TaskNote vs Standard Notes
In short
Standard Notes is the stricter choice: open source, audited, encrypted by default, on every platform. TaskNote is for people who also want a board and reminders in the same app, and who would like a Windows version that asks for no account.
What Standard Notes does better
Standard Notes takes a stricter approach. Here is what it does well.
- The code is open. Anyone can read how the encryption is implemented rather than take a company's word for it.
- It has been through independent security audits, and the reports are public.
- It is part of Proton, a company whose whole business is privacy, with years of track record behind it.
- It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android and the web. TaskNote covers the web and Windows.
- It has been around longer, with a track record to match.
Where TaskNote is different
The difference is not that we encrypt better. It is what sits next to the notes.
- Kanban boards live in the same app as the notes, so a thought and the task it turns into do not end up in two products.
- Reminders are built in. A note can come back to you on a date instead of quietly sinking down the list.
- There is a Windows build that runs entirely on your machine and needs no account and no internet.
- The free plan is meant to be usable rather than to be a demonstration.
Two different products, and the difference matters
TaskNote comes in two forms, and they protect your notes in different ways.
Web app
- End-to-end encrypted with AES-256-GCM. Your notes are encrypted on your device before they are sent.
- The server stores ciphertext and holds no key that can read it.
- Syncs across devices. Needs an account.
- Runs in any browser, on any operating system.
Windows app
- A separate application. Everything stays on your computer.
- No account, no sync, no server. It works with the network switched off.
- You can set a password for launching the app. It is optional.
Side by side
| Standard Notes | TaskNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption in the cloud version | End-to-end, on by default | End-to-end, on by default |
| Kanban boards | Not built in | Built in |
| Reminders | Not built in | Built in |
| Works with no account at all | No | Yes, in the Windows app |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, web | Web and Windows |
So which one
Choose Standard Notes if:
- You want to be able to read the source, or you want an audit report rather than a promise.
- You need macOS, Linux, iOS or Android.
- Notes are all you want, and anything else in the window is a distraction.
Choose TaskNote if:
- You keep notes and a task board and are tired of them living in two different apps.
- You want notes that can remind you of themselves.
- You want a Windows app that never asks who you are.