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++	Samsung Notes
Open Source	✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0)	❌ No	❌ No	✅ Yes (MIT)	✅ Yes (GPL-2.0)	❌ No
Cost	Free	Free	Free (personal)	Free + Paid tiers	Free	Free
Android	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
Windows	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅ (Windows 10)	🟧 Limited (Samsung devices ONLY)
Linux	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
macOS	✅	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌
Web	✅	✅	❌	✅	❌	❌
Infinite Canvas	✅ Full	✅ Positive coords only	✅	✅	❌ Fixed pages	❌ 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	Manuelt	OneDrive/Samsung Cloud

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 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 an 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

Butterfly vs Samsung Notes

Similarities:

• Excellent handwriting support
• PDF annotation capabilities
• Free
• Stylus/pen input optimization
• Skabeloner

Butterfly Advantages:

• Mobile support – iOS and Android support
• Web version – Browser-based access
• Infinite canvas – Not limited to page boundaries
• Cloud sync – WebDAV integration built-in
• Multiple export formats – SVG, PNG, PDF support
• Cross-platform – Windows, Android, iOS, and Linux

Samsung Notes Advantages:

• Native OneUI – OneUI’s interface design
• Audio recording – Link audio notes to written content
• Optimized for Samsung devices – Works best on Samsung devices running OneUI, Samsung’s operating system

Best for:

• Butterfly: Mobile note-taking, cloud sync needs, infinite canvas, cross-platform usage
• Samsung Notes: PDF-heavy workflows, Samsung devices

Migration and Compatibility

From OneNote:

• Export OneNote pages as PDFs and import them 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 it in Butterfly’s text tools
• Convert Markdown files to PDF for import if needed
• Use Butterfly’s infinite canvas for mind maps instead of the graph view

From Excalidraw:

• Export drawings as SVG and import them 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 them into Butterfly
• Transfer handwritten notes by recreating or importing them as images
• Adapt from a page-based to an infinite canvas workflow

From Samsung Notes:

• Export notes as PDFs and import them into Butterfly
• Handwritten annotations should be redrawn in Butterfly for the best experience
• Adapt from a page-based to an infinite canvas workflow