Import Notes From Evernote to OneNote on Mac

To import notes from Evernote into OneNote on a Mac, you export your Evernote notebooks as .enex files, then use the free OneNote Importer tool (available for macOS) to bring them into OneNote. The process preserves note text, images, and most attachments, though some formatting and embedded files may not transfer perfectly.

Why Move from Evernote to OneNote?

People switch for several reasons: Evernote’s free plan limits you to 60 MB of new notes per month and one device, while OneNote offers unlimited notes and syncs across all devices for free. OneNote also integrates tightly with Microsoft Office, supports collaborative editing with shared notebooks, and uses a flexible canvas where you can click anywhere to type. If you’ve been paying Evernote’s subscription just to get more storage, moving to OneNote can save money while giving you a similar or richer note-taking experience.

What the OneNote Importer Does (and Doesn’t Do)

Microsoft’s OneNote Importer is a dedicated macOS app that reads .enex files (Evernote’s export format) and copies their contents into a new OneNote notebook. It handles:

• Note text, including bold, italics, headings, and bullet lists
• Images embedded in notes
• Attachments like PDFs and documents (added as files in OneNote)
• Tags (converted to OneNote tags, though they may not match exactly)
• Notebook and note structure – each Evernote notebook becomes a OneNote notebook, and each note becomes a page

What it does not preserve well:

• Complex tables with merged cells
• Encrypted note sections – you must decrypt them before exporting
• Audio recordings attached to notes
• Some web-clip formatting and embedded code blocks
• Evernote’s “contextâ€� and “related notesâ€� features

After import, you may need to manually adjust a few notes, but the bulk of your content should arrive intact.

Step-by-Step: Export from Evernote on Mac

1. Open Evernote on your Mac and sign in.
2. In the left sidebar, right-click (or Control-click) the notebook you want to export.
3. Choose Export Notebook from the context menu.
4. In the dialog, select .enex as the file format (it’s the default).
5. Choose a destination folder and click Save. Evernote will create a single .enex file containing all notes in that notebook.
6. Repeat for each notebook you want to move. You cannot export all notebooks at once – you must do them individually.

If you have encrypted text within notes, decrypt it first (right-click the encrypted section and select Decrypt) before exporting, otherwise it will remain encrypted in the .enex file and may not import.

Step-by-Step: Import into OneNote on Mac

1. Download and install the OneNote Importer from Microsoft’s website (it’s free).
2. Open the app. It will ask you to sign in with your Microsoft account (Outlook.com, Hotmail, or a work/school account).
3. Click Import and select the .enex file you exported.
4. Choose whether to import into a new notebook or an existing one. Microsoft recommends creating a new notebook for each Evernote notebook to keep things organized.
5. Click Import and wait for the process to finish. The time depends on the number and size of notes.
6. Once done, open OneNote and you’ll see your imported notebooks and pages.

If you have many .enex files, you can import them one at a time. The importer does not support batch importing multiple .enex files in a single run.

What to Do If the Importer Fails or Misses Notes

Sometimes the importer may skip a note or show an error. Common fixes:

• Check the .enex file size. Very large notebooks (hundreds of MB) can cause timeouts. Try splitting the notebook into smaller exports by moving some notes to a new notebook and exporting that.
• Ensure the .enex file is not corrupted. Try re-exporting from Evernote.
• Update both Evernote and OneNote to the latest versions.
• Use the web version of OneNote as a fallback – you can manually copy-paste notes if the importer fails on a specific one.

If a note contains attachments that didn’t come through, you can manually drag the original files from Evernote into OneNote.

Manual Alternative: Copy and Paste

If you only have a few notes, or if the importer fails, you can simply copy and paste. Open a note in Evernote, select all (Cmd+A), copy (Cmd+C), then in OneNote create a new page and paste (Cmd+V). This preserves most formatting and images, but attachments will only appear as links if you copy them separately. This method is tedious for hundreds of notes, so the importer is usually the better choice.

After Import: Cleaning Up and Organizing

Once your notes are in OneNote, take some time to organize:

• Rename notebooks to match your Evernote structure.
• Move pages between sections if needed – OneNote uses sections (like tabs) within a notebook, while Evernote uses stacks and notebooks. The importer creates a new notebook for each Evernote notebook, but it may not preserve your stacks (groups of notebooks).
• Check tags – Evernote tags become OneNote tags, but they may appear as “Tagâ€� in the note. You can reapply them manually.
• Review notes with complex tables or embedded files – these are the most likely to need manual fixes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I import multiple Evernote notebooks at once?
No, the OneNote Importer only handles one .enex file at a time. You must export each notebook separately and import them one by one.

Will my Evernote attachments (PDFs, Word docs) be preserved?
Yes, the importer adds attachments as files in OneNote. They appear as file icons that you can click to open. However, if an attachment is embedded in a note’s text (like an inline image), it should come through as an image.

Does the importer work on older macOS versions?
Microsoft states the OneNote Importer works on macOS 10.12 (Sierra) and later. If you have an older Mac, you may need to use the manual copy-paste method.

What happens to Evernote’s “stacks� (groups of notebooks)?
The importer does not recreate stacks. Each Evernote notebook becomes a separate OneNote notebook. You can manually create a section group in OneNote to group related notebooks, but it’s not automatic.

Can I import from Evernote for Windows or the web?
Yes, the .enex export format is the same across platforms. You can export from Evernote on Windows, Mac, or the web, and import the .enex file into OneNote on Mac.

Is there a limit to how many notes I can import?
There’s no hard limit, but very large imports may take a long time or time out. If you have thousands of notes, consider importing notebook by notebook to avoid issues.

Final Thoughts

Moving from Evernote to OneNote on a Mac is straightforward with the official OneNote Importer. The key is to export each notebook as a .enex file, then import them one at a time. While most content transfers cleanly, expect to do some minor cleanup afterward, especially for complex formatting or attachments. If you’re switching to take advantage of OneNote’s free unlimited storage and collaboration features, the effort is well worth it.

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