Taking notes is something we all do, whether it’s jotting down a shopping list on an envelope, jotting down a phone number on the back of a business card, or jotting down more detailed notes such as meeting minutes.
No matter how you take notes, all the apps out there can handle it.
Whether you want to create notes with bulleted lists, numbered lists, lots of headings, or just jot down a few lines of text, there’s an app for you.
A good notes app will simplify your workflow and help you organize your daily life. Here are the best note-taking apps we tested, suitable for different needs.
1. Best overall
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft’s OneNote is my personal favorite and probably the note-taking app I use most. It’s one of the best note-taking apps for most people thanks to its free version, and even in its free version it’s packed with almost every feature you’d expect to find in a note-taking app.
Features include an easy way to organize the structure of your notes, the ability to input voice notes and images, and even optical character recognition that allows you to scan files and convert them into machine-readable text.
Microsoft OneNote (Microsoft)
Microsoft OneNote is a great choice for anyone, whether you use a MacOS or Windows computer. We also offer a mobile app. Google Play Store And that Apple App Store. It’s easy to use and allows you to sync your saves across any device. You can use multiple pen and brush styles on your Windows tablet or convertible laptop to sketch markups and doodles on your documents.
The free version includes 5GB of storage space, which is more than enough for most people. However, if you decide to pay, Microsoft’s OneNote payment plans are tiered, starting with 1 TB of additional storage space.
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2. Suitable for MacOS/iPhone
Apple Notes app
If you have an iPhone or Mac computer, you’ve probably seen Apple’s free Notes app. The Notes app is probably the second most used note-taking app after Microsoft’s OneNote. I love Apple Notes because it’s easy to use, consistently improved with new software updates that have vastly improved the app over the years, and best of all, it’s free and seamlessly integrated into all Apple devices. It’s possible.
You can also access Apple Notes from your browser. icloud.com/notes, an online version of the app is provided. If you have an iCloud account, all your notes are synced and can be found here. This is true even if you’re using a Chromebook or Windows PC. While you can view Apple Notes app files via a browser on a Windows PC or Chromebook, getting the application to work properly on Windows 10 or 11 can be a headache, and using Windows applications for Apple Notes can be a pain. I don’t recommend that. It’s worth the effort. You can download the Notes app from: Apple’s app store.
More information: How to protect your Apple iPhone Notes
3. Best suited for Google Chrome users
google keep
Google Keep is for people who need a quick place to jot down ideas for reference, but don’t need to store tons of notes at once. Google took inspiration for Google Keep from classic sticky notes to provide users with an easy-to-use interface.
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Google Keep is easy to use, but it comes at the expense of functionality. There is no desktop application. The app requires a constant internet connection to use, and you can’t clip entire websites like you can with OneNote or Apple’s Notes app. It’s not a bad memo app by any means, but it only has the bare minimum functionality. This is especially useful for seamlessly integrating into other parts of the Google ecosystem.
If you use Gmail and Keep, you’ll notice a light bulb icon in the right sidebar. Clicking this will give you full access to your Google Keep notes. This is a convenient function for replying to emails, etc. I use it in Gmail to remind myself of important deadlines, upcoming assignments, or questions to ask someone.
You can also transfer your Keep notes to Google Docs. This is my personal favorite feature of Google Keep. If you’re already working within the Google ecosystem, we highly recommend using Keep. It’s a free and easy way to streamline your workflow, keep important reminders for yourself, and quickly write down what you need to do. Google Keep can be downloaded from: Google Play Store or Apple’s app store.
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4. Perfect for power users
obsidian
Obsidian is the most powerful note-taking application on this list. I’ve been trying Obsidian for the past two weeks. I was skeptical at first, but it has really changed the way I take notes on my computer. The learning process is quite difficult compared to all the other apps on this list, so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone without disclosing that fact up front. You will need to spend some time before you become comfortable using Obsidian.
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Obsidian works similarly to OneNote in that you can organize your notes into folders and subfolders using the sidebar, but you can also link between folders using internal hyperlinks. This allows you to easily refer to previous notes. For example, if you’re writing this article, you might want to create a list of all the note-taking apps you’ve tested and create links to notes where you wrote reviews of individual apps.
Obsidian connection notes (obsidian)
There’s also a great visualization tool called Graph Mode that organizes your sidebar notes into graphs. This is one of his driving features of Obsidian. Obsidian wants to work as a database note-taking system, and in my testing it excels in this regard.
Obsidian is also the most customizable app on this list. You can customize almost everything in Obsidian. If you want, you can open hundreds of notes in the same window and change anything about the UI on the fly. There are also community plugins that can add various features to Obsidian. It can be a daunting app to learn, but if you’re willing to put in the time, it’s one of the most rewarding and feature-rich applications available. Obsidian can be downloaded from. Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Cart important points
After all, taking notes digitally is as personal as writing a diary. Just as there are several options for journaling, such as lined paper, unlined paper, graph paper, pencil, and pen, there are several options available for digital note-taking. All the apps on this list are free or you can try the full version for free. We encourage you to check each one out and see which one resonates with you the most. Personally, I love OneNote and Obsidian, but given the learning curve associated with Obsidian, I tend to stick with OneNote. Don’t forget to have fun.
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