I ended up on Zettlr after a long search for a note taking application that would allow not only easy note taking but retrieval and linking as part of the process of creating larger rigorous documents. I especially wanted something that wasn't about a gimmick, was operable without a cloud, was reliable, and was open source. I've found Zettlr wonderful for personal note taking, academic note taking, and putting that together in creating academic and professional use papers.

For me: It fits the Zettlekasten method as far as I want to take that. However the tools in doing to don't impose that. Tools I like in particular:

Configurable left pane with files and folders similar to a code editor like VSCodium or SublimeText.

Quasi WYSIWYG markdown. It helps, especially for things like quotes.

Inline tags, inline references via linked bibtex (for me, from Jabref), timestamps.

Another pane on the right I configured summarising links, references. These panes can be hidden for full screen editing too.

Exports in a wide range of formats.

Zettlr facilitates the creation of knowledge better than any other note taking application I've tried. On top of that, it's open source.

Apologies in advance if this sounds like an ad. I have no affiliation with the project other than as a user.