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The 12 Best Online Note Taking Apps in 2024

Updated on May 7, 2023 There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to taking a note online. Whether it’s an all bells and whistles productivity suite or the simplest of memo apps , there’s a wealth of different ways to get your thoughts down and develop your big ideas when online. However, not all online notes apps were created equal, and choosing the right app for your needs can be a challenge.

We’re here to help you out! Whether you need a quick and simple notepad and editor for personal use, or you’re collaborating on a big project and you need the ultimate note-taking app , you’ll find what you’re looking for right here. Read on to discover the best online note-taking apps around today and start turning those ideas into reality!

What are note taking apps?

Note taking apps are digital tools that allow you to create and store notes, ideas, and information in a variety of formats. These apps have become increasingly popular in recent years, as people look for more efficient and effective ways to capture and organize their thoughts and ideas. There are many different types of note taking apps available, each with its own unique set of features and capabilities. Some apps are designed for simple note taking and organization, while others offer more advanced features like collaboration, task management , and multimedia support. One of the main advantages of using a note taking app is that it allows you to quickly capture and organize your thoughts and ideas in a digital format. This can be especially helpful if you tend to think and work digitally, as it eliminates the need for physical paper and makes it easy to access your notes from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. Another benefit of note taking apps is that they allow you to easily categorize and tag your notes, making it easier to find and retrieve information later on. Many note taking apps also offer search functionality, which can be especially helpful if you have a large collection of notes to sort through. Overall, note taking apps can be a powerful tool for anyone looking to increase their productivity and stay organized in today’s digital world.

Why it’s important to pick a notes app that syncs to a cloud service

One of the most important features to look for in a note taking app is the ability to sync your notes to a cloud service. This not only provides a backup of your notes in case something happens to your device, but it also allows you to access your notes from any device with an internet connection. Without cloud syncing, your notes are only accessible on the device you created them on. This can be frustrating if you need to access your notes on the go, or if you lose your device or it gets damaged. With cloud syncing, however, your notes are stored securely on a remote server and can be accessed from any device that is connected to the internet. Another advantage of cloud syncing is that it allows you to collaborate with others more easily. If you’re working on a project with others, for example, you can share your notes via the cloud and work on them together in real time. This can be especially helpful if you’re working remotely or with team members who are located in different parts of the world. When choosing a note taking app, it’s important to make sure that the app offers cloud syncing and that it integrates with the cloud service you’re already using. Many note taking apps offer integration with popular cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, making it easy to sync your notes and access them from anywhere. Overall, cloud syncing is a must-have feature for anyone looking to use a note taking app for productivity or collaboration. It provides a secure backup of your notes, allows you to access your notes from any device, and makes it easy to collaborate with others in real time.

The benefits of note taking apps

Using a note taking app can offer a range of benefits, including:

Increased productivity: Note taking apps allow you to quickly capture and organize your thoughts, ideas, and tasks, helping you stay on top of your workload and be more productive. With the ability to set reminders and create to-do lists, note taking apps can also help you prioritize your tasks and stay focused on what’s important.

Improved organization: With note taking apps, you can easily categorize and tag your notes, making it easier to find and retrieve information later on. Many note taking apps also offer the ability to create notebooks or folders, which can be helpful for keeping different types of notes separate.

Collaboration: Many note taking apps allow for collaboration, enabling you to share notes and work on projects with others in real time. This can be especially helpful if you’re working on a team or need to share information with others.

Multimedia support: Some note taking apps allow you to add photos, videos, and other multimedia content to your notes, making it easier to capture and share information. This can be especially helpful if you need to include visual aids in your notes or want to capture information in a more immersive way.

Accessibility: With note taking apps, you can access your notes from anywhere, as long as you have an internet connection. This can be especially helpful if you work remotely or need to access your notes on-the-go.

Overall, note taking apps can be a powerful tool for anyone looking to stay organized, increase productivity, and collaborate more effectively with others.

How we evaluated the best note taking apps

To determine the best note taking apps, we evaluated a range of criteria, including:

Ease of use: We looked for apps that were intuitive and easy to use, with a minimal learning curve. Note taking apps should be simple and straightforward, with a clean and user-friendly interface that makes it easy to create and organize notes.

Features: We evaluated the range of features offered by each app, including note organization, collaboration, multimedia support, and task management. The best note taking apps should offer a robust set of features that are tailored to your specific needs.

Compatibility: We considered apps that were available on multiple platforms, including desktop, web, and mobile. The best note taking apps should be accessible from any device or platform, so that you can access your notes wherever you are.

Integration: We looked for apps that integrated with other popular tools and services, such as calendars, email, and cloud storage. The best note taking apps should be able to work seamlessly with your existing workflow and tools.

Security: We evaluated the security and privacy features of each app, to ensure that your notes and personal information are kept safe and secure.

Cost: Finally, we evaluated the cost of each app, taking into account both the initial price and any ongoing subscription fees. We looked for apps that offered good value for money and a range of pricing options to suit different budgets.

By considering these criteria, we were able to identify the best note taking apps on the market today, each of which offers a unique set of features and capabilities to help you capture and organize your thoughts and ideas more effectively.

The 12 Best Online Note Taking Apps

1. spike collaborative notes.

Hmmm…where should we start? Well, with Spike Notes of course. Notes is the best online note-taking tool around—and here’s why. Spike Notes delivers advanced note-taking features that are collaborative by nature. You can quickly and safely share text, images, files, videos, and any other ideas together in a single Note, both with Spike users in the app and non-spike users with a link.

And the best part? It’s all directly integrated with your Inbox, so you can focus on getting your work done without constantly switching apps! All your though ts, ideas, and plans are on the same screen, and you can discuss everything with team members without ever opening another app or switching to a web browser. Finally, it’s also available on all your favorite devices, so you can take Spike Notes wherever you go.

Spike Pricing

Personal – Free

Solo – $12 per account/month, billed annually

Team – $8 per account/month, billed annually

Business – $7 per account/month, billed annually 

Spike’s Pros

• Create and edit collaborative Notes directly within your Inbox
• Use text, images, videos, tables, emojis,
• Comment and discuss your Notes and their individual elements with inline chat
• Available on all your devices (iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows, Web Browser)

Spike’s Cons

• No free draw on notes
• No voice notes (but you can drag an audio file into the note!)

VERDICT — The best collaborative note-taking app around!  

2. Primapad

One of the simplest and easiest to use online memo pad s on our list, Primapad does the basics very well. Simply name your notepad, make your notes, and then use the provided URL to access the note from any web browser—anywhere, any time. Everything is saved automatically in the cloud and its pure simplicity means it’s a great free online note-taking  option.

However, while it’s good for text notes, it misses advanced functionality such as the option to add images, tables, and other rich media; plus, organizing and sharing notes is only done through the URL, meaning there’s no centralized hub for reference.

Primapad Pricing

Primapad is free to use, without any upgrades or premium packages.  

Primapad’s Pros

• Simple to use in your web browser
• Easily shareable, although limited functionality
• It’s free! 

