Evernote's email-to-note, rebuilt for your Obsidian vault

Want to try it first? Start free: 10 emails, no credit card.

The short answer

If forwarding emails to Evernote was part of your routine, you don't have to give it up when you move to Obsidian. The idea carries over almost one to one: a private address, a forwarded email, a new note.

• Same habit. Forward or write an email to your address and it becomes a note.
• Files you own. The note is a plain Markdown file in your local vault, readable in any text editor.
• Different subject commands. Tags work much the same way. Notebook and reminder codes don't have an equivalent.

How Evernote's email-to-note works

At the time of writing (November 2026), Evernote gives each account a unique email address. Send an email there and the subject line becomes the note title. Evernote also reads a few codes from the subject: @ to pick a notebook, # to add tags, and ! to set a reminder.

Email-in is a paid-plan feature. Evernote removed it from free accounts in 2015, and since December 2023 the free plan has been capped at 50 notes and one notebook. Evernote's help pages also document a daily limit on emailed notes. For current plan names and prices, check Evernote's plans page.

How Email2Obsidian does the same job

When you sign up, you get a private ingest address that looks something like [email protected]. Anything you send or forward there from one of your authorized addresses is picked up by our community plugin, Send Email into Vault, and written into your vault.

Here's what each email turns into:

• The subject line becomes the note title.
• The body comes through in HTML or plain text, with formatting converted into the note.
• Attachments come through as files and as embeds in the note, up to 25 MB.
• #tags at the end of the subject become note tags. "Hotel booking Lisbon #travel #2027" arrives as a note called "Hotel booking Lisbon," tagged travel and 2027.
• On Pro, @@VaultName picks the vault. "Client brief @@Work #acme" lands in your Work vault with the acme tag.

The destination folder and note template live in the plugin settings, so every email goes to the same place unless you route it to another vault. The plugin fetches new mail when you ask it to, on a schedule, or when your vault opens. We hold each email for up to 72 hours so the plugin can collect it, then delete it.

One small tip from people who forward a lot: tidy the subject before you hit send. A "Fwd:" prefix stays in the title, and an email with an empty subject isn't accepted.

Side-by-side comparison

Evernote cells reflect Evernote's own documentation at the time of writing (November 2026). Where we couldn't confirm something, the cell points you to Evernote help instead of guessing.

Subject line cheat sheet: Evernote codes vs Email2Obsidian

If your fingers already know Evernote's subject codes, here's how each one translates.

To be plain about it: we don't have notebook-level or reminder commands. If those codes did a lot of work for you, read the "when to stay" section below before you switch. For the full tag syntax, see how to tag and route notes from the subject line.

Moving your Evernote notes and your email habit

Switching is really two jobs: moving the notes you already have, and setting up a new address for the emails still to come. Here's the short version.

1. 1

   Step 1: Bring your old notes across

   Export your notebooks from Evernote as .enex files, then open them with Obsidian's official Importer. It converts them to Markdown. Obsidian's Evernote import guide covers the details.
2. 2

   Step 2: Set up Email2Obsidian (about two minutes)

   Sign up free with no credit card. In Obsidian, go to Settings, then Community plugins, then Browse, and install Send Email into Vault. Paste the API key from your dashboard into the plugin settings.
3. 3

   Step 3: Authorize the addresses you forward from

   Your account email is authorized automatically. Add up to 3 more, like a work or personal address, and confirm each one from the verification email.
4. 4

   Step 4: Replace your old Evernote address

   Wherever you saved your Evernote email address (a contact card, a phone shortcut, an email signature trick), swap in your new ingest address. Your habit stays the same.

Want more detail on the import side? Our full Evernote to Obsidian migration guide walks through it. If you're not sure how to forward from your particular email app, here's how to forward emails from Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail.

One difference to know up front. If you used a Gmail filter to send emails to Evernote automatically, that won't carry over: automatic Gmail forwarding isn't supported today. Pressing Forward yourself works from any client. An Outlook "Forward to" rule can also work, as long as your organization allows forwarding outside the company.

Privacy: where your email goes

Moving to Obsidian is often about keeping your notes closer to home, so it's fair to ask where the email goes on its way into your vault.

• We keep the email content (subject, body, attachments) for up to 72 hours, only so the plugin can fetch it. Then it's deleted.
• Our servers are at Hetzner in Germany.
• Our sub-processors are Cloudflare (firewall), Stripe (payments), Resend (email delivery) and Google (analytics and email communications).
• You can ask us to delete your data, and GDPR and CCPA rights apply.
• We only accept email from your authorized senders, so a stranger can't fill your vault with spam.

The finished note is a Markdown file on your own device. More on where your email goes and how long we keep it.

When to stay with Evernote instead

Email2Obsidian isn't the right move for everyone. Evernote is probably the better fit if:

• You rely on subject-line reminders or notebook routing. We don't offer either, and the workarounds won't feel the same.
• You want one app that does it all. If built-in web clipping, document scanning and search under one subscription matter more to you than local files, Evernote covers that in one place.
• Your team shares notebooks. Email2Obsidian is personal: one account, your vaults.
• You aren't moving to Obsidian. We only make sense if Obsidian is where your notes live.

Decision guide

"I'm leaving Evernote and mostly forward receipts, confirmations and follow-ups"

Email2Obsidian fits this well. Starter covers 300 emails a month, and the daily cap is 200. Here's how to keep receipts in Obsidian with the PDF attached.

"I just want to see if it works"

The Free plan gives you 10 emails, no credit card. They don't reset, so treat them as your test run.

"I need email reminders and notebook commands"

Stay on Evernote for that. Or, if you're set on Obsidian, add a #todo tag and let an Obsidian task plugin take over the reminder part.

"I want separate work and personal vaults"

Go with Pro and add @@Work or @@Personal to the subject. See pricing for the details.

Obsidian and the Obsidian logo are trademarks of Dynalist Inc. This site is unaffiliated. Other product names belong to their owners and are used only to describe compatibility and differences. Spotted something out of date? Email [email protected] and we'll fix it.