Culma
Swiss end-to-end encrypted notes, whiteboards and PDFs where even titles and folder names stay sealed
Quick Overview
| Company | ZNIPP GmbH |
|---|---|
| Category | Note Taking |
| Headquarters | Horw, Switzerland |
| EU Presence | Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA) |
| Data Location | Sync server in Germany (Hetzner) by default, other location on request or self-hosted; the website also runs on Hetzner in Germany |
| Open Source | No |
| Compliance | None. The vendor states the encryption has not been independently audited and a review is planned once sales pass a threshold |
| Pricing | Checked 2 November 2026 on culma.eu/en/pricing (prices shown for the Netherlands). Free: one device, everything local, no end, no account. Personal €59 a year (own devices, cloud copy, share links, 10 GB stated storage). Family €99 a year (six people, 50 GB stated storage). Personal bought outright €149 once (own server, no expiry; updates for twelve months, then €39 a year optional). Prices for individuals include VAT. Practice and organization plans, billed yearly and net of VAT: Team €9 per person per month (from 3 seats, 10 GB per seat pooled, at least 100 GB), Business €15 per person per month (from 10 seats, directory sync, operator console, priority support, 25 GB per seat pooled, at least 500 GB), Enterprise by quote (from 100 seats, on-prem option). Only people who can write count as seats; readers are free. Self-hosted perpetual license per seat, once: 10-24 seats €249, 25-99 €189, 100-249 €139, 250-499 €99, 500+ €79 (update plan 20% of list per year, optional, required for a support SLA, minimum order 10 seats). Self-hosted subscription: €7.50 per person per month (10-99 seats), €6 (100-249), €4.50 (250+). Schools and universities: 50% off paid plans. 30-day free trial of sync and sharing, no card. |
| Free Option | 30 days of the full sync and sharing plan, no card, one trial per email address; the free single-device app has no time limit |
| Replaces | Obsidian Sync, Evernote, Notion |
Detailed Review
Culma is an encrypted knowledge base that puts notes, whiteboards and annotated PDFs in one vault. Keys are created on your own devices, and the sync server stores sealed bytes only.
The security page goes further than most of this category: it states that note text, titles, folder names and even vault membership are unreadable to the server, and it lists in a table what the server can still see, such as when something changed and roughly how much. Anytype and Cryptee make similar encryption claims; Culma adds real-time co-editing with named carets.
The operator is ZNIPP GmbH, a Swiss GmbH at Underschwändlistrasse 10, 6048 Horw, listed in the Lucerne commercial register under UID CHE-105.642.181 and confirmed as existing in the federal Zefix register. Managing director Stefan Hess is also the developer. The sync server runs in Germany on Hetzner by default, or on your own hardware with Culma Node. Licenses are sold through Paddle as merchant of record, but ZNIPP provides the software and the service itself under Swiss law.
Pricing is published in euros: the app is free on one device with no account, Personal is €59 a year, Family (six people) €99 a year, and Team starts at €9 per person per month from three seats.
A self-hosted perpetual license starts at €249 per seat. Compared with the rest of this page it is young and thin on integrations: no tables or database views, no inline comments, no SSO yet, and no independent audit, which the vendor says openly.
What Culma does well
- Titles, folder names, whiteboards and PDFs are all sealed, not just note text
- Free on one device with no account and no time limit
- Real-time co-editing, whiteboards and PDF annotation in one vault
- Self-hostable sync server with a perpetual license and no kill switch
- Swiss GmbH confirmed in Zefix, server in Germany, clear table of what the server sees
Where Culma falls short
- No independent security audit yet, which the vendor states itself
- No tables, database views, inline comments or SSO at the time of checking
- Young product with no published certifications and a one-person development team
- Sync and sharing need a paid plan; Personal storage is stated at 10 GB
Standout feature. One of the few tools here that seals titles and folder names as well as content, from a Swiss company that lists its own limits.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Titles, folder names, whiteboards and PDFs are all sealed, not just note text
- Free on one device with no account and no time limit
- Real-time co-editing, whiteboards and PDF annotation in one vault
- Self-hostable sync server with a perpetual license and no kill switch
- Swiss GmbH confirmed in Zefix, server in Germany, clear table of what the server sees
Cons
- No independent security audit yet, which the vendor states itself
- No tables, database views, inline comments or SSO at the time of checking
- Young product with no published certifications and a one-person development team
- Sync and sharing need a paid plan; Personal storage is stated at 10 GB
Alternatives to Culma
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Culma?
Culma is an encrypted knowledge base that puts notes, whiteboards and annotated PDFs in one vault. Keys are created on your own devices, and the sync server stores sealed bytes only.
The security page goes further than most of this category: it states that note text, titles, folder names and even vault membership are unreadable to the server, and it lists in a table what the server can still see, such as when something changed and roughly how much. Anytype and Cryptee make similar encryption claims; Culma adds real-time co-editing with named carets.
Where is Culma based?
Culma operates from Horw, Switzerland, which places it under Switzerland (adequacy decision, outside the EEA). Compliance: None. The vendor states the encryption has not been independently audited and a review is planned once sales pass a threshold.
What does Culma cost?
Checked 2 November 2026 on culma.eu/en/pricing (prices shown for the Netherlands). Free: one device, everything local, no end, no account. Personal €59 a year (own devices, cloud copy, share links, 10 GB stated storage). Family €99 a year (six people, 50 GB stated storage).
Personal bought outright €149 once (own server, no expiry; updates for twelve months, then €39 a year optional). Prices for individuals include VAT.
Practice and organization plans, billed yearly and net of VAT: Team €9 per person per month (from 3 seats, 10 GB per seat pooled, at least 100 GB), Business €15 per person per month (from 10 seats, directory sync, operator console, priority support, 25 GB per seat pooled, at least 500 GB), Enterprise by quote (from 100 seats, on-prem option).
Only people who can write count as seats; readers are free. Self-hosted perpetual license per seat, once: 10-24 seats €249, 25-99 €189, 100-249 €139, 250-499 €99, 500+ €79 (update plan 20% of list per year, optional, required for a support SLA, minimum order 10 seats).
Self-hosted subscription: €7.50 per person per month (10-99 seats), €6 (100-249), €4.50 (250+). Schools and universities: 50% off paid plans. 30-day free trial of sync and sharing, no card.. 30 days of the full sync and sharing plan, no card, one trial per email address; the free single-device app has no time limit.
Who is Culma best for?
Teams and professionals needing sealed, shared, synced notes. One of the few tools here that seals titles and folder names as well as content, from a Swiss company that lists its own limits.
What are the drawbacks of Culma?
No independent security audit yet, which the vendor states itself. No tables, database views, inline comments or SSO at the time of checking. Young product with no published certifications and a one-person development team. Sync and sharing need a paid plan; Personal storage is stated at 10 GB.
Is Culma a good alternative to Obsidian Sync?
Culma is built as a European alternative to Obsidian Sync: Swiss end-to-end encrypted notes, whiteboards and PDFs where even titles and folder names stay sealed. It will not be a like-for-like feature match in every respect, so check the review above for where the two genuinely differ before switching.
How does Culma compare to other Note Taking tools?
Culma is one of several European Note Taking tools we cover. It is most often compared with Obsidian Sync, Evernote, Notion.