Samsung Notes vs Evernote: Which Note-Taking App Is Better on Galaxy Phones

Everyone needs a capable note-taking app for taking down thoughts and important strings on information quickly. Evernote is the oldest note-taking solution that continues to thrive. A majority of note-taking enthusiasts use Evernote software as a file-cabinet to keep notes, documents, web clippings, and more. Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy phone users have the Samsung Notes as the default option. Also, Samsung regularly releases updates to improve the functionality of the app. As a Samsung phone user, it is obvious to get confused between these two note-taking apps. Don’t worry. We shall help you out with that.

The latest update of Samsung Notes includes drawing capabilities while Evernote weights on notes and documents organization and other related features. You might wonder which one to use but only one could suit most of your needs and requirements, if not all. How about we compare both the apps to find the better pick for you?

In this post, we will compare the Samsung Notes to Evernote. The comparison post covers cross-platform availability, UI, features, note-taking options, text editor, sharing, price, and more. Let’s get started.

Cross-Platform Availability

Samsung Notes is only available on Android and Windows (limited to Samsung-branded Windows laptops).

Download Samsung Notes

Evernote is accessible on iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and iPad. Evernote also offers a Chromium extension to clip articles and web content while browsing on the desktop.

Download Evernote for Android

User Interface

Samsung Notes is a part of the company’s big overhaul of apps in One UI. Samsung’s stock apps carry a giant app banner at the top, and the main options, including notes and add note icon, are at the bottom. It’s a joy to navigate the UI with one hand. As expected, Samsung Notes also supports the Android 10 dark theme.

Evernote looks a bit outdated compared to the Samsung Notes. The app still uses the hamburger menu, which messes up with the Android 10 back gesture. Thankfully, the ability to add new notes, voice notes, handwriting, and more options are at the bottom. Evernote plays nicely with a dark theme as well.

Notes Organization

Notes organization plays a major role in any note-taking app. After some time, you will fill-up the software with hundreds of notes and in that case, you would want a capable note organization structure to keep the notes at the relevant place.

Samsung Notes lets you create notebooks. You can also add categories to a note. Evernote is also on the same page as Samsung Notes. You can create multiple Notebooks in the app and then add tags to note for better organization.

However, when it comes to using the search function to find the note, I observed Evernote be better and accurate than the Samsung Notes.

Taking Notes

Both Evernote and Samsung Notes offer a rich text editor to take and customize notes.

Samsung Notes offer all the standard text editing options to compose notes. I like how Samsung has added more heading styles to the text editor menu. The ability to add images and voice recordings and the audio file is at the upper right corner.

Evernote’s note editor is confusing. First, you need to open the note, then select the edit note, and then tap on the ‘a’ icon at the above menu to display the editor.

The note-editor is powerful. You can use Bold, Italic, Underline effects, add a checkbox, use highlighter, add numbers, and make changes to the paragraph. Users can tap on the clip icon and add files from Drive, Photo, Video file, Audio file, etc. Evernote comforts you on those fronts.

Drawing Capabilities

As expected, both the Evernote and Samsung Notes offer basic drawing functions. However, the Samsung Notes edges out Evernote comfortably. On Samsung Notes, tap on the Draw icon at the above and pick a tool from various options.

You can use the pen, pencil, highlighter tool, and tons of color options. Galaxy Note users are going to love Notes app drawing capabilities with the S pen.

Evernote’s drawing menu is specified as handwriting. It’s a basic canvas with different pen colors and tip intensity.

Sharing Notes

On Samsung Notes, long-tap on any note and select Share. You can share the file in four formats. Users can share it as a Samsung Notes file (.SDOC), PDF file, Image file, or Text file.

Evernote lets you directly share a file through email. You can also invite others to join the notebook and make changes. If your team or friends are using Evernote, you will find Evernote’s seamless sharing better than Samsung Notes.

Features and Backup

Samsung Notes also offer a Lock option to protect notes. Like Evernote, the Notes app also offers a widget to peek and add notes from the home screen. Samsung uses its own Samsung Cloud to sync and store the notes data.

Evernote provides basic reminders functionality. However, don’t expect to replace a dedicated task manager with Evernote. The company also offers a photo add-on that collects photos that contain handwriting or text.

As for backup, Evernote relies on its cloud storage to store user notes and data.

Price

Evernote revised its pricing model. The free version is limited to 60MB of notes storage. You can upgrade to the Pro plan for $70 per year and unlock all the premium functions.

Samsung Notes is completely free to use.

Start Taking Notes

The final answer is simple. Evernote has better cross-platform availability, browser extension support, and good enough features to replace Samsung Notes. Meanwhile, Samsung Notes’ solution has a better UI, much-advanced drawing capabilities, and the perfect tool for casual users. I’m siding with Evernote for its cross-platform support. What about you? Sound off in the comments section below.

Next up: Looking to spice up the Evernote experience on the dekstop? Master the keyboard shortcuts by reading the post below.