Is evernote premium really worth it?

[Quarterbackjb 0]

I am trying to understand if Evernote is for real or not. Somebody who uses this for their business should respond to this.  I cannot figure out how the program can be useful if you cannot do simple things like 1) share stacks; 2)  move personal notebooks to business notebooks; etc.

 

These seem to be simple functions.  As a new user, I am extremely nervous to suggest that my company use this product when it cannot do simple functions. 

 

Another thing.  I created about 60 notebooks in a stack and in order to share with my staff I have to go to each notebook and share with the individuals in the company.  Then, if I hire a new person, I understand I will then have to go and add that person as a user for each and every notebook?  Are you serious? 

 

Somebody please tell me I am wrong about all of this before I decide to go with Microsoft Onenote.  I am not a Microsoft fan but I am thinking that it has to be easier to use.

[DutchPete 247]

You don't mention how long you have been using Evernote.In any case, Evernote is not just some light-weight app that you can get the hang of in an hour. You need to really get stuck in to get a good feel for it. The fact that you say "I cannot figure out ...." confirms that.

after a proper assessment period you will be able to decide for yourself if premium is worth it. And if you are talking about your company using it, you/it would have to consider the Business version, which has additional features.

Your question as to whether premium is worth it or not has been asked & answered numerous times in this forum & on these 2 https://plus.google.com/communities/105472729219340551607 & https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/103611462316014210610.

If you still decide to switch to OneNote, just remember that although they are both classified as note-taking apps & competitors, there are important & major differences between the 2. Each ap has its strengths & weaknesses. As far as I am aware, there is no swiss army knife of note-taking apps, it's horses for courses.

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

IMO, at $5/mo or $45/yr, Evernote Premium is easily worth the cost:

• Much greater monthly upload allowance
• Much greater Note size limit
• Better support
• and a number of other features

See Subscription comparison chart & limits article

 

Note that Evernote Business is yet another subscription option above Premium.

[C6REW 416]

Like all software you need to decide if it fits your needs.

 

Every piece of software has it's limitations, it is up to you to see if you can 'work within those limitations'.

 

Regards

 

 

Chris

Business user and ex OneNote user.

[Wordsgood 526]

Also, I noticed you mentioned creating a stack of 60 Notebooks to share with your staff. Are you only putting one or two Notes in a Notebook? If so, and assuming the notes your sharing do not need to be private & specific to particular employees, why not just Share one Notebook with all the Notes included in it to all of the staff?

Just a thought.

[lykoz 147]

Also, I noticed you mentioned creating a stack of 60 Notebooks to share with your staff. Are you only putting one or two Notes in a Notebook? If so, and assuming the notes your sharing do not need to be private & specific to particular employees, why not just Share one Notebook with all the Notes included in it to all of the staff?

Just a thought.

 

I second his frustration here....

 

You might want all information on a particular subject in one notebook... i.e. on ethics/employment guidelines

Then you might want a notebook specifically for maybe: Reciepts...

 

Adding a new individual to a stack will come handy... I don't know why they have not done this.

 

It stops frustration.. Especially working in large groups that dont completely understand the tag mechanism... Or work with different tags to ones own system... Suddenly the employees need to learn your tagging system... for that specific notebook... When they could rather just know that all information for that particular bussiness practise goes into that specific notebook... And can be sorted out by date etc..

[TechPerplexed 222]

IMO you are approaching the question the wrong way, OP. Rather than asking "is Evernote for real?" and then going into a list of complaints about the things you THINK it cannot do, why don't you present a list here of features that your company DOES need?

 

If you explain your workflow and intended use of a note taking app for your company, then there are several knowledgeable and helpful superusers here who can explain in detail if Evernote meets your needs.

 

Speaking for myself, I use EN strictly for my personal use only. I have been a premium member since 2012 and to me it's worth every penny. I have tried OneNote on several occasions, heck even a few weeks ago I imported all my notes into ON once again with a free program called Evernote2Onenote. But ON is buggy as can be (it has STILL not synced all my notebooks to my Note 4), it is confusing, bloated and ugly. It's got this ribbon with a million settings and buttons and features, all I want is store notes, tutorials, craft patterns, diary, receipts, PDFs and clip web pages. Evernote is perfect for that, ON to me is a disaster. Again this is my personal opinion, others may very well think the exact opposite.

 

You can see from my post count that I hardly ever need to ask anything at all, 4 posts in so many years because "it just works".

