Evernote alternative
An Evernote alternative for documents, not notes.
Evernote is where notes go. Granite is where your real paperwork goes (IDs, tax forms, insurance, statements) to be read, filed, and answered the moment it lands. If you'd been using Evernote as a filing cabinet and fighting it the whole way, this is the tool that filing cabinet always wanted to be.
Best Evernote alternatives in 2026
Most “best Evernote alternatives” lists are just other note apps: Notion, OneNote, Obsidian. Granite is on the list for a different reason: if you were mainly using Evernote to store documents rather than write notes, the last thing you want is another notebook. Here's how the two compare on the things document-keepers actually care about.
| Feature | Granite | Evernote |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Documents you receive: IDs, tax, insurance, statements | Notes you write and web pages you clip |
| Reads & classifies each file on upload | Yes110+ document types | No |
| Extracts each document type's key fields (a W-2's wages, a policy's renewal date) | Yes | No |
| Plain-English answers with a source citation | Yeson Granite Paid; links to the exact page it came from | YesAI Assistant, names the notes it used |
| Auto-collections (tax years, vehicles, policies) | Yes | Nomanual notebooks & tags |
| Flags documents that look missing | Yes | No |
| Rich-text editor & note-taking | Partialquick typed notes, no rich text | Yes |
| Web clipper | No | Yes |
| Encrypted at rest (envelope + per-row) | Yes | Partialselected text only |
| Emergency access & inactivity heartbeat | Yes | No |
| Native mobile apps | PartialiPhone app; no Android app | YesiOS & Android |
| Free plan | 25 documents in total, 1 GB | 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device, 1 GB storage |
| Paid plan (annual) | $99/yr flat | $99 Starter / $249.99 Advanced |
| Import from Evernote (.enex) | Yeseach notebook becomes a collection | exports notebooks as .enex |
| Always-exportable archive | YesZIP of your original files | YesENEX export |
When you import an Evernote export (.enex), each PDF in a note becomes its own Granite document, and the note's tags are copied onto the document as text. Text you encrypted inside Evernote doesn't come across, so decrypt it in Evernote before you export. The full checklist is in our guide to exporting Evernote notes.
Why switch
What you get that Evernote doesn't do
Granite isn't a faster Evernote. It's a different tool aimed at the half of your Evernote account that was always just storage.
It reads your paperwork so you don't have to file it
Drop a PDF, a scan, or a phone photo and Granite reads it the moment it lands. It works out what it is, pulls the dates, amounts, and account numbers that matter, and files it against a library of 110+ document types. Evernote hands you an empty note and a tag field; the sorting is still your job, every time.
It tells you what needs doing, and by when
When a document needs something from you (a bill to pay, a form to sign, a policy to renew), Granite puts it at the top of your Home screen with its deadline. A weekly email lists those, plus anything that expires in the next 30 days, like a passport or a car registration. You don't set these reminders yourself; Granite finds the dates in the documents.
Encrypted by default, and built to outlive you
Every file is envelope-encrypted at rest and every sensitive field is encrypted row by row. Name an emergency contact, turn on an inactivity heartbeat, and the people who'll need your documents can reach them. Cancelling never deletes your archive. Evernote was built to hold notes, not to be the place your estate lives.
100 GB for the price of Evernote Starter
Granite Paid gives you 100 GB of storage for $99 a year. Evernote Starter costs the same and stops at 5 GB, 1,000 notes and 20 notebooks. Granite has no limit on the number of documents.
FAQ
Evernote alternative FAQ
- Is Evernote still free?
- Yes, for a small account. The free plan stops at 50 notes, and notes in the trash still count toward that limit.
- What's the best free Evernote alternative for documents?
- For paperwork rather than notes, Granite. Its free plan holds 25 documents in total, and deleting a document doesn't free up a slot, so treat it as a trial. Before you confirm an import, Granite shows about how many documents it will create. Pick a notebook that fits in 25, see how Granite reads and files it, then decide whether Granite Paid is worth it.
- Can I import my Evernote notebooks into Granite?
- Yes, directly. Export a notebook from Evernote as an .enex file and upload it under Settings → Evernote import. Granite scans the file, groups what's inside by kind (documents, web clips, plain notes) and lets you choose what to bring over. PDFs and attachments become their own documents, read and classified the moment they land; text-heavy notes become Markdown; and everything from one notebook arrives together in a single collection, with its original Evernote dates preserved. Importing into your Personal vault is free, within the 25-document free plan; sending a notebook to a separate vault is part of Granite Paid.
- How is Granite different from Evernote?
- Evernote is a note-taking app: you write notes, clip web pages, and sort them into notebooks. Granite is a document vault: you drop in the paperwork you receive and it reads, classifies, and extracts the important fields automatically, then lets you ask questions about it in plain English. One is for the things you write; the other is for the things that arrive in your mailbox.
- Is Granite more secure than Evernote?
- Granite encrypts every file at rest with envelope encryption and encrypts sensitive fields row by row. Evernote only encrypts selected text you choose inside a note, not your whole account. Granite also never deletes your archive when you cancel. If at-rest encryption and long-term durability matter to you, it's worth reading how Granite's security model works.
Keep exploring
More on Granite
- Granite vs NotionThe paperwork side of Notion, without the blank database to fill in.
- Granite vs OneNoteA home for the documents you receive, not another notebook.
- Granite vs DEVONthinkWeighing DEVONthink for your scanned Evernote documents? Granite reads and files them for you.
- Import your Evernote notebooksUpload an .enex export and Granite files each notebook into its own collection.
- Evernote vs OneNote, comparedTorn between the two note apps? Here's the honest head-to-head, and where documents belong instead.
- Notion vs Evernote, comparedWorkspace builder vs capture-and-find notebook, and what to use if you're filing documents.
- Evernote vs Google Keep, comparedHeavyweight notebook vs free quick-capture, plus where a document vault fits instead.
- Granite for familiesOne vault for the paperwork that runs, and outlives, a household.
- How Granite reads every documentAuto-classify against 110+ types and pull the fields that matter, on upload.
- Ask a question, get the answerPlain-English search that cites the source page it answered from.
- Free for your first 25 documentsOne flat $99/year after that. No document cap, no per-seat math.
- How Granite encrypts your vaultEnvelope encryption at rest and per-row field encryption.
Move your documents somewhere that reads them.
Granite is free for your first 25 documents: reading, filing, search, and export, no card required. Drop in a tax form or an insurance policy and watch it file itself.