Primapad’s Cons

• Misses advanced functionality
• No good organization 
• No real collaboration 

VERDICT — Good for text-only notes through a web browser

3. ClickUp Notepad

For a more advanced approach to online note-taking , ClickUp Notepad does the job admirably. It features a wealth of features including to-do lists, spreadsheets, events and reminders, goal tracking, time tracking, and project management tools. It puts some seriously powerful online noting-taking  tools at your fingertips.

However, while the standard version is free, it’s only with the paid version that you get guest and permission functionality and unlimited integrations. Additionally, while it integrates with apps such as Slack and Zoom , there’s no instant chat or comments option built-in.

ClickUp Pricing

Free Forever – Free 

Unlimited – $5 per account/month, billed annually

Business – $9 per account/month, billed annually

Business Plus – $19 per account/month, billed annually

Enterprise – Custom Pricing  

ClickUp’s Pros

• Advanced note taking with tables, images, and to-do lists
• Part of a more comprehensive productivity platform

ClickUp’s Cons

• Free version is limited
• Very steep learning curve
• To make the most of ClickUp, you need to move your entire workflow there

VERDICT — Great for complex notes but only works through a web browser

4. Speechnotes

If you’re looking for a free online notes app to give your fingers a rest, then Speechnotes is worth a try. A free notepad app with speech2text functionality, the simple and intuitive layout makes for easy recording of your thoughts and ideas, and the included text idea gives you the opportunity to clean them up and expand.   

You can print, save, and send your notes and listen back to them for proofreading or other tasks. You can even insert simple emoticons! However, there’s no support for advanced note-taking and the send function only works if you have a pre-existing email client set up on your computer.

Speechnotes Pricing

Basic – Speechnotes normal product is free to use

Premium – $9 per year (single user)

Speechnotes’ Pros

• Ideal for taking down audio notes through your microphone
• It’s free

Speechnotes’ Cons

• Clunky user interface
• Limited sharing features
• No advanced note-taking elements

VERDICT — Ideal for speech2text but otherwise pretty basic

5. SimpleNote

SimpleNote does exactly what it says on the tin, giving you an intuitive text note-taking app on ALL devices—even Linux machines! Notes are connected through the cloud to ensure they are updated on all devices, and you can stay organized by adding searchable tags. Sharing is also simple, and you can work on to-do lists, post comments, or publish notes online.

However, once again, this functionality is limited to text-only notes, and there’s no support for advanced elements such as images, tables, or other useful formatting tools. Finally, there’s no way to chat about your notes in the app itself, meaning you’ll still need some kind of communications app on top.

SimpleNote Pricing

SimpleNote is free to use on any device.

SimpleNote’s Pros

• Cloud storage for notes
• Commenting and editing functions
• Works on all devices

SimpleNote’s Cons

• Lack of advanced features 
• Text-only notes
• Not integrated chat 

VERDICT — Ideal if you’re a Linux user

6. Google Keep

Google’s suite of productivity apps are no stranger to these kinds of list, and Google Keep is also pretty popular and recognizable to anyone who uses the company’s other tools. However, its highly visual approach to note-taking means it’s a great online notes app , and dedicated apps for iPhone and Android also mean its travels well.

However, while Google has been busy making separate apps of all kinds, they’re just that—separate apps!  If you want to send a note, you’ll need to open Google Mail. If you want to work on a table, you’ll need to use Sheets. And all this app switching slowly eats into your focus and flow-limiting your productivity when all you really wanted to do was take a quick note! Additionally, text markup and editing can be awkward with Keep, meaning that, while it’s great for simple notes and to-do lists, advanced note-taking is more hassle than it’s worth.

Google Keep Pricing

Google Keep is a free tool for anyone with a Google account . The only time that you would need to pay is if you used all your notes storage and needed more.   

Google Keep’s Pros

• Familiar to Google users
• Included with Google Docs Editors suite

Google Keep’s Cons

• Limited functionality for advanced elements
• Awkward management of many apps ruins flow
• Markup and commenting are clunky

VERDICT — Limited note-taking abilities and requires constant app switching

7. Evernote — Expensive “Free” Note-taking App

Evernote has been one of the most popular note-taking apps of the last decade, regularly being cited as the archetypal way to write notes online . On a fundamental level, you can easily add graphically pleasing notes, add lists, images, and files, and the user interface has become a standard for other advanced note-taking apps .

However, while the free version gives you some advanced note-taking features, such as images, PDFs, and files, it’s not until you pay for the premium version that you get the really useful stuff. Additionally, there are no collaborative features with the free version, nor the Premium package, and you’ll have to sign up for the fully loaded Business package to share your notes within the app itself—which can become pretty expensive.

Evernote Pricing

Free – $0

Personal – $5.83 per account/month, billed annually

Professional – $8.33 per account/month, billed annually

Evernote Teams – $14.99 per account/month, billed annually

Evernote’s Pros

• Supports advanced note-taking elements
• Very popular

Evernote’s Cons

• Free version is very limited, only really useful for personal use
• Paid versions are expensive
• Stagnant development

VERDICT — Free version is limited and very quickly becomes expensive

Notion blends note-taking with project management, mainly through the inclusion of Kanban boards ( you’ll know them from Trello ). In addition to text, Notion notes allow for images, bookmarks, videos, code, and more as well as the ability to drag and drop information within a note. Notes can then be organized in various ways, such as through the use of tags. 

In order to facilitate collaboration, Notion offers the ability to share notes with team members or publicly. This is in addition to collaborative editing and inline notes. However, while Notion does collaborative note-taking well, this is all it does, meaning you’ll have to open up different apps too, for example, message and call team members, meaning constant app switching. 

Notion Pricing

Notion offers four packages:

Personal – Free 

Personal Pro – $4 per month, billed annually

Team – $8 per user/month, billed annually

Notion’s Pros

• Good organization tool
• Collaboration tools for teams
• Customization options

Notion’s Cons

• Only useful for notes
• The free version is limited 
• Can be time-consuming to set up for a team

VERDICT — Good note-taking choice but requires switching for other productivity tools. 

9. Microsoft OneNote

The note-taking app from Microsoft, OneNote has been on the market for almost 20 years, making it one of the most vintage note-taking solutions around (only slightly younger than a pen and paper, some say). That said, it is rich in features, such as hand drawing and image text-extraction, and comes with a comprehensive organization system.

If you’re using OneNote for note-taking, then you’ll probably have to switch to the other Microsoft apps for other tasks ( Teams for Chat and Calls , Onedrive for storage, etc). This means that even if all your tools are in the same ecosystem, each will still require its own standalone app. 

Microsoft OneNote Pricing

OneNote is free for anyone with a Microsoft account, including free accounts such as an outlook.com email. There are some extra features for paid Microsoft 365 accounts, which for business include:

Microsoft 365 Business Basic – $5 per account/month, billed annually

Microsoft 365 Business Standard – $12.50 per account/month, billed annually

Microsoft 365 Business Premium – $20 per account/month, billed annually

Microsoft OneNote’s Pros

• Powerful features, such as hand-drawn notes
• Good free version without much need to upgrade
• Comprehensive organization system

Microsoft OneNote’s Cons

• You have to have another separate account just for your notes if you don’t already have a Microsoft account
• Only notes which means app-switching for other tasks
• Can be complicated and clunky 

VERDICT — Good option if you’re already in the Microsoft ecosystem 

10. Roam Research

Roam is a note-taking tool aimed at long-form research and is one of the most recent products on our list to hit the market, launching in 2019. What differentiates this note-taking app from others is that notes and ideas are connected in a network, rather than a traditional hierarchical organizational structure . 

