Notion-quality WYSIWYG editing on plain Markdown files stored on your computer. Lightweight, local-first, no lock-in.
Discussed the Q2 roadmap with the team. Shared a link to the design spec and reviewed the timeline.
Focus on performance and editor polish before adding new features.
Most note-taking tools felt either too bloated or too expensive. Some even lock your notes into proprietary formats — that never sat right with me.
All I wanted was a simple, lightweight app to take notes and organize them. Do one thing and do it well.
Binderus is a Notion-quality WYSIWYG editor on plain Markdown files you own. No lock-in, no proprietary format. The app is only ~9 MB and uses minimal memory.
— Dan, creator of Binderus
Your experience matters more than anything else. A product should be useful and serve its users well.
You own your data — Binderus does not claim any ownership over it. Full stop. Your notes stay with you.
I carefully pick what goes in. A less cluttered UI is always better — especially when the world already demands so much of our attention.
The perfect blend of powerful features — without the complexity.
See your formatting as you type — no split pane needed. Slash commands, tables, code blocks, LaTeX math, and Mermaid diagrams built in.
Notes stored as plain .md files on your disk — or in an encrypted local database with passphrase protection. No cloud required. No telemetry.
~9 MB download, starts in under a second. Built with Tauri and Rust — not another Electron app eating your RAM. Uses minimal memory.
Your notes live in ~/Documents/Binderus as standard Markdown files. No proprietary format, no database you can't read.
Open them in VS Code, Obsidian, or any text editor. Move them anywhere. They're yours.
Want to sync across devices? Point your data folder to Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive. Done.
An honest look at what each tool does best.
| Binderus | Notion | Obsidian | Typora | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WYSIWYG Editing | Yes | Yes | Plugin needed | Yes |
| Local-First Files | Yes | Cloud only | Yes | Yes |
| Encrypted Storage | Yes | No | No | No |
| App Size | ~9 MB | ~200 MB | ~300 MB | ~90 MB |
| Multi-Vault | Yes | Workspaces (paid) | Yes | No |
| Slash Commands | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Free Tier | Full app free | Limited | Free (core) | $14.99 |
| Cross-Platform | Mac/Win/Linux | All + Web | All | Mac/Win/Linux |
By default, in ~/Documents/Binderus as plain Markdown files. You can change this in Settings to any directory — perfect for Dropbox, OneDrive, or Google Drive sync.
Yes. The full app with every feature is free. Cloud sync is coming later as an optional paid feature to support continued development.
Point your Binderus data folder to a cloud sync directory (Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive). Your files sync automatically. Native cloud sync is coming soon.
You own your data — Binderus does not claim any ownership. Notes stay on your computer. If you opt into cloud sync later, files are stored securely without affecting your ownership.
An optional mode that stores notes in a local encrypted database instead of plain files. Your notes are unreadable without your passphrase.
Absolutely. Your notes are standard Markdown files — open them in VS Code, Obsidian, Bear, or any text editor. You can also export to PDF, DOCX, or HTML.
The full app with every feature. Free forever. Cloud sync coming soon.