I have both. My work PC came with Office 2010 (and obviously OneNote). It is a nice note taking app on Windows, and is structured like many paper based notebook setups. It does integrate somewhat with Microsoft apps (and if you live in Outlook, etc., then it works well).
I don't live in Outlook, not even at work where that is the mail client.
My biggest complaint was that to get real sync, I had to put my notebooks on Sky(One)Drive. I'm not a huge fan of that, to be honest, ...
I have used Evernote (to some extent) for a number of years, and I am a premium subscriber. The benefit for me was that I can access my notes from just about everywhere.
So, what's the difference between trusting Microsoft with your notebooks vs Evernote?
And, in my back and forth between the two apps, I have found that I can access either one from anywhere becaue they both have mobile apps for iPhone and iPad, and both have web apps for use on any desktop/laptop. Accessabiity convenience is the same.
While I suppose the Sky(One)Drive web site could be used, I much prefer native apps.
Me too. But, at least for now, I'm using OneNote on the desktop via the web as if I decide to stick with OneNote, I'll be upgrading Office (I currently have '07 whcih appears to not have OneNote).
Also, I just prefer Evernote on my mobile devices, and I do a considerable amount of data capture there. I also like the ability to forward emails to Evernote and have them appear in my account (from any device, not just from Outlook).
On the iPhone, I find them to be about equal in UI, but on the iPad, I prefer OneNote's UI with the sections and pages layout.
Most of my data capture, at least for now, is on the desktop. And OneNote, if the application is installed, integrates with anything that can call a printer, as it installs the "OneNote Printer" to send the current document to OneNote (If OneNote was in the iOS Send To option, that would probably cinch it).
I still occasionally use OneNote on the work PC (it is a very nicely done application), but I tend to lean towards Evernote for most things, just because it's everywhere I want it to be, usually through a native app.[
It was me starting to use OneNote at work to organize my personal templaces better than I could in Notepad that got me interested in using it or Evernote on my personal stuff, moving some tthings to there that I currently have in a poorly syncing iOS Office app or on one device only in an app that does not work well with the other device.
While you may have an aversion to Evernote because it is a SaaS, I consider Sky(One)Drive to also be a SaaS since it provides a document syncing/editing service.
Any online service is SaaS under that guide. However the issue is that Evernote Premium is a subscription service. That's SaaS. Where you pay a monthly/annual fee to continue to use the software and if you stop paying, you risk loosing your data. In this case, to be able to access your own data offline, you have to pay them a subscription. OneNote, otoh, can be used free forever with offline access via your mobile apps, and the desktop client is a one time purchase that can be used until the Sun goes nova.