Joplin
Plane
| Feature | Joplin | Plane |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $2.99/mo | Free / from $7/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.2 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | privacy-advocates, developers, linux-users, evernote-migrants | developers, open-source-advocates, startups, engineering-teams |
| Founded | 2017 | 2022 |
| Markdown | ✓ | ✗ |
| Encryption | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sync | ✓ | ✗ |
| Web Clipper | ✓ | ✗ |
| Plugins | ✓ | ✗ |
| Notebooks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Cycles | ✗ | ✓ |
| Modules | ✗ | ✓ |
| Views | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pages | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
| Analytics | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Joplin Pros
- Free and open-source
- End-to-end encryption
- Self-host option
- Import from Evernote
✗ Joplin Cons
- Less polished UI
- Sync requires setup
- Limited collaboration
✓ Plane Pros
- Open source and self-hostable
- Modern clean interface
- Jira-like power without complexity
- Active community
✗ Plane Cons
- Relatively new
- Smaller integration ecosystem
- Documentation still maturing
The Verdict
Joplin is built for privacy advocates and developers, with a focus on markdown and encryption. Plane targets developers and open source advocates and leads with cycles and modules.
Pricing is close: Joplin starts at $2.99/mo versus $7/mo for Plane — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Both tools are a solid fit for developers — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.