Yes — the app and every feature are free, with no license to buy. The AI runs on your own key (OpenAI, OpenRouter, or Ollama), so you pay your provider at cost or nothing at all with Ollama running locally.

How is it different from Obsidian or Notion?

Znote is a focused Markdown editor with four things built in: AI that answers from your own notes, code blocks you can run, MCP servers that connect your real tools, and git to version the vault. Output appears inline, in the note you are writing. No plugins, no cloud subscription, and since everything is plain .md, your Obsidian vault opens as-is.

Do I need an API key to use AI?

Yes. The AI features need a key you provide — OpenAI, OpenRouter, or Ollama for a fully local setup. Znote walks you through it on first launch, and your models and privacy stay yours.

Where are my files stored?

On your own machine, as plain .md files in folders you choose. There is no cloud, no account, and no telemetry by default.

What is MCP and what can I connect?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that lets AI use real tools. You declare servers such as GitHub, Postgres, Slack, or Linear in your vault, and AI blocks can query, search, and create through them. The config format matches Claude Desktop and the servers run locally.

Can I use it with my existing Obsidian vault?

Yes. Because Znote works on standard .md files, an existing Obsidian vault opens unchanged, themes and all.

What is Znote's monthly traffic and growth trend?

Znote currently receives 3.76K monthly visits, with a month-over-month traffic change of +123 (+3.4% growth rate). Its primary source market is United States (94.1% share), including 1.47K direct visits/mo and — organic search visits/mo.

Is Znote free? What is its pricing model?

Znote operates on a Freemium, Paid pricing model. Free. The Znote app and every feature are free with no license or subscription. AI functionality uses your own API key — OpenAI, OpenRouter, or a fully local Ollama setup — so you pay your model provider at cost, or nothing at all with Ollama. Supported billing and checkout platforms include: not listed.

Znote — AI Tool Traffic (3.76K/mo), Pricing, API & Alternatives

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About Znote

Ask your own notes

Type @ to choose which of your notes the AI reads and / to pick a prompt; the answer lands inline in the note you are writing, with no chat window or copy-paste.

Runnable code blocks

Write a JavaScript block, press play, and query a database, call an API, or parse a file — the chart or table renders inline and the saved note becomes a reusable tool.

MCP tool connections

Connect real tools through MCP servers such as GitHub, Postgres, Slack, and Linear, so AI blocks can query, search, and create on your behalf using the same config format as Claude Desktop.

Git versioning with secret protection

Your vault is plain, git-compatible files. Pull, commit, and push from the sidebar, while note passwords stay encrypted in a sidecar file so secrets never reach a commit.

Local-first privacy

Run entirely offline with Ollama, or bring an OpenAI or OpenRouter key — you pay your provider at cost and the free app has no subscription.

Znote is a local-first Markdown editor that treats your .md files as the source of truth. It opens the folders you choose, works offline, requires no account, and was built by a single indie developer who ships monthly updates. For anyone already storing notes in plain Markdown, that means an existing Obsidian vault opens as-is, with no migration and no lock-in.

What sets Znote apart is that AI and code live inside the note rather than in a separate panel. Typing @ lets you select which notes the assistant should read and / brings up prompts, and the answer appears inline in what you are writing. Code blocks are executable too: write a JavaScript block, press play, and it can query a database, call an API, or parse a CSV, rendering a chart or table right beside your text. Through MCP, Znote connects your notes to real tools like GitHub, Postgres, Slack, and Linear using the same configuration format as Claude Desktop, and the servers run locally on your machine.

Versioning is handled with git, but with a privacy twist: because notes are plain files you can commit and push them, yet any password written as secret:key=value is stored in an encrypted sidecar (using sops and age) so the note itself is safe to commit. The model choice is yours — bring an OpenAI or OpenRouter key, or run everything fully offline with Ollama. The app and all its features are free, with no subscription and no telemetry by default.

High-Impact Use Cases for Znote

Developer

Prototyping and data exploration

Use runnable JavaScript blocks to query a database, call an API, and render charts inline, making Znote a lightweight Jupyter-style notebook for JavaScript.

Product manager

Turning notes into specs

Ask your notes questions, turn rough ideas into formatted user stories, and keep specs versioned in git alongside the code.

Tech lead

Automating team workflows

Connect MCP servers like GitHub and Slack and write AI blocks that assemble standup briefs and dig through repositories automatically.

Privacy-focused user

Local knowledge management

Keep everything in plain Markdown on your own disk, with no cloud account, no telemetry, and secrets kept encrypted beside the note.

Rank	AI Tool	Monthly Visits	MoM Growth	Direct traffic share	Pricing	Head-to-Head
●	Znote	3.76K	+3.4%	39% direct	Freemium, Paid	Current
1	VS Code	7.4M	-3.8%	29% direct	Freemium	vs VS Code
2	Pi Coding Agent	1.93M	+4%	47% direct	Free	vs Pi Coding Agent
3	Aider	280.03K	+2%	34% direct	Free	vs Aider
4	Qoder	5.15M	+81.8%	49% direct	Freemium, Free Trial, Free	vs Qoder
5	T3 Code	1.07M	+52.5%	50% direct	Free	vs T3 Code
6	Reflect	44.61K	-31.4%	73% direct	Freemium	vs Reflect

Znote

Traffic history

Why Choose Znote

Watchouts & Trade-offs

Multi-Angle Perspectives

Traffic Acquisition Breakdown