Productivity · head to head
Microsoft OneNote vs Sigil
Microsoft OneNote
Productivity
Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Sigil
Publishing
Open source EPUB editor for working directly on the file, not generating it
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.; Sigil it produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft OneNote and Sigil actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft OneNote | Sigil |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | Open source, no licence fee |
| Platforms | Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Category | Productivity | Publishing |
| Founded | 1975 | Unknown |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Microsoft OneNote
- Free-form page canvas
- Notebook hierarchy
- Indexed handwriting
- Audio recording
- Web clipper and Outlook capture
- Shared notebooks
- Cross-platform clients
- Tags and cross-notebook search
Only in Sigil
- Direct EPUB editing
- Code and preview views
- EPUB 2 and EPUB 3
- Regex across files
- Validation
- Python plugins
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft OneNote
- Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Sigil
- Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Sigil
- A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Sigil
- Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Sigil
Sigil
- Fixing an EPUB that a retailer validator has rejected, without re-exporting from the tool that generated itnot Microsoft OneNote
- Correcting the table of contents, reading order or metadata in a file supplied by a conversion servicenot Microsoft OneNote
- Preparing a back-catalogue title where the only surviving source is the EPUB itselfnot Microsoft OneNote
- Applying a consistent stylesheet or a bulk text correction across every chapter of a book at oncenot Microsoft OneNote
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Microsoft OneNote
- Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
- Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
- Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
- Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
- There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.
Sigil
- It produces no print output whatever, so any book that needs a paperback interior requires a completely separate tool and a second workflow.
- Meaningful use requires reading and writing HTML and CSS, which puts it out of reach of most authors who simply want a finished file.
- There is no cloud storage, sync or collaboration, so the book exists as a file on one machine and version control is whatever you set up yourself.
- Development depends on a small number of volunteer maintainers, so release timing and platform builds follow their availability rather than a roadmap, and a lapse in maintenance would leave no obvious successor.
- It provides no distribution, no retailer connection and no Kindle-native output, so it sits in the middle of a workflow that other tools have to complete on both sides.
Pricing, plan by plan
Microsoft OneNote
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.
Sigil
Free- SigilFree
- GPL licensed with no cost or account required
- Full functionality with no feature gating
- Community support through forums and the issue tracker
Which should you pick?
Choose Microsoft OneNote if
- You need free-form page canvas.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
- You also want notebook hierarchy.
Choose Sigil if
- You need direct epub editing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- You also want code and preview views.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft OneNote or Sigil better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft OneNote starts at Free and Sigil at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft OneNote or Sigil?
- Microsoft OneNote starts at Free and Sigil at Free.
- Does Microsoft OneNote or Sigil run on more platforms?
- Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows. Sigil runs on Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Can I use Microsoft OneNote for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Microsoft OneNote best used for?
- Microsoft OneNote is most often used for handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote., lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time., a team already inside microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval., collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.. Of those, handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote. and lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time. are not what Sigil is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft OneNote do that Sigil cannot?
- Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording. Sigil covers Direct EPUB editing, Code and preview views, EPUB 2 and EPUB 3, Regex across files.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?
Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.
Sigil: Can I write my book in Sigil?
You can, but you should not. It is an EPUB editor, not a word processor, and writing long-form prose in it is unpleasant. Write elsewhere, import, then finish in Sigil.
Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?
The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.
Sigil: Does it make Kindle files?
Not natively. Produce a valid EPUB in Sigil and let Amazon convert it, or use a separate conversion tool for other Kindle formats.
Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?
Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.
Sigil: Is it safe to rely on a volunteer project for commercial work?
The files it produces are standard EPUB, so nothing is locked in. The risk is that maintenance stops, not that your books become unreadable.
Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?
Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.
Related pages
More on Microsoft OneNote
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- Sigil vs Samsung Food
- Sigil vs Bluedot
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- Sigil vs Akiflow
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- Sigil vs Hubstaff
- Sigil vs Mealime
- Sigil vs Calibre
- Sigil vs GIMP
- Sigil vs Pressbooks
- Sigil vs Moon Reader
- Sigil vs Scribus
- Sigil vs Affinity Publisher
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- Sigil vs Kobo
- Sigil vs Reedsy
- Sigil vs Blurb
- Sigil vs Draft2Digital
- Sigil vs IngramSpark
- Sigil vs PublishDrive
- Sigil vs QuarkXPress
- Sigil vs Wattpad
- Sigil vs Webtoon
- Sigil vs BookBaby