Officially, Evernote will limit free users to 50 notes.

Evernote has recently introduced significant changes to its free plan, which will now restrict users to only one notebook and a maximum of 50 notes. This new policy, set to take effect from December 4, applies to both new and current users of the free service. The company, now under the ownership of Milan-based Bending Spoons, explained in a blog post that users can manage their content within these limits by deleting older items.

"Starting December 4, Evernote's Free tier will undergo a transformation. Both new sign-ups and existing Free account holders will be subject to a limit of fifty notes and a single notebook. This limit pertains to the total count of notes and notebooks within an account at any given time. Users can manage their content by removing what they no longer need to stay within these boundaries," stated Evernote.

For those who have more than 50 notes on their free accounts, Evernote has provided an option to export the excess content. The company confirmed that these changes will be updated on their 'compare plans' page starting December 4. However, they did not clarify whether there will be adjustments to the limits or pricing of their other subscription plans.

This announcement follows a recent testing phase where Evernote experimented with this limited-free model on less than 1% of its free user base. This test aimed to encourage users to upgrade to higher-tier plans, which are priced at $14.99 and $17.99 per month.

Evernote acknowledges that while most of its free users do not exceed the new limits, the change may lead some to reevaluate their use of the platform.

After its acquisition by Bending Spoons in November 2022, Evernote underwent a significant downsizing in February 2023, laying off 129 staff members. A spokesperson for the company commented at the time that Evernote had been struggling with profitability for years and needed a sustainable long-term plan.

Under CEO Ian Smalls, appointed in 2018, Evernote achieved $100 million in recurring revenue but has since lagged behind competitors like Notion in terms of user base and features.

For users seeking alternatives to Evernote's restricted free plan, options include Notion, Microsoft OneNote, and Zoho Notebook, all of which offer more generous free tiers.