Caliu compared
Nobody picks a notes app in a vacuum. You already have one, and the question is whether moving is worth the afternoon. These are side-by-side comparisons with the apps people most often switch from, written to be useful rather than flattering: every one of them says plainly what the other app does better, and when you should stay put.
Caliu vs Bear
Same calm Markdown writing, but with a full web app, a REST API and an MCP server.
Caliu vs Obsidian
The same local-first Markdown, without the vault to configure, and with sync included free.
Caliu vs Apple Notes
Real Markdown, tags that come out of your writing, and export you can actually use.
Caliu vs Simplenote
The same restraint, with live Markdown formatting, images, themes and an API.
Caliu vs Notion
A notes app rather than a workspace: offline, instant, and no database to design first.
Caliu vs Evernote
A lighter app for notes that are mostly words, at a fraction of the price.
Caliu vs Google Keep
For the notes that outlive the week, with Markdown and an export that gives your writing back.
What Caliu is, in one paragraph
Caliu is a local-first Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the web. Notes live on your device and open instantly, with no account and no network needed. Organization happens while you write: hashtags in the text become nested tags, so there is no filing step. Signing in is free and is what turns on sync across every device. Connecting Claude, ChatGPT and other AI apps is free too. Caliu Pro adds unlimited notes, version history, drawing and the richer export formats.
Bringing your notes with you
Caliu imports Markdown files, ZIP archives of them (an Obsidian vault or a Notion export included), TextBundle and TextPack, Bear backups and Google Keep Takeout archives. Hashtags become tags, nested ones included, and wiki-style links between imported notes are relinked so they keep pointing at each other. Export works the same way in reverse, to Markdown, TXT, HTML, RTF, ePub, PDF and TextPack, so leaving is a supported feature rather than an obstacle course.