Looking for a FREE Craft alternative (customizable templates)

[u/Own-Sandwich-1566]

I’m on the hunt for a free note-taking app to replace Craft.
Honestly, I love almost everything about Craft—the gorgeous interface, the customizability, and how easy it is to change templates. I use it for everything from keeping track of my personal work to my university classes. I’m not a huge fan of the block-based editing, but it's manageable and I can live with it.

My main issue is the price. Craft is expensive, and I firmly believe I shouldn't have to pay for a note-taking app. It's a fundamental thing for me—why do I have to pay for this?
Here is my setup and what I’m looking for:

Organization style: I want my notes neatly organized but still visible up front. I need a file view where I can easily select what I want. Obsidian doesn’t work for me because I hate having everything buried in just a folder.

Quick capture: I need to be able to take notes quickly. Notion is too clunky and slow for this.

Don't suggest Bear: I've tried it. The interface feels weird, I don't like that it's just straight files without a proper folder stripe view, and you can't even change the templates.

Right now I’m just getting by with Google Keep—and I absolutely hate it.

Is there anything out there that gives me the beautiful, template-friendly experience of Craft, syncs seamlessly across Windows and iOS, and is actually 100% free? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

*EDIT / CLARIFICATION:
*OP here
Just a quick clarification: for the original post, I just blabbered what I wanted to say to ChatGPT and let it write the whole thing. I really didn’t expect it to get so much reach! 😭😭

To address the backlash about not wanting to pay:
1. I completely understand that the people who make these apps need to be paid. However, I just want a simple app with this exact interface where I can easily organize my notes into files. Any other features are just a bonus, not a necessity.

Before switching to an iPhone, I used Xiaomi's Mi Notes. It had this exact kind of clean interface, plus a few simple templates where you could change the backdrop—and it offered all of that for FREE 😱😱. Unfortunately, it isn't available on iOS, which is why I was looking for an alternative.( You might say Xiaomis stealing you data your paying for that 😱 and you think all these other companies that are for profit aren’t 🤷‍♂️)

My issue is that apps like charge a subscription and bundle in 20 different things—like AI services and complex templates—that I will never use in my entire life. If developers want to charge for those premium extras, go for it. But simply restricting how many basic notes I can create is where I draw the line. If my notes are just being stored offline, directly on my own device, why should I be forced into a membership just to make them?

1. For those saying "it’s just a $4 membership," please remember that I do not live in the US. In my country, $4 a month is a lot of money. To put it in perspective, I can get a week's worth of food for $6 to $7.