Free accounts come with storage of up to 50MB of note data and collaborate with 3 people each space.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
Turtl
turtlapp.com 3.5 (6)
Rate Turtl: No account needed
Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
Development has clearly slowed, and the 50MB free cap plus a small footprint make Turtl feel like a project past its peak rather than one to bet your daily notes on. Its niche was bookmarks and notes with end-to-end encryption and simple sharing, which still works if your needs are modest. Honestly, with Standard Notes and Notesnook both more active, the main reason to pick Turtl today is if its specific layout already suits you. Otherwise start with one of the busier options.
GitHub at a glance
turtl/desktop GPL-3.0
Stars
736
+1 this week
Forks
51
36 watching
Last commit
6mo ago
healthy
Latest release
v0.7.3
1.6y ago, 35 total
Star history
Commits, last 26 weeks
0 commits, active 0 of 26 weeks
5 contributors since Mar 2014
Languages
- JavaScript 92%
- Shell 5.2%
- Makefile 1.9%
- Other 0.9%
Updated daily from the GitHub API. Star tracking since Jun 15, 2026.
Website at a glance
turtlapp.com
D score 30
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 13d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
Turtl alternatives
PrivacyNotes Encrypted notes, tasks, calendar, files, passwords and a journal with mood and medication tracking, all unlocked by one 12-word recovery phrase. Sign up with no email and no password. Open source.
Standard Notes Free accounts come with a good set of features already, even in the long run if you are fine with plain text notes.
Notesnook Developers decided recently to open-source their application. Comes with a generous free version, rich text editor and import functionality from: Files (txt, html, and .md…
Joplin Synchronize notes across devices, publish and collaboration are for paid subscriptions only.
Anytype A local-first, end-to-end encrypted knowledge base and note-taking app with peer-to-peer sync, built as a privacy-respecting alternative to Notion.
Cryptee Free accounts come with 100MB storage. Your documents are encrypted before they leave your device, so Cryptee can't see your documents. Use the code "privacytools" at the…
Turtl license, in plain English
GPL-3.0 Strong copyleft
Free to use and modify, but anything you distribute that is built on it must also be open under the same license.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Patent use
- Private use
Requires
- Disclose source
- Same license
- State changes
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Strong copyleft keeps every distributed version open. A vendor cannot fold this into a closed product and ship it without releasing their changes.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.