Microsoft improves 2013 free desktop version of OneNote, removes feature restrictions
Today's post was written … Emil Protalinski / VentureBeat : Microsoft makes OneNote for Windows completely free by removing all feature restrictions Napier Lopez / The Next Web : The free version of OneNote 2013 for Windows now has no feature restrictions John Callaham / Windows Central : All of OneNote's PC desktop features are now totally free to use Rod Trent / WindowsITPro : OneNote is Now Completely Free to Use with No Restrictions Pradeep / Microsoft News : Microsoft Confirms Removing All Feature Restrictions From Free Version Of OneNote 2013 EwanD / TechNet Blogs : Tip o' the Week #265 - Sorting pages in OneNote Tweets: Adam Z Lein / @adamzea : @Techmeme Except for the feature restriction that disallows opening offline/SharePoint notebooks. That requires the paid version.
Context & Ripple Effects
This move slots into a freemium arc Microsoft was running through 2015: within weeks of freeing the full desktop OneNote, it declared Office free for devices under 10 inches, signaling that small-screen productivity would be given away to defend Windows' install base. The immediate target was Evernote — the free, unrestricted client is the migration vehicle Microsoft later formalized with its importer tooling.
The payoff of that strategy shows in the corpus: after launching the Windows importer, Microsoft reported moving 71M Evernote pages into OneNote before extending the tool to Mac. Freeing the desktop app converted OneNote from a bundled extra into a customer-acquisition funnel whose costs are recouped elsewhere.
First-order effects
- Windows users get the complete OneNote 2013 desktop feature set at no cost, collapsing the distinction between the free and paid tiers for everything except what the relationship notes flag as still gated: opening offline and SharePoint notebooks, which remains restricted to the paid version.
Second-order effects
- Evernote faces a fully-featured, zero-priced rival on its core platform, and Microsoft follows through with dedicated import tools on Windows and then Mac — turning switching friction into a one-click funnel that has already absorbed tens of millions of pages.
Third-order effects
- The template hardens across Microsoft's portfolio — free Teams with capped team storage, then ad-supported desktop versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint a decade later — pointing to an office-suite business where apps are free and revenue comes from storage caps, subscriptions, and advertising instead of licenses.
The trend: Microsoft is systematically converting desktop application licenses into free acquisition channels, monetizing users through cloud storage limits, subscriptions, and ads rather than upfront software sales.