How to Migrate from Evernote to Apple Notes (2026 Guide)
Move your notebooks, tags, and attachments out of Evernote using Apple's own import tool, and know exactly what does and doesn't survive the trip.
Quick Answer
To migrate from Evernote to Apple Notes, export your Evernote notebooks as .enex files (right-click a notebook and choose Export Notebook to skip Evernote's 100-note selection limit), then in Apple Notes choose File > Import to Notes and select the file. Tags convert automatically on macOS 13 or later, but check attachments afterward: Apple Notes drops any attachment or feature it doesn't support, without warning.
Evernote's free plan now caps accounts at 50 notes in a single notebook, and its paid tiers have gone up since, which is why a lot of longtime users are looking for an exit. Apple Notes is the obvious landing spot for anyone on a Mac and iPhone: it's free, it syncs across every device signed into the same Apple ID, and it needs no subscription at all.
The move isn't automatic. Evernote and Apple Notes don't talk to each other directly. What Apple built instead is a one-way import: Evernote exports a plain XML file (.enex), and Apple Notes reads that file in through File > Import to Notes. It works, and has worked since well before this year's macOS Tahoe 26, but it comes with limits worth knowing before you start, not after your notebooks are half-migrated.
This guide covers the standard case: a personal Evernote account somewhere from a few hundred to a couple thousand notes, moved into Apple Notes on a Mac. If your library runs into the thousands and you hit slowdowns or timeouts partway through, budget more time and plan to split the import into more, smaller batches than this guide describes.
What actually happens when you move from Evernote to Apple Notes
Evernote to Apple Notes: step-by-step migration
1. Export your Evernote notebooks as .enex files
On Mac, open Evernote, click Notes in the sidebar, then Edit > Select All. Evernote caps a multi-select export at 100 notes, so on anything bigger, skip the note list entirely: right-click a notebook and choose Export Notebook instead. That exports every note in the notebook to one file with no 100-note ceiling. Repeat for each notebook, then confirm Evernote XML Export Format (.enex) is selected in the export dialog and save the files somewhere you can find them, like a new folder on your Desktop.
2. Import the .enex files into Apple Notes
Open Notes, then choose File > Import to Notes from the menu bar. Select the folder of exported files, click Show Options if you want to check "Preserve folder structure on import" (this turns each notebook back into its own Notes folder instead of one flat pile), then click Import twice. Apple's own support page lists .enex as a supported import format alongside .txt, .rtf, .rtfd, .html, and .md, with no limit on how many notes one file can contain.
3. Confirm your tags carried over
Apple Notes converts Evernote tags into its own tags automatically during ENEX import, and has done since macOS 13 Ventura, so this happens without you doing anything extra on the current macOS Tahoe 26. Open a handful of imported notes and check the tag row under the title. A tag that goes missing usually traces back to a tag Evernote had already deleted from your tag list while leaving it attached to old notes.
4. Check every note that had an attachment
Apple's documentation is blunt about this part: if an Evernote file has an attachment or feature Notes doesn't support, the attachment or feature is dropped, silently, with no warning in the import dialog. Images, PDFs, and audio clips embedded in the note body usually make the trip intact. Handwritten ink, encrypted note sections, and some embedded web clips do not. Open the notes you'd actually miss and check them by eye rather than assuming the import caught everything.
5. Fix the formatting that didn't survive
Bold, italics, bullet and numbered lists, and simple tables come through cleanly in most notes. Nested tables, code blocks with syntax highlighting, and Evernote's inline task checkboxes are the most common casualties, since Notes and Evernote model those elements differently under the hood. Skim your longest or most heavily formatted notes first. Those are the ones most likely to need a manual touch-up.
6. Sort the Imported Notes folder before you file anything
Every note lands in a folder Notes creates called "Imported Notes," not scattered into whatever folder structure you already had in Apple Notes. Notes has no duplicate check on import: run the same .enex file through twice and you get two copies of every note in it. Go through the Imported Notes folder once, move things into place, and only import each export file a single time.
