Joplin alternative
Koru is a free, open-source alternative to Joplin for Windows and Mac, for people who want a native desktop app and sync with nothing to set up. Joplin is open source too, but its desktop app is built on Electron and it syncs through a service you choose and configure, such as Joplin Cloud, Dropbox or Nextcloud. Koru is written in Rust and syncs directly between your devices, for free.
Joplin syncs through Joplin Cloud, Nextcloud, S3, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive or a folder on your filesystem. Joplin Cloud is paid, from 2.99€ a month. The other options need an account with that service or a server you run, and you connect each device to it.
Joplin supports end-to-end encryption in all its apps, but you turn it on yourself: on one device first, with a master password that cannot be recovered, then on each other device after it syncs. Joplin warns that the first encrypted sync can take a long time.
Joplin's desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux is an Electron app. Some people want a native app on their PC or Mac.
| Feature | Koru | Joplin |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. No account and no trial. Device-to-device sync is free; optional cloud sync is $9.99/month for 100 GB. | Free and open source. Joplin Cloud: Basic 2.40€/month billed yearly (28.69€/year) or 2.99€ monthly (2 GB); Pro 4.79€/month yearly (57.48€/year) or 5.99€ monthly (30 GB); Pro 100 GB 7.99€/month yearly (95.88€/year) or 9.99€ monthly; Teams 6.69€/user/month yearly (80.28€/year) or 7.99€ monthly (50 GB, minimum 2 users). 14-day free trial. Self-hosted Joplin Server Business 3.33€ to 2.50€/user/month by team size, billed annually. |
| Account | None required, including for sync. | A Joplin Cloud account for Joplin Cloud. Other sync options use your account with that service, or your own server. |
| Where your notes live | In a local database on your device. Works fully offline, with no account required. Export to Markdown or TextBundle any time. | On each device ("offline first"), as Markdown notes in notebooks. |
| Sync | Directly between your own devices, peer to peer and end-to-end encrypted, built on iroh. No Koru server required. Free. | Through a service you set up: Joplin Cloud (paid), Nextcloud, S3, WebDAV, Dropbox, OneDrive or the local filesystem. |
| Encryption | Device-to-device sync is end-to-end encrypted. | End-to-end encryption in all apps, turned on manually, with a master password that cannot be recovered. |
| Version history | Saved, named versions you can compare. | A version of changed notes every 10 minutes, synced and kept 90 days by default. Viewed and restored in the desktop app. |
| Platforms | Windows and macOS. No phone app yet. | Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, plus a terminal app. A web app with Joplin Cloud. |
| Desktop app | A native desktop app, written in Rust. Not a website in a window. | Built on Electron. |
| Open source | Open source under MPL-2.0, on GitHub. | Yes. AGPL-3.0-or-later, on GitHub. |
| Extensibility | Built-in MCP server for AI tools. Terminals as tabs, and on a Mac, coding agents as tabs. No plugin system. | Plugins and themes on desktop and mobile, and an API. |
| Web clipper | No. A web clipper is on the roadmap. | Yes, for Chrome and Firefox. |
| Publishing and sharing | No. Koru is for your own notes. | With Joplin Cloud: publish notes to the web and collaborate on notebooks. Sharing your own notebooks needs Pro or Teams. |
| Import and export | Imports Evernote (.enex), Notion, OneNote, Google Docs, Markdown and TextBundle. Exports Markdown and TextBundle. | Imports Evernote .enex, Markdown files and folders, OneNote and JEX. Exports JEX, Markdown, HTML and PDF. |
In Koru, linking a second computer takes a QR code or a short code. Your devices then sync directly, peer to peer, end-to-end encrypted, and changes made offline on each are combined when they reconnect. There is no sync service to choose, no server to run, no account and nothing to pay.
Both devices need to be online at the same time. When they can't connect directly, Koru's relay forwards the encrypted traffic and stores nothing. More on how peer-to-peer sync works.
Joplin's desktop app is built on Electron, which embeds Chromium and Node.js to run a web app as a desktop app. Koru is a native app written in Rust: vello draws the interface on the GPU, parley lays out the text, winit opens the native window, and AccessKit publishes what's on screen to screen readers on Windows. There's no browser engine behind your notes.
Electron has real strengths, and Koru has no plugin system. If what you want is a native Joplin alternative, here is how Koru is built, and what it trades away.
Joplin's apps are open source under AGPL-3.0-or-later, and Joplin Cloud subscriptions help fund the project. Koru's app is open source under MPL-2.0 on GitHub. With either, anyone can read what the app does with your notes.
Joplin has apps for Android, iPhone and Linux, and a terminal app. It has plugins and themes, a web clipper for Chrome and Firefox, and end-to-end encryption that also works when you sync through storage you already use, such as OneDrive or Nextcloud. With Joplin Cloud you can publish notes and share notebooks.
Koru is a desktop app for Windows and macOS, with no phone app yet, no plugin system, and a web clipper still on the roadmap. If you depend on any of those, Joplin is the better fit today.
Joplin keeps your notes in Markdown, and you can edit them in the app or in your own text editor. Koru takes a different path: it keeps your workspace in a local database on your device, a structure built to combine edits from several devices.
You can export to Markdown or TextBundle at any time, but your Koru notes are not Markdown files you edit in another app. If that matters most, stay with Joplin.
Missing something you rely on? Tell us at hello@koru.do. What people ask for shapes the roadmap.
Koru has no Joplin importer and doesn't read JEX files. Joplin can export your notes as Markdown, and Koru's Markdown import reads those files offline. Your Joplin notes stay where they are; nothing in them is changed.
Yes. Koru is free and open source under MPL-2.0, with no account. Sync between your own devices is included. Optional cloud sync is $9.99/month for 100 GB.
Yes. Koru's app is open source under MPL-2.0. Joplin is open source too, under AGPL-3.0-or-later.
Yes. Koru is a native desktop app written in Rust, not a website in a window. It draws its own interface on the GPU with vello, lays out text with parley and opens its windows with winit. Joplin's desktop app is built on Electron.
Koru links your devices with a QR code or link code and syncs them directly, peer to peer, end-to-end encrypted. When two devices cannot connect directly, Koru's relay forwards the encrypted traffic and stores nothing. Both devices need to be online at the same time.
Yes. Koru runs on Windows and macOS. There is no Linux or phone app yet, so if you use Joplin on Linux, Android or iPhone, Koru will not replace it there.
Not directly. Koru has no Joplin importer and doesn't read JEX files. Export from Joplin in the Markdown + Front Matter format, then import the .md files with Koru's Markdown import. Text, tables, tasks and links come across; notebooks are not recreated, and tags stay in a YAML block.
No. Koru has no phone app yet and no plugin system, and a web clipper is on the roadmap. If you depend on any of these, Joplin is the better fit for now.
