Free Notes App With Reliable Sync, Encryption and Unlimited Storage
A notes app with reliable managed sync, end-to-end encryption, and version history, built to handle long-form writing without lag.
Cant seem to find a proper notes app
Ive been looking everywhere. what i need is: RELIABLE sync between laptop and mobile [obsidian git is just not working for me and the syncthing thing doesnt look reliable] version history just incase something happensend to end encryption [goodbye notion] UNLIMITED storage and note capacity can handle long notes with no lag, im using it to write a novel has folders all features stated above being FREE Dont recomend google docs, its horrendous too as its very buggy for me. If anyone can help id really appreciate it. what do you guys use?
The problem, in the searcher’s words
Someone writing a novel across laptop and phone wants one notes app that just works: notes sync reliably between devices, nothing gets lost (version history), notes are encrypted so nobody else can read them, storage and note length are unlimited, folders keep things organized, and long documents don't lag. They've tried Obsidian with git/Syncthing sync and it's flaky, Notion doesn't have real end-to-end encryption, and Google Docs is buggy and slow with long documents.
The catch: they want all of this for free, with no subscription. That's the part the community pushes back on hardest — sync infrastructure, encryption, and storage all cost money to run, so 'unlimited + encrypted + synced + free' is treated as an unrealistic combination rather than a real product gap.
What the thread shows
The thread shows one person's frustration with fragile self-hosted sync (Obsidian git/Syncthing) and buggy alternatives (Google Docs), but the community response is mostly 'no free tool does all of this' and pointers to existing paid or partially-free tools rather than corroboration of an unmet need.
“RELIABLE sync between laptop and mobile [obsidian git is just not working for me and the syncthing thing doesnt look reliable]”
“UNLIMITED storage and note capacity”
“You’re asking a lot for free”
“Honestly you are asking for a unicorn, but Joplin is probably the closest you will get.”
Target customer
Who
Hobbyist and self-published writers or heavy note-takers who write long-form content across laptop and mobile and are wary of subscriptions.
Context
They hit this problem when their current setup (Obsidian with manual sync plugins, or Google Docs) becomes unreliable or buggy while writing something long, like a novel, and they go looking for a single tool that covers sync, security, and capacity without paying.
What to build
- Managed cross-device sync (laptop + mobile) that doesn't require users to configure git or Syncthing
- End-to-end encryption of notes
- Version history / note recovery
- Performant editor for long documents (novel-length text) without lag
- Folder-based organization
- A genuinely usable free tier (several GB) rather than a token trial
Build note — Reliable multi-device sync (ideally CRDT-based) and end-to-end encryption are both non-trivial and costly to operate; combining them with 'unlimited' free storage is not financially sustainable, so the real build challenge is pricing/tiering, not just features.
Later, if it lands
Who’s already out there
Local-first markdown notes app with a plugin ecosystem and an official paid sync/E2E-encrypted sync service.
Gap: Free sync relies on user-managed git or Syncthing setups that the OP found unreliable; the reliable option (Obsidian Sync) costs $10/mo, not free.
Open-source note-taking app with built-in encryption and sync to services like Dropbox or OneDrive.
Gap: Sync still depends on a third-party cloud service the user has to set up and trust, and a commenter still called meeting the full wishlist 'asking for a unicorn.'
Note-taking app with a one-time-fee pricing model instead of a subscription.
Gap: Not free (one-time cost), and a commenter explicitly wasn't sure if its version history feature actually meets the need.
Writing-focused notes app with a low-cost subscription.
Gap: Requires ongoing payment, which conflicts with the free requirement driving this thread.
Demand read
Several commenters already pay for sync-enabled notes tools (Obsidian Sync, Bear, UpNote), showing real willingness to pay for reliability among serious note-takers — but the OP's specific demand for all features to be free reflects a segment unlikely to convert into paying customers.
Worth digging into before you build
5 to considerNo idea is a sure thing at this stage — these are open questions worth checking yourself, not a verdict against building it.
Already Solved
Commenters point to Obsidian, Joplin, UpNote, and Bear as already covering most of the requested feature set individually.
Generic Idea
Notes/note-taking apps are a highly saturated category with many established players named in the thread.
Weak Demand
Multiple commenters explicitly push back on the free requirement ('You're asking a lot for free', 'Why should someone give you all that for free?').
Single Voice
Only the OP articulates the exact combined pain (free + unlimited + encrypted + synced); other commenters offer alternatives rather than corroborate the same unmet need.
Verify Competitors
UpNote's version history and Bear's exact feature set (encryption, storage limits) aren't confirmed in the thread — verify before publishing.