The app is only for note-taking, and text notes at that, but its filing structure may suit some users’ workflows. It is also in its early days, so we might see changes, improvements, and additional features in the years to come. 

Roam Research Pricing 

There are currently two pricing packages for Roam:

Pro – $13.75 per account/month, billed annually

Believer – $500 for five years 

Roam Research’s Pros

• Available on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines
• Alternative organization system

Roam Research’s Cons

• Some of the features (such as the graphs) hinder rather than help due to their complexity
• Only text notes
• Very expensive for a note-only app compared with other options 

VERDICT — An interesting idea, but limited in features and expensive for only notes. 

Bear is a note-taking app available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, which allows notes to be organized in a relatively traditional filing system as well as linked to one another to create a networked body of work. 

It is highly customizable with multiple themes and offers an advanced markup editor for formatted text as you write. It supports inline media apart from text, but lacks any sort of collaborative tools, making it nice for personal notes, but not much use for teams. 

Bear Pricing 

Bear offers its basic features for free, but there are two Pro account options:

Monthly – $1.49 per month, for one user

Yearly – $14.99 per year, for one user

Bear’s Pros

• Powerful markup features
• You can use Face/Touch ID to encrypt private notes
• Cross-linking between notes to connect ideas

Bear’s Cons

• Only available on Apple devices
• No collaborative tools
• Can only sync notes with premium
• Only notes, meaning you’ll keep switching apps

VERDICT — Solid, simple note-taking for Apple users. Not any use for collaboration.

12. Apple Notes

Apple Notes comes as standard with Apple products and is a basic note taking app that allows for short notes to be synced across devices. There are some formatting capabilities, such as headings, tables, and different colored text, but it is primarily a simple text app. 

You can share notes with other users for some basic collaboration or lock more sensitive notes with a password (the same password for all notes). The iOS version allows for freehand sketching, which can be viewed but not created on Macs. 

Apple Notes Pricing

Apple Notes is free for MacOS or iOS users unless the 5GB data cap is hit on the associated iCloud account, in which case an upgrade is required. 

Apple Notes’ Pros

• It comes with Apple products so no need to get other software
• Password-protected notes allow for a level of privacy 

Apple Notes’ Cons

• It’s only on Apple products
• Limited in features 
• Not well developed collaborative features 

VERDICT — Useful for the personal notes of Apple users, otherwise lacking business features 

By and large, when it comes to taking simple, personal notes, any of the apps listed above will do the job. However, when it comes to truly collaborative note taking that includes multiple text and visual elements, alongside a seamless workflow integrated directly within your Inbox, then Spike has got everything you need, and more!

Test out the Spike Notes today and download the app here . Alternatively for the latest productivity and collaboration news, tips, and tricks, stay tuned to the Spike blog or drop us a message @SpikeNowHQ.

FAQs About the Best Online Note Taking Apps

If you’re an Apple user and you don’t require advanced functions or collaborative tools, Apple Notes will work just fine. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive free note taking tool, however, then take the time to check out some alternatives, such as Spike.  

As with many things, the best way to structure notes is the way that works for you. This could be in simple folders, linked together, or as part of a network of ideas. Whatever makes sense to you is the right option, and there are apps out there to match your workflow. 

To answer that question, you need to list out what you need it for. Are you looking to jot down your personal thoughts and ideas? Well then, the local note app on your computer or phone will probably suffice. Are you looking to take your productivity, work, and time management to the next level? It’s time to find an online note app. 

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The 6 best note-taking apps in 2024

These evernote alternatives are the best out there..

Note taking is one of those universal but intensely personal things. Everyone takes notes of some kind, whether it's as simple as writing down a grocery list or phone number or as systematic as typing up detailed book summaries or meeting minutes. For some people, notes are just text—maybe with a few headings and bullets; for others, they're essentially scrapbooks with elaborate doodles and images. But however you take notes, there's an app out there that can handle all your weird quirks, obscure preferences, and note-taking needs. You just might need to look for it.

But first, the big caveat. You can write notes anywhere: on the back of a napkin, envelope, important bill, or even in a notebook. It's kind of similar with apps: you can stick notes into pretty much any old app, even if it's not really designed for them. Example: Google Docs isn't a great notes app, but I have notes about this article you're reading now in the Google Doc I'm working from.

So for this list, I didn't look at every app that could be used to take notes, every app I've personally used to take notes, or even every business collaboration tool that claimed it was a notes app—I was only interested in apps that were explicitly designed to be notes apps. I also only really considered general-purpose personal note-taking apps.

Even with all these criteria in place, I still tested over 45 different note apps for taking notes online. Here are the best note-taking apps I could find.

The best note-taking apps

Apple Notes for Apple users

Google Keep for Google power users

Notion for collaboration

Obsidian for power note-takers

Joplin for an Evernote alternative

Once you've picked a note-taking app, check out our favorite ways to use automation to improve how you put your notes to work , track action items from meetings , and put an end to regular copy-paste actions .

What makes the best note-taking app?

How we evaluate and test apps.

Our best apps roundups are written by humans who've spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. Unless explicitly stated, we spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it's intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We're never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the Zapier blog .

As a tech writer, I've been taking notes and reviewing software every day for over a decade. Note taking is something I have opinions about. Even after 10 years, I'm still fine-tuning the system I use. I've done my best to leave my preferences out of the decision-making process here. For example, while I love text-heavy notes apps with support for Markdown (which shouldn't really be a surprise), I recognize that other people are looking for different things. If your favorite app isn't on the list, feel free to shout at me.

With so many apps to consider—and so many apps claiming to be notes apps—I had some pretty strict criteria for what made an app worthy of this list.

First, the best note-taking software has to be good at what it claims to do . This sounds like an easy bar to clear, but you'd be surprised at how many apps fell short. Not every note-taking app needs to have features like image-to-text conversion or stylus support, but if it boasted about them on its marketing page, they had better be well-executed and nice to use. 

Second, all the note-taking apps had to be quick and easy to use as intended . The real competition when you're looking for somewhere to write a note isn't other note-taking apps, but a pen and scrap of paper. If it wasn't almost as convenient to open the notes app and create a quick note as it was to reach across my desk for a Moleskine and a pen, it didn't make the cut. This rule also extended to other features: editing and sorting notes had to feel seamless and natural, rather than require a battle with a horrible user interface. 

Similarly, the biggest reason to have a notes app instead of a physical notebook is that you can access it from anywhere on any device at any time , whether you're at your desk at work, chilling on your couch at home, or flying coast-to-coast. At a minimum, I required each notepad app to be available on one desktop and one mobile platform (and sync between them), and to have some kind of offline functionality. You can't be locked out of your notebook because you don't have Wi-Fi. 

