Anytype review: getting lost in your notes?

Out of the wide range of note-taking tools, Anytype stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of possibilities. But how much structure do you really need for a note-taking app?

OneNote is the most obvious application for taking notes and sharing them with colleagues, at least if you are within the Microsoft ecosystem. Now, that is exactly what we are trying to move away from. In our search for European (open-source) alternatives to Microsoft, the OneNote app has to go too.

One of the alternatives we are testing firsthand is the Swiss-based Anytype. This note-taking tool offers (too) much for storing and sharing all our thoughts and notes.

Structuring structure

Our editorial team currently relies on Microsoft OneNote to take notes during interviews or gather knowledge in shared notes: nothing more, nothing less. The note-taking tool Anytype reportedly offers the same functionalities, but on European soil.

At first glance, Anytype resembles OneNote, but you quickly get lost in all the possibilities. The note-taking app is object-based: every note, task, person, or source is a separate object that you link to other objects, so that everything becomes interconnected. This is the main difference from classic note-taking apps: establishing connections between different files.

For users working with a lot of expertise or conducting research, this can certainly be an added value. If, like us, you just want to structure notes as in OneNote, you can quickly lose track of the big picture.

Swiss Army knife

While OneNote has a menu with various notebooks where you can add separate sections, Anytype offers a lot of possibilities. You have sets, pages, notes, tasks, collections, objects, and bookmarks. Unfortunately, during the testing period, we didn’t manage to master everything and find a structure. Although that might also be due to our very low expectations of a note-taking app.

As if all those possibilities weren’t enough, you can also create ‘Graphs’ incorporating all components. We didn’t even venture into that. Those who have the necessary discipline and time to figure everything out have a wide range of possibilities to experiment with here.

Offline-first

One of the requirements we currently put at number one is European roots. Anytype scores very well there. With a legal entity in Switzerland and a hub in Berlin, we don’t have to cross many borders. Although our data doesn’t even need to travel further than our own office.

By default, your data is encrypted on your device and in an unreadable backup at Anytype. If you want more control, you can host your own node or stay completely local. The only thing you really have to guard yourself is your recovery key. So, all your notes never leave your device. Furthermore, working offline is possible, including via mobile devices. The note-taking app runs on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

Free is enough

For this test, we used the free version, which gets you quite far. The free version offers 100 MB of external storage, ten shared sets, and unlimited private sets. Additionally, you can collaborate with three members in a shared space. If you scale up to the Plus subscription (four euros per month, billed annually), you get 1 GB of external storage and an unlimited number of shared and private sets.

Verdict: extensively complex

Anytype is certainly a potential replacement for OneNote: you can neatly organize and share notes. However, that is only a small part of what the platform offers, which makes it quickly become too complex.

Our requirements are limited to merely taking notes and sharing notebooks: Anytype can do much more than that. In our search for a simple alternative to OneNote, Anytype is just too extensive. However, we are convinced that those with plenty of time and a structured mind will know what to do with it.

ITdaily tests European and open-source alternatives to popular American software tools we use daily. Want to discover more European software? Via this overview you can find all reviews.