Comparison

Butterfly is a note-taking app that aims for a unified experience across all platforms. It combines a simple UI with powerful customization. This page compares Butterfly to other popular note-taking and drawing applications to highlight what makes Butterfly unique.

Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Butterfly	OneNote	Obsidian	Excalidraw	Xournal++
Open Source	✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0)	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes (MIT)	✅ Yes (GPL-2.0)
Cost	Free	Free	Free (personal)	Free + Paid tiers	Free
Android	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌
Windows	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅ (Windows 10)
Linux	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
macOS	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅
Web	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌
Infinite Canvas	✅ Full	✅ Positive coords only	✅	✅	❌ Fixed pages
Handwriting	✅	✅	Limited	✅ Drawing	✅
Custom Colors	✅ Full palette	✅	✅ Themes	✅	✅
PDF Import	✅	✅	Limited	❌	✅
PDF Export	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
SVG Support	✅	❌	❌	✅	❌
Offline Use	✅	✅	✅	✅ Basic	✅
Cloud Sync	WebDAV	OneDrive/SharePoint	Paid sync	Paid collab	Manual

Detailed Comparisons

Butterfly vs Microsoft OneNote

Similarities:

• Infinite canvas for freeform note-taking
• Strong handwriting and drawing support
• Support for images and multimedia content
• Cross-platform availability

Butterfly Advantages:

• Open source - You can inspect, modify, and contribute to the code
• True infinite canvas - No coordinate limitations
• Better privacy - Store data locally or choose your own WebDAV provider
• Lighter weight - Faster startup and lower resource usage
• SVG support - Vector graphics import and export
• No vendor lock-in - Your data stays under your control

OneNote Advantages:

• Deep Microsoft ecosystem integration - Works seamlessly with Office 365
• Advanced OCR - Text recognition from handwritten notes and images
• Enterprise features - Advanced sharing and permission management

Best for:

• Butterfly: Privacy-conscious users, Linux users, those wanting lightweight open-source solutions
• OneNote: Microsoft ecosystem users, teams needing collaboration, macOS users

Butterfly vs Obsidian

Similarities:

• Cross-platform support
• Customizable interface and themes
• Local data storage with sync options

Butterfly Advantages:

• Canvas-based interface - Freeform drawing and note placement
• Built-in drawing tools - No plugins required for handwriting
• Simpler learning curve - Ready to use out of the box
• Better for visual thinkers - Infinite canvas for mind mapping
• Web version available - No installation required

Obsidian Advantages:

• Powerful linking system - Bidirectional links between notes
• Markdown-based - Future-proof plain text format
• Advanced search - Complex queries and filtering
• Graph view - Visualize connections between notes
• Better for text-heavy notes - Structured note organization
• Plugin/extension Plugin/extension support for enhanced functionality

Best for:

• Butterfly: Visual note-takers, sketching, casual note-taking, students
• Obsidian: Knowledge workers, researchers, those building personal knowledge bases

Butterfly vs Excalidraw

Similarities:

• Excellent drawing and diagramming capabilities
• Clean, intuitive interface
• Web-based accessibility
• Open-source foundation
• Hand-drawn aesthetic for diagrams

Butterfly Advantages:

• Mobile apps - iOS and Android support
• Desktop applications - Windows and Linux apps available
• Text editing - Rich text support beyond just drawings
• File management - Organize notes with pages and structure
• PDF import - Annotate existing documents
• Offline-first - Works without internet connection

Excalidraw Advantages:

• Collaboration focus - Real-time collaborative drawing
• Library system - Reusable components and templates
• Excalidraw Plus features - Professional collaboration tools
• Integration friendly - Embeds well in other applications
• Specialized for diagrams - Purpose-built for technical drawings

Best for:

• Butterfly: General note-taking with drawing, mobile users, offline work
• Excalidraw: Team diagramming, technical documentation, collaborative sketching

Butterfly vs Xournal++

Similarities:

• Excellent handwriting support
• PDF annotation capabilities
• Open-source and free
• Cross-platform (Windows, Linux)
• Stylus/pen input optimization

Butterfly Advantages:

• Mobile support - iOS and Android support
• Web version - Browser-based access
• Modern interface - Contemporary design and UX
• Infinite canvas - Not limited to page boundaries
• Cloud sync - WebDAV integration built-in
• Multiple export formats - SVG, PNG, PDF support

Xournal++ Advantages:

• Built with GTK - Natively integrated in the GNOME interface
• Audio recording - Link audio notes to written content

Best for:

• Butterfly: Mobile note-taking, modern UI preferences, cloud sync needs
• Xournal++: Academic users, PDF-heavy workflows

Migration and Compatibility

From OneNote:

• Export OneNote pages as PDF and import into Butterfly
• Recreate drawings and handwritten notes natively in Butterfly
• Consider using WebDAV sync to replace OneDrive synchronization

From Obsidian:

• Copy text content and recreate in Butterfly’s text tools
• Convert Markdown files to PDF for import if needed
• Use Butterfly’s infinite canvas for mind maps instead of graph view

From Excalidraw:

• Export drawings as SVG and import into Butterfly
• Recreate collaborative workflows using Butterfly’s sync features
• Transition from pure diagramming to mixed note-taking

From Xournal++:

• Export annotated PDFs and import into Butterfly
• Transfer handwritten notes by recreating or importing as images
• Adapt from page-based to infinite canvas workflow