Finally, we had the value for money test. I love a good free app, but with things as permanent as digital notes, that has to be balanced against the likelihood of the service surviving the next few years and being able to offer server-based features like syncing. While you will find free note-taking apps on this list, some of the best apps not operated by large technology companies charge a reasonable subscription price, and as long as it was warranted by the features offered, that was no barrier to inclusion.

As you can imagine, these criteria exclude a lot of apps that people love.

If you live at your desk, then an online-only web-based note-taking app might not be a problem for you, but it's just not suitable for anyone who wants to check their grocery list when they're at the store. 

There are some great super-niche notes apps designed for fiction writers or developers, but they aren't fit for most people, so they weren't in consideration for a place on this list.

Similarly, there are lots of powerful business collaboration tools that claim to be notes apps but just aren't suitable for one person to keep track of their grocery list or draft a thank-you note. (As a rule, if an app supports video calls out of the box, it's not a notes app.)

The other thing that's popped up in the last 12 months is AI-powered note-taking apps that claim to either help you write better notes or resurface the information you record in novel ways. While AI features certainly didn't exclude any app, to make the list, it still had to work well as a regular note-taking app too. 

Over the course of a few days, instead of using my notebook or notes app of choice, I wrote my thoughts, lists, and other notes to remember down in one of the apps I was putting through its paces. For any that looked like they might make the list, I dug a bit deeper and tested the other features like sync, sorting, and the like. Here are my favorites.

The best note-taking apps at a glance

Best free note-taking app, microsoft onenote (ios, android, macos, windows, web).

OneNote pros:

A great free plan that's widely available on every platform 

Completely freeform note-taking, so you can jot down whatever you want wherever you want to on the canvas 

OneNote cons:

It's still a Microsoft app, so it can feel a bit corporate for a note-taking app

Microsoft OneNote is the best free note-taking app and in serious contention to be the best note-taking app overall. Unless you know you want a specific set of features that it doesn't offer, it's the first app that most people should try.

OneNote is incredibly freeform when it comes to taking notes, which allows it to adapt to whatever your specific needs are. Each Notebook is modeled off a ringbinder, so it's divided into sections with subsections called pages. And each page is basically a canvas where you can add any kind of note you like, anywhere you want. You can throw in some images, click anywhere to add text notes, and if your computer supports a stylus, scribble a mustache on everyone in the photo. (Otherwise you can draw one on with your trackpad, but it'll be less stylish.) It feels like a solution purpose-built for students and anyone else who has to take long, discursive notes about something or doodle a few diagrams, rather than people looking for a digital notebook to collect short snippets and random ideas.

I'd struggle to call any of Microsoft's apps intuitive, but OneNote is familiar . If you've used any version of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint in the last decade, you'll be right at home. It's certainly better for sitting down and taking notes during a class or meeting than scrawling reminders at a grocery store, but it can do both. 

Microsoft—through its partnership with OpenAI—is one of the biggest proponents of AI, and it's adding an AI feature called Copilot to most of its apps. In OneNote, Copilot is able to create, summarize, and edit text, as well as help you understand your notes. For now, it's only available to some Microsoft 365 customers, so it didn't really factor into my decision-making process for this year's list, but if you're an enterprise OneNote user, it's worth a look.

In terms of pricing, although OneNote is free , it uses your OneDrive storage . You get 5GB included, which is more than enough for most people. But if you use OneDrive to store your photos, or save a lot of image and audio notes, you might hit against that limit. If you do, you can increase it to 100GB for $1.99/month. (You can also sign up for Microsoft 365 from $6.99/month and get the full Office suite of apps and more storage, but which plan is right for you can get complicated .)

With OneNote's Zapier integration , you can automate OneNote to eliminate the hassle of moving information between apps. For example, Zapier can automatically create new notes in OneNote whenever you have a new task, note, or calendar event in another app. Learn more about how to automate OneNote , or get started with one of these pre-made workflows.

Create OneNote notes from new or moved Trello cards

Copy new Evernote notes to your OneNote notebook

Add notes on OneNote for upcoming Google Calendar events

OneNote price : Free for up to 5GB of notes; $1.99/month for 100GB.

Take a look at how OneNote compares to Evernote in our Evernote vs. OneNote showdown .

Best note-taking app for Apple users

Apple notes (ios, macos, web).

Apple Notes pros:

Free and integrates seamlessly between your Apple devices 

Consistently improving; it used to be incredibly basic, but now it's a competent notes app 

Apple Notes cons:

Getting it to play nice with Android or Windows is a fool's errand

There are actually lots of incredible note-taking apps available on Macs, iPads, and iPhones. I could legitimately have filled this spot with picks like Bear and Craft (both of which I love), but Apple Notes takes it because it is free and built in. Plus, it's as convenient, easy to use, and as useful for most people as any of the premium picks. And it keeps getting better. Over the past few years, Apple has added features like tags, sharing, and a powerful search. You can add text to your notes, attach images, scan documents, draw or handwrite, and basically format them as you need. It even integrates with Siri. 

If you've got an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, Apple Notes is the first app to try. Everything syncs easily and, in that classic Apple way, just works. It isn't the most feature-filled app, but for most occasional note takers, it does more than enough.

Apple Notes price : Free for 5GB of storage across all iCloud services; starts at $0.99/month for 50GB . 

There's a very healthy notes app ecosystem for Apple devices; however, since they're all paid products and Apple Notes is so good, none of them made this list. For more options, check out our picks for the best Mac note-taking apps and the best iPad note-taking apps .

Best note app for Google power users

Google keep (android, ios, web, chrome).

Google Keep pros:

Integrates nicely with other Google services like Gmail and Google Docs 

Free as part of a regular Google account 

Google Keep cons:

On its own, it's very basic

Most notes aren't supposed to stand alone—they serve a purpose. They're meant  to remind you to email a friend, help you outline your new book, or one of a million other things. Often, these other things require you to use some other app or service. You can't send an email from your notes app, and while you might be able to outline a book, it's probably not the best place to write it. This is what makes Google Keep such a great option for Google power users.

Google Keep is a little odd. As a notes app, it's fine—though very barebones. There are reasonable web, iOS, and Android versions, and a handy Chrome extension for saving quick notes and links. But it's how it integrates with Google's other services that makes it so useful. 

If you use Google Keep, when you open Gmail in your browser, there's a little lightbulb icon in the right sidebar. Click it, and you have quick access to all your Google Keep notes. You can see any notes related to the thing you're working on, your most recent notes, search for something from a while ago, or create a new one. But here's the thing: that same sidebar is there in all of your Google Docs, in your Google Calendar, and even in your Google Drive. About the only Google app it isn't in is YouTube.

And Keep integrates with the rest of Google in other ways. Click on a note and then Copy to Google Docs to convert it into a new document (you can also drag and drop a note from the sidebar if you have Google Docs open); set a reminder by clicking the little bell icon, and the note appears in your Google Calendar; and if you create an audio note on your smartphone, Google automatically transcribes it.

Really, if you live your work life in Google's ecosystem, you should be using Keep—even if you also use another note-taking solution for your personal life. It comes as part of your Google account and is perfect for any notes you need in the other Google apps.

Google Keep price: Free for 15GB of storage across all of Google apps; starts at $1.99/month for 100GB .

Best note-taking website for collaboration

Notion (android, ios, macos, windows, web).