 

Why don't you try EN for a few weeks, it's free and you get to play with most, if not all of its features. Then you can decide if it would work for your company, or if OneNote suits your purpose better. I know a lot of companies happily use Google Apps to share notes, files and chat, you may want to look into that as well.

[lykoz 147]

IMO you are approaching the question the wrong way, OP. Rather than asking "is Evernote for real?" and then going into a list of complaints about the things you THINK it cannot do, why don't you present a list here of features that your company DOES need?

 

If you explain your workflow and intended use of a note taking app for your company, then there are several knowledgeable and helpful superusers here who can explain in detail if Evernote meets your needs.

 

Speaking for myself, I use EN strictly for my personal use only. I have been a premium member since 2012 and to me it's worth every penny. I have tried OneNote on several occasions, heck even a few weeks ago I imported all my notes into ON once again with a free program called Evernote2Onenote. But ON is buggy as can be (it has STILL not synced all my notebooks to my Note 4), it is confusing, bloated and ugly. It's got this ribbon with a million settings and buttons and features, all I want is store notes, tutorials, craft patterns, diary, receipts, PDFs and clip web pages. Evernote is perfect for that, ON to me is a disaster. Again this is my personal opinion, others may very well think the exact opposite.

 

You can see from my post count that I hardly ever need to ask anything at all, 4 posts in so many years because "it just works".

 

Why don't you try EN for a few weeks, it's free and you get to play with most, if not all of its features. Then you can decide if it would work for your company, or if OneNote suits your purpose better. I know a lot of companies happily use Google Apps to share notes, files and chat, you may want to look into that as well.

 

Sorry to go off topic. This has nothing to do with initial post, or the OP at all.

 

 

Just a note to many of the the people annoyed at Evernote's actions very often, who are fuming over Evernote not listening to their forum users......

I think they do listen.. Just not to en-mass forum suggestions... But rather to forum suggestions they believe will benefit all users... They see if a suggestion will make their WHOLE demographic happier. Not just a certain thread of 30 or 50 people strong worth of a certain complaint.

 

Sophia is the type of user  I am often talking about, when I say happy people don't complain on forums... So the forums are not always indicative of everyone...

 

Happy people are often hidden to us...

 

So I just thought I would point this one out... Who only has 4 posts... And says: "it just works, thats why I dont comment"

[Frank.dg 1,385]

As the structure of Evernote now stands, my suggestion would be to beef up your knowledge on how notebooks and tags work together... because any notebook you share should carry over the tags used therein... then, if one is familiar with wangling what you want out of a tag-based structure (within a notebook), one can easily mimic a note within a notebook within a stack within a stacked stack within a stacked stacked stack within a stacked stacked stacked stack, etc.

 

Why stop at a simple stack? Say that 10 times, I dare you.

[Quarterbackjb 0]

Thank you for your posts.  Frankly, when I posted I was venting a little because of my frustration but I am serious about this post.  There are a few things I want to address in reponse to the reply messages:

 

Fist, the title of my post is wrong.  I am using EN Business not Premium.  I have been using EN for about a year and on a more intensified basis the past 6 months.  I have only recently started to use EN Business and I have been trying to convert what I have been doing personally with EN so that my company can also use it like I do and we can share information.

 

I noticed that nobody has posted that the concerns that I have with EN are not legitimate.  What I am worried about is if I cannot do simple tasks like sharing a stack, what other problems am I going to have trying to make EN Business work with the company.  I personally will continue to use it because it works well for me on a personal level but from a business standpoint I am wondering if it is actually useful or not.

 

If I am not using EN Business correctly for my business and there are other better ways to use it, I would be interested in hearing it.  My company has 8 employees.  I setup a notebook for some of the clients my company provides service for.  In each of the client notebooks, I have been seting up individual notes for purposes of  tracking telephone calls, emails, meetings, voicemails and other similar notes.  I simply want my other employees to have the same setup as I do.  First, I tried to move my "personal" stack to the new "business" section as a new stack.  Nope, you cannot share stacks.  Second, I tried to move my notebooks from "personal" notebooks to "business" notebooks.  Nope, you cannot do that either. You have to create all new notebooks and then move all of the notes under an individual "personal" notebook to a "business" notebook.  So, recreating each notebook seemed a waste of time when it seemed like it should just copy and paste.

 

I am also concerned about EN Business because of this post:  https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/79513-ask-yourself-one-question-before-signing-up-to-evernote-business/

Apparently, the person who posted this indicated that his business lost all of their notes because he let the credit card on file expire.  The recommendation was "well, you should have backed your data up." 

