Note-Taking Apps Ranked by How You Actually Work

Microsoft OneNote has the strongest evidence of broad appeal in this group: 4.6 stars from 209,000 App Store ratings, plus a free entry point and in-app purchases. It is the app I would start with for mixed notes, project lists and reference material because it does not force one capture style. The downside is choice overload; a notebook-and-section structure can become messy faster than a simple text app. Best for people who want one free workspace for work notes, planning and loose ideas, especially if they already use Microsoft services.

Evernote takes a more organised approach, combining notes, to-dos, Google Calendar integration and a customisable Home dashboard. That makes it more useful than OneNote for someone treating notes as a personal information system rather than a digital pile of pages. The supplied listing does not state the current UK subscription price, so the value question needs checking before upgrading. Best for professionals who want notes, tasks and calendar context in one place and are willing to review the paid plan carefully.

Notepad - simple notes is the palate cleanser: plain text, no stated limit on note length or note count beyond phone storage, TXT import and export, sharing and a widget. It will not replace Evernote for research or OneNote for rich notebooks, but that is exactly why it is appealing for shopping lists, quick memos and text that should remain portable. Best for Android users who want fast capture, local simplicity and files they can move between apps without much fuss.

Notability is the most established handwriting-and-PDF pick in this cluster, with 4.7 stars from 42,000 App Store ratings. Its positioning as a digital notepad and daily planner makes it a natural fit for lecture notes, annotated documents and structured daily planning. The free label comes with in-app purchases, so the useful question is which handwriting, PDF or AI features sit behind payment. Best for iPad users who want a mature study workflow and prefer a polished notebook over a plain-text archive.

Goodnotes covers the same core territory as Notability—handwritten notes, planners and PDFs—but its 52,000 ratings give it a slightly larger review base while the rating remains 4.6. That makes the comparison close rather than decisive. I would lean towards Goodnotes for people who organise their life around reusable notebooks and planners; I would lean towards Notability when the daily-planner framing and established rating matter more. Best for iPad users building a library of study notebooks, journals and marked-up documents.

CollaNote has the highest listed rating in this handwriting group at 4.7 from 2,200 App Store ratings, and it is explicitly designed for iPad. That smaller review base means the score is less conclusive than Notability’s, but the free entry point makes it an attractive way to test handwritten notes and PDF work before paying elsewhere. The limitation is obvious: iPad focus narrows its usefulness for mixed-device households. Best for iPad owners who want freehand notes and PDF annotation without committing immediately to a larger paid ecosystem.

Noteful is another iPad-first PDF markup tool, rated 4.7 from 2,700 App Store reviews. Its strongest signal is focus: the listing centres on highlighting, writing and learning rather than trying to become a full calendar or task manager. It is also not verified for macOS, which matters if a desktop workflow is part of your study routine. Best for iPad users who annotate readings heavily and want a narrower, less distracting workspace than a general notebook app.

Granola is the specialist pick for back-to-back meetings, phone calls and quick conversations: the listing says it can start transcription from the iPhone and produce shareable summaries with highlights and decisions. That is a different proposition from OneNote or Evernote, not a better version of them. The description does not state its price, storage footprint, battery impact or how recordings are handled, so I would test it with low-sensitivity meetings first. Best for professionals who spend much of the week in conversations and need searchable summaries rather than handwritten pages.

StarNote targets Android tablets and stylus users, with handwriting, PDF annotation, subject-based notebooks and AI study tools. Its one-time Pro purchase is a meaningful difference from subscription-led note apps, although the listing does not give the UK price. The focus on students makes it less useful as a general work notebook, but more coherent for lectures and revision than a broad app such as Evernote. Best for Android tablet students who want low-latency stylus notes, organised subjects and a one-off upgrade instead of recurring billing.