Notion pros:

Best-in-class collaboration and team note-taking features

Packs in lots of features, like task management, databases, and pretty much anything else you care to think of 

Notion cons:

If you're looking for a personal note-taking app, it can be a bit over the top

Note taking can be something you do for yourself, or something you do with and for others—whether they're your coworkers, fellow students, or just friends and family members. All the apps we've looked at so far are mostly for taking notes for yourself. Sure, you can share and collaborate on notes and even notebooks, but their main features lie elsewhere. With Notion , collaboration on all aspects is built in from the start ( though it can still be used solo ).

Notion is the only app on this list that skirts the provision of it being a note-taking app. It is, but because of its collaborative features, it can be so much more . It's basically three tools in one: a powerful notes app (which is why it's on this list), a task and project manager, and a reference wiki. How you combine those three things is up to you. 

Each new document or note is called a page, and everything in Notion is referred to as a block. Blocks include basic elements like text, checklists, and headings, as well as media types like images, web bookmarks, video, audio, code snippets, and files. You can use as many blocks as you want, in whatever combination, on every page. The sidebar is split into two sections: Teamspaces , which groups all the pages you share with the rest of your team, and Private , where you can have your own notes. While collaboration is a big part of Notion, it's not forced on you.

Notion is also really embracing AI . While you can try it for free, it costs $10/month to enable unlimited access. It can generate and edit text, but more usefully, it can also summarize and pull action items from meeting notes, transcriptions, and anything else you like. Notion is also testing a new Q&A feature, where you can ask a chatbot for information about your notes. It's similar to what Mem currently does , and should make it easier to find and pull content from your notes. (Mem also has powerful AI features worth checking out, but it's not as easy to use as a regular notes app.)

One thing to note: Notion bills itself as an Evernote competitor for personal users. It can be—but it's too much for most people, and its offline functionality isn't the best. If you love the idea of Notion, go right ahead and try the free Personal Plan, but for me, it's really best as a team notes app or an AI-powered notes app. Something like Obsidian (which we'll look at in a moment) or Craft have a lot of Notion's best features, but they're tailored for individuals.

Notion integrates with Zapier , so you can connect it to thousands of other apps to do things like automatically generate GitHub or Jira issues from new Notion database items. Learn more about how to automate Notion , or check out these templates for inspiration.

Create GitHub issues from new items in Notion databases

Generate Jira issues with new Notion database items

Notion price : Free for personal users; free trial for team users with a 1,000 block limit; from $10/user/month for the Plus plan with unlimited blocks. Notion AI starts at $10/user/month.

If you're deciding between Notion and OneNote, take a look at our showdown: Notion vs. OneNote .

Best notes app for power note-takers

Obsidian (android, ios, macos, windows, linux).

Obsidian pros:

A new way of approaching note-taking that allows you to create an interlinked digital database

Incredibly extensible and customizable

Obsidian cons:

There's a serious learning curve

Obsidian is one of a new category of note-taking apps that pushes the boundaries of what a note-taking app can—and should—do. Along with Notion and Roam Research (which didn't make this list because of its high price and barrier to entry), it strives to be an all-encompassing digital database for your life—and kind of pulls it off. 

Obsidian has a much steeper learning curve than the other apps on this list, so only check it out if you're prepared to put in the work to get it set up to your needs. At its core, it's just a notes app that uses text files formatted in Markdown , but things can get more complicated quickly. Certainly, if you try to use it as a basic notes app, you'll be a bit disappointed with it.

With Obsidian, you can sort your notes into folders and subfolders using the sidebar like you would with a normal notes app, but more interestingly, you can link between them using internal hyperlinks. Typing [[ brings up a dialog box that lets you select any other note to link to. This means you can easily reference notes you've previously created; for example, you can create a list of all the books you've read in the last year and link to the notes where you review them. And in the sidebar for every note, you can see all the notes linking to the current note and all the notes it links out to. There's also a Graph view that visualizes all these links too. It's this connection-focused approach that makes Obsidian so fascinating—but also so inscrutable. Either you love the idea, or it's a needlessly complicated way to make grocery lists; there's very little middle ground.

On top of that, you can basically customize anything you want. You have total control over the interface and can have as many notes as you want open in the same window. There are even community plugins, which add features—like a Kanban board—that take it far beyond simple text files. My colleague Justin Pot told me, "Obsidian has literally changed my life," and I don't think recommendations come much stronger than that. 

Obsidian price : Free for personal use; $50/user/year for commercial use. Premium add-ons offer services like Sync and Publish from $10/month.

Best Evernote alternative

Joplin (android, ios, macos, windows, linux).

Joplin pros:

The closest direct competitor to Evernote on this list 

Free and open source (though syncing through Joplin Cloud is extra)

Joplin cons:

Less polished than the competition 

Not only is Joplin the best open source note-taking app on our list, but it's also the best free Evernote alternative too. For a number of reasons I'll explore below, I don't feel Evernote merits a spot on this list right now; however, because Evernote has been such a staple of the note-taking app space, most other apps compete by trying to be different. OneNote is awesome, but using it is a totally different experience to using Evernote. Joplin, though, gets things pretty close—and you can import all your notebooks from Evernote.

The interface is what you'd expect from an Evernote-like note-taking app. Notebooks go on the left, notes are in a second column, and you view and write your notes in a third. Because Joplin fully supports Markdown (and gets a million bonus points for doing so), there's also a fourth preview column that shows you what your notes look like in rich text. Of course, this is only by default—you can turn off the preview, write in rich text, and switch things up however else you like.

As an open source app, there are a few rough edges. The user interface isn't always consistent, so you'll catch things like menu items using different cases (you've got File > New sub-notebook and File > Close Window right next to each other, for example). But really, this is me just nitpicking. A small amount of UI weirdness doesn't take away from the functionality of the app.

While Joplin is totally free to use, you will need some kind of sync service to get your notes across all your devices. You can use a file sharing service like Dropbox or OneDrive, but there is also the official Joplin Cloud that allows you to publish your notes to the internet and collaborate with other people. Whatever option you go with, your notes are end-to-end encrypted for security. 

Joplin price: Free, though Joplin Cloud starts at €2.99/month and adds syncing and 2GB of storage.

Why not Evernote?

Evernote often tops lists of best notes apps, but it isn't on this list for a few reasons:

While Evernote was one of the apps that defined the digital note-taking category, it hasn't really been relevant for almost a decade. It was overvalued and overhyped in the mid-2010s, and even though many tech writers (including me) have fond memories of it, there are now better apps available that do similar things.

Evernote is expensive. Its free plan doesn't offer its best features, and at $15/month for a subscription, there are better options out there for most people.

Evernote is old—and feels it. Despite attempts to modernize, it isn't as sleek or fast as apps like Obsidian or Joplin. 

Evernote was sold last year . While some apps survive these kinds of mergers, many don't—at least not without losing what made them great. While the free plan has improved a little, the paid plan has doubled in price.

With all that said, if Evernote sticks around, it will continue to be reconsidered for inclusion on this list—especially if it properly starts supporting Markdown. Until then, I'd recommend you try one of the alternatives to Evernote that I included above.

