- Notes as plain markdown on your machine — yours either way
What you'd lose
- Direct one-click import from <code>.enex</code> (use a paired tool if you need it)
- Evernote's notebook structure (collapses on .enex export anyway)
- Web clips as full-page snapshots (popover captures the line, not the page)
- OCR + handwriting + PDF annotation workflows
Free for Mac. Pro when you want it.
Free
$0
Everything you need to start a Mac-native notepad with source-attached capture.
- 5 notepads
- AI chat within and across notes
- Source-attached capture
- Plain markdown files on your Mac
- No account required to start
Pro
$14.99 / mo
Unlimited notepads, longer chats, more context window. Max plan available at $59.99/mo for heavier use.
- Unlimited notepads
- Longer AI conversations
- Larger context across your library
- Connect your own OpenAI / Anthropic key
7 days of Pro free with every download.
See full pricing details · Cancel anytime · Your notes are yours either way.
Frequently asked questions
What does Leo do that Evernote doesn't?
What does Evernote do that Leo doesn't?
How do I move my Evernote notes to Leo?
Is Leo really free?
Where do my notes live?
Is there an iPhone or iPad app?
Ready to switch?
Download Leo for Mac and start with the next note that strikes you.