Key Takeaways
- OneNote offers superior cross-platform availability compared to Goodnotes, making it more versatile for users across multiple devices.
- Goodnotes excels in user interface and notes organization, mimicking a physical notebook with personalized covers and easy bookmarking features.
- OneNote focuses on standard text editing, while Goodnotes prioritizes drawing tools and offers a robust PDF editor and customization options.
The digital note-taking space has evolved with the introduction of modern solutions such as Notion, Craft, Obsidian, and more. Among them, two OGs stand tall: OneNote and Goodnotes. Although these two heavyweight contenders may seem identical at first glance, you will find major differences when you dig deeper. In this comparison guide, we will pit OneNote against Goodnotes based on several factors, and help you pick an ideal fit on your laptop.
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Cross-platform availability
Let’s start with cross-platform availability. OneNote edges out Goodnotes comfortably here. OneNote is available on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web. It has web extensions for Chrome and Firefox, too.
On the flip side, Goodnotes is more limited. It used to be an Apple-exclusive solution only. The company recently released a native app on Windows and Samsung tablets. However, the Goodnotes apps on Apple devices are more feature-rich than their Windows and Android counterparts.
To keep the comparison fair, we will use the Mac version of Goodnotes and OneNote here.
User interface and notes organization
Both Goodnotes and OneNote have done a solid job with the user interface. They look modern, have an easy-to-understand UI, and get the job done. In terms of note organization, you can create different notebooks, add sections and sub-sections, and add pages to them. You can even insert built-in or custom tags into your pages, to later find them using the search menu.
Goodnotes can basically mimic your physical notebook. You can create a notebook, give it a personalized cover and color, and start adding pages to it. If you are on a roll and add dozens of pages to your notebook, fret not, you will be able to bookmark important ones for easy access.
OneNote and Goodnotes have completely different approaches to taking notes. OneNote has a standard text editor that’s identical to other Microsoft 365 apps. All the editing options are nicely laid out at the top.
Goodnotes clearly prioritizes drawing tools over a text editor. You can use a fountain pen, highlighter, tape, ruler, and other tools to customize your notes the way you want. As expected, the entire experience is much better on an iPad or Galaxy tab than on a Mac or Windows desktop. You can also insert text and play with standard editing tools if you’d like.
Goodnotes also comes with a capable PDF editor built-in. You can use all the above-discussed tools to edit your PDFs like a pro.
Templates
Templates play a huge role in note-taking apps. OneNote has a slim but effective collection of templates for meeting notes, weekly tasks, project management, calendars, and more. You can also import useful OneNote templates from third-party sources. Check out our separate guide below if you want to explore useful OneNote templates.
Goodnotes has a dedicated marketplace for importing and using templates. When you create a new page, you can pick a different size, color, page template, writing paper, and more. There’s a wide variety, so you won’t have a hard time finding an ideal paper size and style for your notebook.
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OneNote vs. Goodnotes: Features
Let’s glance over a couple of unique features for Microsoft OneNote.
Microsoft 365 integration
As expected, OneNote has a solid integration with Microsoft 365 apps like OneDrive and Outlook. It stores and syncs your notebooks to OneDrive. As for Outlook, you can import your Outlook meeting details with a single click and even create Outlook tasks directly from a OneNote page.
Password-protected sections
If you have confidential or personal notes in OneNote, password-protect them to keep prying eyes away. You can lock an entire section in a specific notebook for access via biometrics.
Next, let’s glance over a couple of noteworthy Goodnotes features.
Customization
Goodnotes has hit it out of the park with customization options. As mentioned, the company offers dozens of templates with different background shades. There are also hundreds of cover styles to choose from; however, you can only change the notebook and section colors.
Marketplace
Goodnotes has an excellent collection of planners, papers, stickers, covers, and cards from the built-in marketplace. Most add-ons are paid, but they are worth considering if you wish to elevate your notes in no time.
OneNote vs. Goodnotes: Pricing
OneNote is free to download and use. It uses OneDrive to sync your notebooks across all of your devices. Once you reach the 5GB of OneDrive space, you can purchase one of the Microsoft 365 plans to expand the storage. Pricing starts at $2 per month for 100GB.
Goodnotes free plan lets you create three notebooks only. The paid plan starts at $10 per month.
Which note-taking app reigns supreme?
Whether you are a casual note taker, student, or professional, you can’t go wrong with either of these apps. OneNote strikes the perfect balance between typed text and handwritten notes, offers a robust Microsoft 365 integration, and feature-rich apps on all platforms. Goodnotes delivers robust drawing tools, an advanced PDF editor, and better stylus support.
Evernote is another capable note-taking tool with a long history. Check our comparison guide if you want to learn more about the differences between Evernote and OneNote.