Convert Notion and Evernote exports into clean local Markdown
Pain Point
Note apps are bloated; users want local-first Markdown, but exports come out messy with broken links, attachments and folder structure.
Target User
Developers and technical users migrating off Notion or Evernote
Keywords
Monetization
Freemium: free up to 50 notes, one-time $19-29 for full vault conversion, or $9/mo with batch and incremental sync.
Competition
Creem's simplified payment flow shows developers pay for simple tools. The real signal in this card: users find Notion and Obsidian bloated and want local-first Markdown, yet almost nobody handles the migration step well.
Project Brief
Overview
A web tool (plus a CLI) that turns Notion, Evernote or Bear export bundles into a clean local Markdown folder with correct hierarchy, working image links and attachments — ready to drop into Obsidian or any editor. Built for developers escaping bloated note SaaS.
Pain Point
Users find Notion and Obsidian heavy, slow and cloud-locked, and want local-first Markdown. The blocker is migration: Notion exports are HTML/Markdown hybrids with UUID filenames, broken image links and mangled databases; Evernote uses the proprietary .enex format. Existing options are scattered open-source scripts (YARLE, notion-to-md) or half-finished in-editor importers that non-technical users cannot run.
Target User
Technical users with 1,000+ notes: indie developers, researchers, technical writers. They will pay for a 'do it once, lose nothing' migration, but prefer one-time purchase over subscriptions.
Market Opportunity
'Local-first' and 'leaving Notion' recur on Hacker News, r/ObsidianMD and r/Notion. Every Notion price change or policy shift triggers a fresh wave. Migration is a one-shot, high-anxiety task with high conversion intent.
Monetization
Free tier (50 notes, watermarked preview), $19-29 one-time for full-vault conversion; a $9/mo tier adds incremental or two-way sync. Pricing is inferred from similar tools — the source card gave no direct clues.
Technical Complexity
Low to medium. Core work is parsing HTML/ENEX, rewriting relative links, downloading and localizing images, and restoring folder structure. No AI required. Edge cases in each export format and attachment rate limits are the main friction.
Competition
- Obsidian Importer: official plugin supporting Notion/Evernote, but requires Obsidian first and handles complex structures poorly
- YARLE: open-source Evernote-to-Markdown exporter, requires running Python locally
- notion-to-md: an npm library for developers, not an end-user product Entry barrier: low, but a format-compatibility library and SEO content compound over time.
GTM Strategy
- Primary channel: SEO plus community answers. Keywords like 'notion to obsidian broken image links' and 'enex to markdown' have intense intent.
- Cold-start tactic: launch posts on r/ObsidianMD, r/Notion and Show HN framed as 'I built a migration tool + here is my list of gotchas' (inferred).
- Content leverage: comparison posts ('three ways to migrate off Evernote') and a free online converter page to capture long-tail search traffic.
Execution Plan
- MVP core features: (1) upload and parse export bundle, (2) output structured Markdown with localized images, (3) download as ZIP.
- What NOT to build: two-way sync, teams, or your own note client — that means fighting Obsidian head-on.
- Tech stack suggestion: Next.js + Vercel with client-side parsing for privacy, Stripe or Lemon Squeezy for payments; a Node CLI reusing the same parser.
- Estimated time to launch: low, 1-2 weeks.