8 European alternatives · updated 10 October 2026 · How we select
OneNote ties your notes to Microsoft’s ecosystem and proprietary format, which makes moving data out harder as your team grows. If you need a knowledge base with clearer ownership and simpler structure, Capacities, Slite and Nuclino keep data in the EU and drop the vendor lock-in.
OneNote covers notes, knowledge base, team collaboration and media & files. European alternatives: XWiki, Nuclino, Joplin, BlueSpice and Anytype and 3 more. By area: Nuclino, Joplin and Anytype for notes; XWiki, Nuclino and BlueSpice for knowledge base; XWiki, Nuclino and BlueSpice for team collaboration; Joplin for media & files.
Open-source enterprise wiki with EU hosting and structured data
Replaces OneNote’s knowledge base and team collaboration with a structured enterprise wiki.
A German knowledge base with real-time collaboration and EU hosting
Replaces OneNote’s notes, knowledge base and team collaboration with a lightweight wiki.
Open-source note-taking app with end-to-end encryption and Markdown support
Replaces OneNote’s notes and media attachments with an open-source Markdown-based app.
Enterprise wiki and knowledge base built on MediaWiki with EU-only hosting
Replaces OneNote’s knowledge base and team collaboration with a MediaWiki-based enterprise wiki.
Decentralized, end-to-end encrypted knowledge base with local-first storage
Replaces OneNote’s notes and knowledge base with a decentralized, encrypted workspace.
Object-based knowledge management with AI and EU-hosted data
Replaces OneNote’s notes and knowledge base with AI-driven object management.
AI-powered knowledge base for teams with document verification and collaborative writing
Replaces OneNote’s notes, knowledge base and team collaboration with an AI-powered workspace.
Which part of OneNote each alternative covers.
| Provider | Notes | Knowledge base | Team collaboration | Media & files | From | Rating | Import from OneNote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OneNote 🇺🇸 (the tool you are replacing) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $99.99/yr | ★ 4.6 | – |
| XWiki 🇫🇷 | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.7 (64) | – | ||
| Nuclino 🇩🇪 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.6 (224) | – | |
| Joplin 🇫🇷 | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.6 (6) | ✓ built-in | ||
| BlueSpice 🇩🇪 | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.3 (29) | – | ||
| Anytype 🇨🇭 | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.5 (41) | – | ||
| Capacities 🇩🇪 | ✓ | ✓ | On request | ★ 4.0 (3) | ✓ via file | ||
| Slite 🇫🇷 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | $10 | ★ 4.5 (387) | – | |
| Zettlr 🇩🇪 | ✓ | On request | – | ✓ via file |
Prices per user and month in the cheapest paid plan. Ratings are weighted across G2, Capterra, OMR and other portals, with the review count in brackets.
What to know about the tool you are replacing, with sources.
Sources: microsoft.com · g2.com · capterra.com · onenote.com · researched 5 October 2026
OneNote exports your data as PDF, HTML and MHT. Joplin imports OneNote content with a built-in importer. Via the export files: Capacities and Zettlr. Every import above links its source on the product card.
Capacities, Nuclino, Slite, Anytype, Joplin and XWiki cover the core note-taking and knowledge base features of OneNote. Capacities and Anytype also offer object-based knowledge management with EU-hosted data.
For a structured knowledge base, XWiki, BlueSpice and Capacities are strong options. XWiki and BlueSpice are open-source enterprise wikis with EU hosting, while Capacities offers object-based knowledge management.
Joplin offers a built-in OneNote importer. Zettlr supports migration via Markdown, HTML or CSV import. Capacities allows migration via Markdown after exporting from Word or PDF.
OneNote is a US-based service. EU data residency is available for eligible Microsoft 365 plans, but standard storage may be outside the EU.
Joplin, XWiki, BlueSpice, Anytype and Zettlr are open-source tools and free to use. Slite and Nuclino publish their pricing, while Capacities provides prices on request.