The best local-first notes apps in 2026.
Local-first means the data lives on your machine, syncs on your terms, and survives the company that made the app. Here are five options that mean it.
"Local-first" is a spectrum. At one end: your notes are files in a folder, and the app just reads them. At the other: the app has its own database but never talks to a server. This roundup walks the spectrum.
1. The Writing Desk (that's us)
Furthest along the spectrum: your entire notes system is one HTML file. Best for people who want one artifact. $49 in the Pocket Knife tier. See the Blade.
2. Obsidian
Markdown files in a vault folder + a native app. Free personal, paid sync optional. Best for the plugin-and-graph crowd. See /vs/obsidian.
3. Logseq
Open-source, outliner-shaped, local Markdown. Best for people who think in bullets and backlinks. logseq.com.
4. Bear
Native Apple-only, elegant, uses its own database (not plain files). iCloud sync. Best on Apple hardware for people who prize the writing feel. bear.app.
5. Plain .md files in an editor
The purest local-first setup. Free forever. Best if you enjoy configuring things once and never again.
Our notes tools
Common questions
What does 'local-first' actually mean?
The data lives on your machine as the source of truth. Sync (if any) is a secondary copy, not the primary. If the company disappears, your notes still open.
Which of these is the most 'local'?
The Writing Desk (it's one file) and plain .md in a folder (they're just files). Everything else sits between those two poles.
Any of these work offline on iOS?
All of them, in different ways. The Writing Desk opens in mobile Safari; Obsidian/Logseq/Bear have native iOS apps.