If you’re serious about organising your digital life, you’ve likely come across these three names: Notion, Evernote and Obsidian. Each of them has carved out a distinct niche in the note-taking and knowledge management space. But in 2025, where features have matured and the competition is tighter than ever, which one really stands out?
Here’s a practical, experience-based breakdown to help you figure out which tool is the best fit for how you actuallywork.
Notion: The All-Rounder Workspace
Notion has continued to evolve, and in 2025, it’s more powerful than ever. It’s not just a note-taking app; it’s a full-blown workspace platform that handles databases, task management, wikis, and collaborative documents with ease.
What it does well:
- Extremely flexible page and database system
- Seamless team collaboration and sharing
- Integrations have improved massively, including with Google Calendar, Slack, and GitHub
- AI assistant baked into the UI for summarising pages and generating content
Drawbacks:
- Can get bloated if you over-design your setup
- Still not ideal for fast, frictionless note capture
- Offline support is better but not as robust as a local-first app
Who it’s for: People who want a centralised hub for managing work, notes, and projects in one tidy (if complex) system.
Evernote: The Old Guard (Still Hanging On)
Evernote’s been around forever, and while it had a rough patch, it’s not entirely out of the game. The 2025 version has seen improvements in speed and interface, plus a cleaner pricing structure.
What it does well:
- Quick capture tools are still some of the best
- Web clipper remains top-tier
- Solid cross-platform support
Drawbacks:
- Innovation feels slow compared to the competition
- Limited customisability and structure
- Collaboration is basic at best
Who it’s for: Users who want a no-nonsense way to save things and retrieve them later without fiddling with too many settings or structures.
Obsidian: The Power User’s Paradise
Obsidian has become a cult favourite and for good reason. It treats your notes as plain text Markdown files, stored locally. In 2025, it now supports seamless sync, advanced graph views, and a polished mobile app.
What it does well:
- Local-first, with complete ownership of your data
- Highly extensible with community plugins
- Perfect for building a second brain or Zettelkasten system
Drawbacks:
- Steeper learning curve
- Collaboration is basically non-existent unless you bolt it on with third-party tools
- Lacks the polish of something like Notion for visual organisation
Who it’s for: People who take deep notes, link ideas over time, and want absolute control over their setup.
So, Which Is Best in 2025?
It depends entirely on how your brain works.
- Choose Notion if you want one place for everything — tasks, notes, wikis, databases, the lot.
- Go with Evernote if you just want to save stuff quickly and not think too hard about where it goes.
- Use Obsidian if you’re deep into idea linking, long-form thinking, and want a private, customisable setup.
None of them are perfect. But the best one is the one you’ll actually stick with and enjoy using.