 

I know that it may sound like I am beating up on EN Business but I am not.  I really want it to work for my business, especially where I have been using it personally for quite some time and like it for my business use on a personal level.  I have watched EN youtube training videos, read EN ebooks, and I am still not sure what else I can do. 

[lykoz 147]

Thank you for your posts.  Frankly, when I posted I was venting a little because of my frustration but I am serious about this post.  There are a few things I want to address in reponse to the reply messages:

 

Fist, the title of my post is wrong.  I am using EN Business not Premium.  I have been using EN for about a year and on a more intensified basis the past 6 months.  I have only recently started to use EN Business and I have been trying to convert what I have been doing personally with EN so that my company can also use it like I do and we can share information.

 

I noticed that nobody has posted that the concerns that I have with EN are not legitimate.  What I am worried about is if I cannot do simple tasks like sharing a stack, what other problems am I going to have trying to make EN Business work with the company.  I personally will continue to use it because it works well for me on a personal level but from a business standpoint I am wondering if it is actually useful or not.

 

If I am not using EN Business correctly for my business and there are other better ways to use it, I would be interested in hearing it.  My company has 8 employees.  I setup a notebook for some of the clients my company provides service for.  In each of the client notebooks, I have been seting up individual notes for purposes of  tracking telephone calls, emails, meetings, voicemails and other similar notes.  I simply want my other employees to have the same setup as I do.  First, I tried to move my "personal" stack to the new "business" section as a new stack.  Nope, you cannot share stacks.  Second, I tried to move my notebooks from "personal" notebooks to "business" notebooks.  Nope, you cannot do that either. You have to create all new notebooks and then move all of the notes under an individual "personal" notebook to a "business" notebook.  So, recreating each notebook seemed a waste of time when it seemed like it should just copy and paste.

 

I am also concerned about EN Business because of this post:  https://discussion.evernote.com/topic/79513-ask-yourself-one-question-before-signing-up-to-evernote-business/

Apparently, the person who posted this indicated that his business lost all of their notes because he let the credit card on file expire.  The recommendation was "well, you should have backed your data up." 

 

I know that it may sound like I am beating up on EN Business but I am not.  I really want it to work for my business, especially where I have been using it personally for quite some time and like it for my business use on a personal level.  I have watched EN youtube training videos, read EN ebooks, and I am still not sure what else I can do. 

 

I personally believe what you are bringing up is VERY important... And will positively benefit every Evernote user.

 

I feel I need to explain some of my posts as I made a mistake. And another post was not directed at you, but users in general. But I did make a post agreeing with you completely too

 

I had a previous post in this thread that was about weather its worth it to go premium from free. I deleted my comment because I got confused by the title of the discussion. It was out of context as I did not read your thread topic fully and correctly.... And even reading it again... There is still some confusion But I understand what you mean now.

 

That said... Yes I agree... Stacks should have the ability to be shared as is...

I dont see how allowing that will effect any user of Evernote Negatively... i would really like to hear if anyone is against this....

 

I just dont see the problem with it...

It would certainly be of benefit to me.... And I dont think it would create an experience that is less valuable to any user....

 

Also moving a private notebook to a public stack should be allowed too... I agree with that also..

All valid.

 

I also dont understand why I cant make a public notebook private again....

 

I understand the other users keeping the information.. But maybe I no longer work with those people.. and dont want to share a personal notebook we are all entitled too. i.e. I dont want my information that I have stored there changing anymore.... (Unless its a bussiness, where some user has more rights to the information than others... i.e. a the CEO who is paying/leading for the Evernote bussiness use)

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

IMO, if you have to ask others, then no, it's not worth it for you.  I rarely decide if an app is "worth it" to me by asking others b/c my usage & priorities are probably different from theirs.  Worst case scenario, go premium for a month ($5) and decide for yourself. 

[Wordsgood 526]

Hi Quarterbackjb,

First, my apologies if it seemed we didn't your concerns serious. As you know this is a user forum where we - all fellow users - all try to help each as best we can, when we have the time. Evernote (EN) does monitor the boards but rarely chimes in.

And yes, your concerns certainly are legitimate.

Thank you for clarifying that you have a Business account. Hopefully other Business users will see this thread and chime in with more advice.

In the meantime, I'm only use EN for personal use, and am answering based on my own personal knowledge and experience. Nevertheless, I hope you will find at least some of the following useful.