Which note-taking software should you choose?

Digital note taking is just as personal as the doodles on your high school notebook. Good note-taking apps will account for this kind of personalization, so you can do your online note taking the way that suits you.

That means the best app for notes will be the one that feels the most comfortable for you . Give a few of them a try, and see what approach you like best.

Related reading:

The best note-taking apps for Mac

The best note-taking apps for Android

The best note-taking apps for iPad

This post was originally published in October 2015 and previously had contributions from Emily Esposito and Jimmy Daly. The most recent update was in November 2023.

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Harry Guinness

Harry Guinness is a writer and photographer from Dublin, Ireland. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Lifehacker, the Irish Examiner, and How-To Geek. His photos have been published on hundreds of sites—mostly without his permission.

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The 15 Best Free Note Taking Apps to Use in 2024

Erica Chappell

Managing Editor

April 8, 2024

Are you a working professional who needs to take notes on the go? If so, you’re in luck! Technology has made it easier than ever for business professionals and students alike to find an app that perfectly fits their note taking needs. But with so many different options available, how do you know which ones are right for you?

Have no fear! In this post we’ll show off some of the best free note taking apps out there, while sharing information about each one’s features and capabilities.

Read on as we explain why ClickUp should be at the top of your list when looking for a reliable and effective note taking solution.

What is a Note Taking App?

Key features of the best note taking apps, 1. clickup docs, 2. google keep, 4. workflowy, 5. evernote, 8. squidnotes, 9. microsoft onenote, 10. simplenote, 11. dropbox paper, 12. goodnotes, 13. obsidian, 15. milanote.

Note taking apps are digital tools specifically designed to help you capture and organize ideas and information easily. They provide a digital canvas for you to jot down everything from meeting notes, task lists, and brainstorming sessions, to personal reflections, research findings, and even creative inspirations.

Ease of Use: The best note taking apps have an intuitive and user-friendly interface. You should be able to quickly jot down ideas, create lists, or record voice memos without navigating through complex menus or instructions.

Organization Capabilities: Look for an app that allows you to categorize, tag, or color-code your notes for easy retrieval. Some apps even offer the option to create notebooks or folders for more structured organization.

Search Functionality: A good note taking app should provide robust search capabilities, allowing you to find specific pieces of information within your notes quickly.

Sync Across Devices: If you’re using multiple devices (like a smartphone, tablet, and laptop), ensure the app can sync your notes across all of them. This way, you can access and update your notes from anywhere, at any time.

Integrations with Other Apps: Does the note taking app integrate well with other apps you frequently use? This could include your calendar, email, project management, or cloud storage apps. Seamless integration can significantly improve your productivity and efficiency.

Rich Text and Multimedia Support: Depending on your needs, you may want an app that supports rich text formatting, images, audio recordings, or even handwritten notes. These features can make your notes more comprehensive and versatile.

Collaboration Features: If you work as part of a team, look for apps that allow you to share your notes and collaborate with others. This could include real-time co-editing, comments, and task assignment.

Security and Privacy: Your notes may contain sensitive information. Ensure the app offers strong security features like end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication.

Price: Last but not least, consider your budget. While many note taking apps offer free versions, they often come with limitations. Paid versions usually provide more features and storage space. However, make sure the cost is justified by the value it brings to your workflow.

15 Best Note Taking Apps in 2024

What makes a handy and reliable note-taking app?

Simple: functionality, user-friendly UI, accessibility, and searchability (and okay, maybe aesthetics, too). That’s what you get with ClickUp Docs, and so much more!

Because ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity tool, it offers all the features you need. From complex project management to your daily note-taking and documenting needs—and everything in between, ClickUp has you covered.

It helps you organize and bring all your notes and work into one centralized hub—and with the mobile app, you can keep them wherever you go. 😊

For effective note-taking or even fast-tracking blog writing with AI tools , ClickUp offers a doc feature to capture your most important notes, jot down your brilliant ideas, or store your self-reminder notes and checklists. All of which is easily shareable with anyone online via a public link (or kept private 🤫).

Beyond your everyday note-taking needs, ClickUp Docs can also be used for all kinds of use cases such as wikis, meeting minutes and agendas, knowledge bases, and company portals that can be linked directly to tasks, comments, chat conversations, and more, making it a great solution for small to enterprise teams .

The collaborative editing and detection feature within ClickUp Docs shows who’s working on what allowing teams to simultaneously work in the same Doc without overlap, creating a better collaborative note-taking experience for all. And should you need to embed files or add images to your notes, ClickUp Docs can support attachment files and embed links such as YouTube, spreadsheets, and so much more!

Best of all, ClickUp Docs offers basic to advanced typography and rich editing features to let you format your notes the way you prefer and make your notes stand out—change the font size and color, add highlight a text in color, add colored banners to break up the text; let your creativity run wild!

For quick notes and checklists, you can also take advantage of ClickUp’s Notepad feature to jot down ideas, reminders, and action items from anywhere and take them wherever you go via the ClickUp mobile app.

• ClickUp AI : Use AI to summarize your notes and create AI content faster
• Full-customizable platform and user-friendly interface
• View Notepad notes offline (Note: you’ll need an internet connection to save changes)
• Custom permission and sharing
• Rich-editing features
• Available on the mobile app
• Free Forever Plan
• Learning curve to the number of features
• Not all views are in the mobile app, yet

ClickUp pricing

• Free Forever Plan  (best for personal use)
• Unlimited Plan  (best for small teams ($7/member per month)
• Business Plan  (best for mid-sized teams ($12/member per month)
• ClickUp AI is available on all paid plans for $5 per Workspace member per month

Availability: All devices Check out our page for a full breakdown of what makes ClickUp Docs one of the best note-taking apps on the market today!

Google Keep is a great note app because it meets all of the points I made above, plus it’s simple. And completely accessible.

Make note lists, save links, copy text and even record audio notes. Those are amazing features that come as part of your Gsuite applications.

With reminders, Google Keep can be used for very lightweight task management.

• As part of the Google Suite, you can take meeting minutes or lecture notes on your browser or your smartphone via an app and it stays with you.
• Opens next to Google Calendar
• Search for notes by color, lists with images, audio notes with reminders, or shared notes

Con: Formatting text or markdown is a bit harder to do.

Availability: All devices

Google Keep is free to download.

Compare this web app with #5: Evernote

Though only available on Apple products , Bear is a note taking app to be reckoned with. It has a simple left to right interface with a main menu, a note snippet display of your most recent notes, and then the actual note taking area.

One of its key features is its organizational system. Use hashtags to categorize, then use a slash command to create even more subfolders. You can do this from anywhere in the note. This is a simple way to organize and categorize your notes.

The new folders then automatically appear in your main menu. It also uses other markdown text editor shortcuts to link your notes together. Very intuitive!

• Hashtags and categorization from anywhere in the note
• Multiple themes to offer a style for everyone
• Markup editor supporting 150+ programming languages

Cons: Not enough separate workspaces or different levels of categories. This Reddit thread has more information on Bear.

Bear offers a 1 week free trial and is $1.49/month per user.

Availability: iOS

Check out these Bear App alternatives !