7. Back up the library you just moved
Once you've confirmed content, tags, and attachments, decide what happens to Evernote: let a subscription lapse, downgrade, or keep it as a read-only archive for a few months while you double-check nothing important got left behind. Either way, your Apple Notes library is now bigger than it was, and Apple Notes still has no built-in backup beyond exporting one note at a time to PDF, or the newer Markdown export in macOS Tahoe 26, which has its own documented bugs on large libraries. This is where Apple Notes Exporter Pro fits: not for the import you just did, but for keeping an ongoing, scheduled backup of the combined library going forward.
Common Questions
Can Apple Notes import Evernote notes directly?
Yes. Export your Evernote notes as an .enex file, then in Apple Notes choose File > Import to Notes and select that file. Apple's own support documentation (support.apple.com/en-us/102223, checked September 9, 2026) lists .enex as a supported import format on Mac, alongside .txt, .rtf, .rtfd, .html, and .md. No third-party converter is required for a standard migration.
Is there really a 100-note limit on this migration?
There is a 100-note limit, but it belongs to Evernote's export dialog, not to Apple Notes. Selecting notes individually and exporting them caps out at 100 at a time. Apple Notes itself has no documented limit on how many notes a single .enex file can contain when you import it. To move a notebook with more than 100 notes in one shot, right-click the notebook in Evernote and choose Export Notebook instead of selecting notes by hand. That exports the entire notebook without hitting the cap.
Will my Evernote tags carry over to Apple Notes?
Yes, on macOS 13 Ventura or later, which covers the current macOS Tahoe 26. Notes converts Evernote's tags into its own tag system automatically as part of the ENEX import. Check a sample of imported notes afterward: a tag that Evernote had already removed from your tag list, while leaving it attached to old notes, will not reappear in Notes.
What happens to attachments and images during the move?
Most images, PDFs, and audio attachments embedded directly in a note import along with the text. Apple states plainly that if an Evernote file has an attachment or feature Notes doesn't support, that attachment or feature isn't imported, and the app does not flag which notes were affected. Handwritten ink and some embedded web clips are the most common casualties. Open any note you would genuinely miss and check it by eye.
Why does an old imported note show text like {{NotesAttachment:...}} instead of the file?
That was a real bug in early releases of macOS Sonoma, where ENEX attachments imported as literal placeholder text instead of the file itself. Apple fixed it in Sonoma 14.2. If you are migrating fresh on macOS Tahoe 26, you should not run into it. If you are looking at notes someone imported years ago, re-export the affected notebook from Evernote and import it again.
Will I end up with duplicate notes?
You will if you import the same .enex file more than once. Apple Notes has no documented duplicate detection on import, so every note in the file becomes a brand-new note each time you run it through. Import each export file exactly once, and sort the Imported Notes folder for stragglers before you delete anything back on the Evernote side.
Should I cancel Evernote right after migrating?
That depends on how much you trust your own checking. Some people keep a paid or free Evernote account active for a month or two as a safety net while they confirm nothing important was left behind, then cancel. Others export a full backup and let the subscription lapse right away. Either way, don't delete anything in Evernote until you've opened the corresponding notes in Apple Notes and confirmed the content, attachments, and tags all made the trip.
Does Apple Notes Exporter Pro import my Evernote notes into Apple Notes for me?
No, and it's worth being direct about that. Apple Notes Exporter Pro exports notes out of Apple Notes, to Markdown, PDF, Word (DOCX), HTML, RTF, EPUB, LaTeX, JSON, JSONL, and plain text. It does not import Evernote's .enex files into Apple Notes; that part is entirely Apple's own File > Import to Notes feature, described above. Where Apple Notes Exporter Pro helps is after the migration: once your Evernote notes are sitting inside Apple Notes, it can export and back up that now-larger library, attachments and folder structure included, on a recurring daily, weekly, or monthly schedule.
Related Reading
Already planning a second move once your Evernote notes settle into Apple Notes? Here is the outbound path to Notion, with the same kind of Markdown-export approach.
If your Evernote library was really a personal knowledge base, Obsidian is the more direct successor. This guide covers exporting Apple Notes into an Obsidian vault.
Once your Evernote notes are living in Apple Notes, this is the tested comparison of tools for keeping that library backed up and exported.
Back Up the Library You Just Migrated
Once your Evernote notes are living in Apple Notes, keep the combined library backed up with scheduled exports to Markdown, PDF, Word, and more, instead of leaving years of notes as a single copy.