I would recommend using another app in concert with EN to effectively handle all the points you laid out here:

...My company has 8 employees. I setup a notebook for some of the clients my company provides service for. In each of the client notebooks, I have been seting up individual notes for purposes of tracking telephone calls, emails, meetings, voicemails and other similar notes. I simply want my other employees to have the same setup as I do...

My personal recommendation would be Azendoo, which intergrate well with EN. They've been around for a few years now and are growing like crazy. They are an online task management system that does ever so much more than you would think at first glance. I signed up to use them myself about a year ago as a way too coordinate schedules and documents with my husband. The only reasons I didn't stay with them are that one, it's far more than we needed, and two, hubby is still in dark ages when it comes to using software. (Email, web surfing and texting are as far as he's willing to go.

[Wordsgood 526]

Finally, stupid phone. Messing up my pretty post...not linking properly...grumble, snort..

[C6REW 416]

Hi Quarterback,

 

Yes there are things that are not in the Business version that a lot of us Business users want, which includes creating and sharing stacks. It is very good to ask for them and the more people who do, maybe one day we will get them!

 

In the meantime................

 

As I mentioned above see if you can work within the 'limitations' of Evernote Business as it works now. 

 

I agree with Burgers, you are the one who needs to determine if the software works in your use case.

 

For me it works very well. I want more, but don't we all! In the meantime it is best solution to my small company needs.

 

Best regards

 

 

Chris

[JMichaelTX 4,117]

@Quarterbackjb:  Evernote started out as a Personal Information Manager (PIM), even though they (Evernote) never identified themselves as such.

Now, they are trying to present the tool as a business collaboration tool, although, IMO, Evernote falls far short a being a good collaboration tool.

 

As several others have stated, you will be best served if you clearly identify the features of any software you need to support your objectives for your company, and then seek the best tool to do meet these needs.

 

Evernote is great at creating/collecting Notes and making them easy to find via the EN Search.  But if you want/need project/task management and/or team collaboration, there are a number of tools available that to a much better job.  Most of the better tools are NOT free, but are also not that expensive.  Many people are attracted to Evernote because it is free, and then expect it to do much more that it was designed to do.

 

Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish.  The really good tools are NOT free, but are well worth their price.

Whatever tool you choose, it is usually best to do a small, pilot project/test using the tool before deploying it fully across your entire company.

 

 

Thank you for your posts.  Frankly, when I posted I was venting a little because of my frustration but I am serious about this post.  There are a few things I want to address in reponse to the reply messages:

 

Fist, the title of my post is wrong.  I am using EN Business not Premium.  I have been using EN for about a year and on a more intensified basis the past 6 months.  I have only recently started to use EN Business and I have been trying to convert what I have been doing personally with EN so that my company can also use it like I do and we can share information.

 

. . .

 

I know that it may sound like I am beating up on EN Business but I am not.  I really want it to work for my business, especially where I have been using it personally for quite some time and like it for my business use on a personal level.  I have watched EN youtube training videos, read EN ebooks, and I am still not sure what else I can do. 

 

[esodmumixam 0]

To the original OP: I read your post with interest since I am faced with a similar question. What did you end up doing ?

Regarding your specific needs about sharing client notes with coworkers, have you considered using Act?

It's not a perfect note taking solution, however it is great at managing contacts and call/email notes. The latest version has really improved outlook integration.

Finally, OneNote works very well and is easy to share. The only negatives in my opinion are:

1- cumbersome interface which does not work well on a phone.

2- not as many platforms are supported (for example BlackBerry).

[ScottLougheed 1,316]

We can definitely try and help you overcome any hurdles you might be encountering, or we can clarify if its "just you" or if a feature really isn't there! But echoing the posts of others, certainly it is you and only you who can decide the suitability of Evernote in your organization. 

 

Again, without knowing very clearly what your needs are, it can be hard to make explicit recommendations. That being said, I think Evernote for business can work for some organizations as numerous business users in this community can attest. Not that it works flawlessly, but indeed, it has been successful. 
 

There are a lot of other options out there and their suitability depends a bit on your needs and how your business is organized. If you anticipate doing a lot of on-boarding of employees, you might consider a solution like Igloo, which is an intra/extranet that allows for sharing of documents, makes on-boarding and auditing employees easy, and has a whole slew of other features. However, while Igloo is certainly more advanced, it does require a great deal more effort to implement than EN for Business will, so if you don't have a full-time IT guy or an employee who is savvy and willing to install and maintain an intranet, EN Business might be more up your alley.

 

EN business works (well) for some people and not for others. Thankfully there are a slew of other services out there for you to explore.