Workflowy is a notes/project management hybrid , but it works best for notes. Workflowy takes the idea of an outline to an extreme. Rather than create smaller cards for each of your notes (like a notepad), Workflowy drills further and further down into an outline, creating a hierarchical structure right from the start.

Workflowy offers extreme flexibility. Novelists use to plan books; managers can create quick tasks and checklists to pass onto their team.

From there, you can add tags and more organizational tools emerge.

With its new mobile apps, Workflowy is definitely worth a try.

Not sure about Workflowy? Check out our blog on Workflowy alternatives . 

• Easy to see zoom in and out from the big picture to smaller details
• Backlinks easily to anything
• Mobile app for iOS and Android

CON: Sometimes users can be frustrated by its plain approach–it’s almost too simple. The blank page can be daunting after all. But you can set favorites and more to navigate.

Workflowy is free to use for up to 250 bullets per month. For additional items, you’ll have to purchase the pro version, which offers unlimited lists and items at $4.99/month.

Evernote, often considered the original authority in the realm of note-taking applications, has somewhat dimmed its once bright allure over time.

Recently, Evernote has imposed restrictions on their free plan , limiting users to a single notebook and a maximum of 50 notes. Despite these changes, the core functionality remains intact: the app still facilitates seamless note-taking, list creation, and even permits file attachments for comprehensive note organization. However, it’s important to remember that these limitations could impact the way you utilize Evernote on a day-to-day basis.

Proceed with caution on Evernote!

Check out our review on Evernote and its alternatives.  

• Web clipper and card system are familiar
• Searchable text in file formats, including PDF files and documents
• Custom Evernote templates for note taking

CON: Limited free plan, rising prices and uncertain product leadership

Evernote also has a free plan with 60MB worth of uploads a month. The paid plans start at $8.99/user per month.

Availability: Everywhere

Paper is a different type of note taking app –it’s the one for you visual thinkers out there. Made more like a sketch pad, you can dive into paintbrushes, swirls, and shapes. Create mind maps or draw a quick cartoon as a reminder. Its notebook feature helps you set up the organization that you need to group your notes and drawings into different categories.

• Capture quick design ideas
• Easily add multiple photos to a page
• Sync your pages across all of your devices

CON: Not many keyboard functions for the text types out there…and only available on Mac/iOS

Paper’s free plan allows for up to 2GB. Paid plans start at $10/month per user.

Availability: Mac/iOS

Ulysses is a hybrid writing program and note taking app. If you find yourself needing to transform your notes from raw form into something presentable, then Ulysses lets you do that all across your Mac devices. You can take notes in a plain text mode and then throw in another theme for export.

It also offers writing goals and links to outside resources, like a PDF for instance. Its clean interface is inviting to many users.

• A  minimalist interface for long-form writing
• Built-in proofreader and editing assistant

CON: One drawback? It requires an ongoing subscription, so take a test run before committing.

Ulysses is $5.99/month per user.

Availability: Mac and iOS

SquidNotes is one of those writing apps that captures your real handwriting. It mimics taking notes in an actual notebook or legal pad. You can use a compatible stylus or write with your finger. You can then resize your notes, add shapes and export to PDF and more. It’s also great for commenting on images and suggesting edits.

• Use your real handwriting (that’s a con for me)
• Great for marking up documents and suggesting edits

CON: Won’t be as concise or compact as other note taking apps such as Evernote or OneNote (if that matters to you)

SquidNotes offers a free plan for users. Paid plans start at $10/year.

Availability: Android

At first, I thought Microsoft OneNote was just the answer to Google Keep or Evernote…but it’s actually more than that.

It’s a great tool for annotating and commenting on PDFs, and it combines the functionality of traditional notes with the sketchbook approach. It’s the best one at doing both.

You can take audio dictation, photos, make a to-do list or draw. An amazing OneNote feature is using the keyboard and sketching in the same app. You don’t have to give up your handwritten notes entirely. 

Microsoft users will want to take advantage especially since it connects to your 365 account, which can then sync across all your browsers, apps and mobile devices you use for Office365. 

Check out our blog on OneNote alternatives & compare Notion vs. OneNote !

• Sketches and typed notes in one place! And Microsoft.
• Add voice notes
• Built in math assistant (paid feature)
• OneNote templates

Cons: Lacks a lot of major integrations.

Microsoft OneNote is free to download.

Compare Google Keep Vs OneNote !

Free notes?

Clean interface?

The team from Automattic (creators of WordPress) want to solve your note taking problems with Simplenote , a free and open-source note taking platform.

An advantageous feature is syncing Simplenote across all of your devices–whether it’s Windows, Mac or your mobile devices.

You also get markdown, which is a huge bonus for sharing code or to emphasize a point. On the flip side, Simplenote only supports basic note taking and there is no rich text editor.

One Simplenote feature that others don’t have is a drag-and-drop interface for revisions and note history. Just drag the toolbar to go back in time.

• Use across desktop and mobile devices, easy to review past history
• Simple interface
• Note version history

Cons:  Not great for attachments, setting reminders, hard to format texts

Simplenote is $10/year per user.

Availability:  Mac, iOS, Android, Windows

Dropbox Paper is a seamless collaboration tool for teams of all sizes and industries to edit documents and share all your notes within the program.

Users can add annotations to images, mention people from documents, and connect to their calendars to find  meeting notes  quickly.

Dropbox Paper has powerful syncing capabilities to help put everyone on the same page.

However, if you’re looking to share professional presentation slides, Dropbox lacks advanced formatting features compared to popular word processors.

• Dropbox files embedded into Dropbox Paper previews correctly
• Large selection of media support from other sources

Cons:  Not as intuitive compared to top-rated word processors and poor note organization

Dropbox Paper is free to use.

Availability:  iOs and Android apps

GoodNotes is a smart digital paper and social app for students.

Using GoodNote, students can connect with other students worldwide studying the same subjects and exchange notes.

This feature (at no extra cost) called Community allows users to create their own profile for others to view their documents.

While the Community feature is an incredible tool for people to connect, the note taking features compared to Notability are limited or non-existent.

• Built-in flashcards when you’re in study mode
• Shared Documents feature allows you to use a shareable link to collaborate
• No extra cost to download the Mac app

Cons:  No task management features making GoodNotes unsuitable for high-level project planning

GoodNotes is a free note taking app for up to 3 notebooks. The unlimited version is a one time fee of $8.99.

Availability:  iOS, iPadOS, and Mac

Obsidian is a note-taking and knowledge management app that runs as a Markdown-based system. The application was created based on how the human brain works—focusing on making and following connections between notes. It provides a rich-taking experience and a powerful method for linking documents together via backlinks, creating a web of knowledge, and helps users centralize notes in one place.

• Backlink and graph view help users easily navigate their notes
• Supports CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) for portability
• Customizable and can add plugins to create a personalized note-taking tool kit
• For Apple users, the iOS version works only with iCloud (does not work with other Cloud folders)
• Unable to export notes to MS Word (only as a PDF file)
• No table editing yet (available as a plugin)

Availability: Mac, Windows, Linux, Web, iOS, Android

Obsidian offers a free plan for personal use. Paid plans start at a flat rate of $25.

