Pocket vs Evernote: Choose What Suits You Best

Product Comparisons Aug 12, 2020

Pocket and Evernote offer a different set of solutions for reading and note-taking. So it’s not exactly an apples to apples comparison. But neither is it an apples to oranges comparison.

Let me clarify.

Evernote gives you the complexity of combining different things like texts, images, and links from various sources.

Whereas on Pocket, you concentrate on one article at a time and highlight important points.

So you can consume the same knowledge, albeit in different ways.

In my opinion, both apps have a unique core function to help you achieve the end goals—learning & growing.

Pocket’s core function is read-it-later, but it also helps enhance the reading experience:

You get a clean interface with options for changing the background color, fonts, font size, and brightness (on the mobile app).
It can save the whole page to read offline.
You can listen to the articles and also load all the articles as a playlist for listening.
It offers recommended reads based on your bookmarking history.

Evernote gives you the power to take notes and organize them in folders:

It has a ton of text formatting options.
You can add tables, code blocks, checkboxes, and so on.
You can also share notes for collaboration.
And set reminders to review your notes.

Now coming back to the way of consuming knowledge, here’s where I think they are positioned on the learning spectrum.

While the Pocket app sits somewhere between casual reading and daily learning, Evernote sits somewhere between daily learning and heavy researching.

You can use this spectrum as a yardstick to figure out which app to use.

But if you are someone like me who does a lot of casual reading, learn about a few things regularly, and sometimes conduct PhD-level research on a topic, you can try combining both apps.

All you need to do is share an article or highlight from Pocket to Evernote on your mobile. You can also share articles from Pocket to your Evernote’s email address.

I find automation is the best way to transfer data between Pocket and Evernote. You can do it by using third-party services like Zapier and IFTTT.

This way, you can have the best of reading on Pocket and the best of managing notes on Evernote.

However, you may find a few limitations:

Pocket only allows on 3 highlights per article in the free version.
The automation may not work as intended.
You still have to switch between Pocket, Evernote, and the app where you’re reading the article.

Verdict

Pocket and Evernote have unique core functions. Choosing one depends on how you want to learn. You can use Pocket if you do a lot of reading and take notes occasionally. Use Evernote if you need to organize your notes and review them regularly.

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