I started using Evernote in early 2008. My early use was limited because I had a good workflow and Evernote wasn’t at the top of my list. This started to change in 2013-14 when Evernote became the darling of the productivity community. This was when bloggers and online creators started touting the power and efficiency of Evernote.
It wasn’t until 2019-2020 that I went all in. Evernote became my daily driver and (even though I don’t believe the term existed yet) my second brain. Everything went into Evernote and I became intentional about linking and connecting my notes.
I rode through the turbulence of Evernote’s move from the legacy app to version 10 and all of the bugs and sluggishness this brought to its users. I sat quietly by as the Evernote developers at that time took to YouTube to show us the behind the scenes whiteboards and meetings about all of the incredible features coming to the service. Even when the sale to Bending Spoons was announced, I took a wait and see perspective.
When Bending Spoons increased pricing, I renewed my subscription at $129 per year because I saw added value and new development with the app. Unfortunately, I think my journey with Evernote came to an end in November 2025.
There had been rumors of new pricing plans and a community consensus that Bending Spoons would once again raise the price. When the new plans were announced, the Advanced tier had increased to $250 a year—a 93% increase over what I was currently paying. But the real issue isn’t the $250 price tag itself. It’s that Bending Spoons eliminated the middle tier entirely.
The new “Starter” plan caps users at 1,000 notes—I have 33,000. There is no grandfathering, no migration path, no “lite” version of my current Personal plan. It’s pay $250 or lose practical access to nearly two decades of accumulated knowledge. When I started with Evernote it was free and by the early 2020s I paid roughly $80 per year, I was buying a tool. At $129 per year, I was investing in a system. At $250 per year, I’m being held hostage.
The new pricing page says it all: “Starter” at $99/year with a 1,000-note ceiling, or “Advanced” at $250/year for “power users who want to accomplish more.” For anyone who actually used Evernote as a second brain, this isn’t a choice—it’s a mandate with a smile.
Honestly, seeing the new pricing structure made my decision easy. It’s really not even a point of hesitation. It’s more than the financial cost—it’s a loss of trust in Bending Spoons as a company.
I renewed my subscription after their first price increase because I believed we were partners in maintaining something valuable. But this pricing structure reveals a different relationship. They’re not asking loyal users to pay more for better service; they’re calculating exactly how much friction they can introduce before we will abandon our own data. That’s a cold-handed business calculation. (“It’s not personal, it’s business.”)
I have a theory that is only that—a theory. The seed for this took root when I saw the news that Bending Spoons had purchased AOL. Earlier this year, they purchased Vimeo. I find these two purchases interesting.
They are both legacy services (like Evernote) with strong brand recognition. They are also past their prime.
Take Vimeo, for example: it is a niche video platform that is primarily used by those who need to put their video content behind a paywall or on a much more secure platform than YouTube. Moreover, the last time I was an annual subscriber to Vimeo, it was a great bargain. I could upload up to 5GB worth of video every week for approximately $80 a year. At one point, I think it was $25 a year. No ads. Good quality. Secure.
Yet, Vimeo is well past its prime. YouTube is the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room and Vimeo serves a niche audience. Its value has diminished considerably since it was introduced. Bending Spoons can purchase the service, put some development time and marketing dollars into it, and then increase the subscription fees considerably. For the enterprise/business user who relies on Vimeo, the increased cost is part of doing business. (“It’s not personal, it’s business.”)
The new Evernote pricing structure reveals the strategy. By capping the affordable tier at 1,000 notes, Bending Spoons ensures that anyone who actually used Evernote as intended—as a comprehensive knowledge management system—has no choice but to pay the premium price. This isn’t market segmentation; it’s a funnel with only one exit. Individual power users either convert to enterprise pricing or leave. There is no third option.
The pattern seems clear: acquire recognized brands past their growth peak, rationalize development costs, and extract maximum value from users with high switching costs. Enterprise clients locked into workflows can absorb price increases that would drive away individual users experimenting with productivity systems. It’s not about growing the user base, it’s about increasing revenue per user from those who remain.
That’s what I think happened to Evernote. I am no longer their targeted user. They know the increased cost will drive people like me away, but that’s not their concern. They are shifting away from the individual user to enterprise, and if I want to pay the price, great, but if not, there are a lot of options to choose from.
I don’t fault Bending Spoons for this strategy. They’re operating a business, not running a charity for productivity enthusiasts. But it does clarify that individual users like me—however loyal—aren’t their future. And that’s okay. It just means our paths have diverged.
So, in November 2025, I exported my notebooks out of Evernote to .enex files and started looking for a good replacement. What will my new workflow look like? I don’t know at this point. What I do know is this: any service I choose next will be evaluated not just on features, but on its incentive structure. Open-source options. Local-first storage. Export-friendly formats. I won’t build my second brain in someone else’s walled garden again.
I will take the remainder of 2025 to look at the options and make a decision by the start of 2026.
For nearly 18 years, Evernote served me well—right up until it became more profitable to serve me an ultimatum. I don’t regret the journey, but I won’t pretend this ending was inevitable. It was a choice Bending Spoons made about who they want as customers. And I’m choosing to be someone else’s customer instead.
ChrisEller.org | Connect the dots. 