Bonus: Obsidian Vs. Notion

Coda is an all-in-one document management solution that brings all your words, data, and teamwork into one powerful doc. Teams can combine building blocks to create a doc, create, edit, and view documents and spreadsheets simultaneously, create surveys and polls , set up custom workflows, automate notifications, and so much more.

• Includes drag and drop capabilities
• Offers customizable Coda templates
• Real-time collaboration
• Mobile-friendly app for all your devices
• Onboarding can be intimidating; steep learning curve
• Issues with integration with other tools
• Slow speed and performance

Coda offers a limited free plan. Paid plans start at $10/month per user.

Availability : Cloud, SaaS, Web-based, Mobile (Android, iPhone, iPad)

Bonus: Coda Vs. Airtable

• User-friendly interface for note taking
• Collaboration geatures
• Creativity enhancements
• Limited text formatting
• Some users report not liking the board-based format
• Limited free version and expensive paid plans

Milanote offers free and paid plans starting at $9.99/month per user.

Note Taking Made Eas y Made with Note Taking Apps!

No doubt, having a great note taking app is a lifesaver. Your choice may depend on your use case. Do you want a lot of features available through an app like Ulysses, or something simple to jot down your grocery list? Or maybe an online notepad that’s available all across the web if you spend a lot of time in your tabs.

Your choice may depend on what you need, how often you need sketches (or not) and what you want to do with your notes once you’re done with them. Exporting isn’t for everyone. 

Which best note taking app will you choose? 

Other great posts to help with your notes:

• Best note taking strategies
• Best organizational tools
• Best productivity apps
• Release notes templates
• Bear vs Evernote

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The 10 Best Note Taking Apps of 2024

Stay organized and productive with a notes app

• University of Ontario
• George Brown College
• Payment Services

Note-taking apps are more useful than you might think. Taking notes with pen and paper works just fine for some, but if you have a smartphone or tablet, using an app designed for note-taking can truly change the way you get things done.

Whether your note-taking style demands minimal design and slick gesture-based functions, or advanced organization and cataloging of various media, chances are there's a notes app that's right for you.

Here are 10 of the best to consider, whether you're using a Windows or Mac computer, an Android device, iOS, Chrome OS, or another operating system.

Organize All Your Notes Into Categorized Notebooks: Evernote

Available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices.

Use on the web; browser extensions available.

Excellent search function for notes.

Free basic plan is limited in features.

Monthly cost for premium plan is pricey.

Practically anyone who has ever looked into note-taking apps has come across Evernote—which tops the list. This powerful tool lets you organize notes into notebooks, which can be synced across as many as two devices. All free accounts also get 60 MB of space for uploading files to the cloud .

A few compelling features of Evernote include the ability to clip web pages and images, search for text inside images, and share and work on notes with other users. Plus and Premium subscriptions get you more storage, the opportunity to use more than two devices, and access to more advanced features.

Compatibility:

Creative Note-Taking for the Apple Fan: Notability

Good text-formatting options.

Text wrapping with images.

Works well with Apple Pencil.

Only for iOS/iPadOS devices.

No free version available.

If you like to write by hand, draw, sketch, or doodle, Notability is a must-have. Its suite of advanced note-taking tools lets you combine your handwritten or drawn work with typed text, photos, and videos, and zoom in when you need a closer look.

Notability also lets you do some amazing things with PDF files ; you can annotate them, fill them out, sign them, and send them off. Unlike many of the other apps in this list, Notability isn't free, but it's affordable.

Use Cards to Make Note-Taking Fun and Colorful: Google Keep

Organize with customizable labels.

Set time and location-based reminders.

Free and well-integrated with the Google tech ecosystem.

No desktop app; notes are available on the web.

Maximum of 50 labels; no hierarchical label organization.

Web clipper saves URLs only.

No text formatting.

With a more visual approach, Google Keep's card-based notes are perfect for people who want to see all their ideas, lists, images and audio clips in one place. You can color-code your notes, add other attributes so that they're easy to find, and share your notes with others who need to access and edit them. Like Evernote and Simplenote, changes made by you or other users with whom you share your notes are automatically synced across all platforms.

You can set up time- and location-based reminders so that you remember to do something at a specific place or time. When typing is inconvenient, the app's voice memo feature lets you record a message for a quick note in audio format.

• Google Chrome web browser

Build on the Power of Microsoft Apps: OneNote

Compatible with Google Chrome, Apple Watch, and web browsers.

Syncs well across all your devices.

Lots of options for note formatting and design.

No quick customizable tagging for simple organization.

Notebook, section, and page structure is inefficient to navigate.

Search functionality isn't as slick as Evernote or Google Keep.

Microsoft's OneNote is an app to consider if you regularly use Microsoft 365 apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; the app is fully integrated with them. Type, write, and draw using the freeform pen, and use powerful organization tools like pinning to easily find what you're looking for later.

Use OneNote to collaborate with others and access the latest versions of your notes from any device. Capture an image of a whiteboard or slideshow with automatic cropping , and make an audio note without having to use an external recording app.

• Apple Watch
• Windows Phone
• Google Chrome Web Browser

Note-Taking for the Minimalist: Simplenote

Design is minimalist and simple.

Syncs to all your devices.

Works with most popular platforms and devices.

May be too simple for some users.

Text notes only; no images or other media.

Evernote is great if you need extra storage and fancy features, but if you're looking for a stripped-down notes app with a clean, minimal interface, Simplenote could be for you. Built for speed and efficiency, it lets you create as many notes as you like and keep them all straight with basic organizational features such as tags and search. 

You can use Simplenote to collaborate with others, and all notes are automatically synced across your account whenever changes are made. A nifty slider feature allows you to go back in time to previous versions of your notes, which are always automatically saved before you make any changes to them.

A Stunningly Visual Note-Taking Experience: Notebook

Design is bright and appealing.

Text, checklist, photo, audio, sketch, and file cards.

Supports Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and web access.

Customize notebook covers, use your own images.

Needs more art for notebook covers.

Not geared toward collaborative note-taking.

If you like the idea of Google Keep's card-like interface, then you might find Zoho's Notebook app useful, too. Create a checklist card for your grocery items, a card for a story you're working on with inline images included, a sketch card for some doodling, or even an audio card of your voice. 

Zoho features smooth, intuitive, gesture-based functions that help you organize, reorder, copy, group, and flick through notes to find what you're looking for. Notebook is free and syncs everything across your account automatically, so you always have your notes no matter which device you're using.

A Collaborative Note-Taking App for Your Whole Team: Dropbox Paper

Strong features for collaboration.

Clean and uncluttered look.

Add a variety of media; not just links.

More complex than a simple note-taking app.

Paper documents are separate from Dropbox folders.

Takes time to get used to.

If you already use Dropbox to store files in the cloud, check out Dropbox Paper. It acts as a flexible workspace built to prevent distraction while helping people work together. This app focuses on collaboration, allowing users to chat with each other in real-time while editing any document.

Don't be fooled by its minimal design: Dropbox Paper has lots of advanced features tucked away that are easy to access and intuitive to use once you're familiar with the app. Create new documents, edit existing ones, see all your team activity in an organized list, post and reply to comments, prioritize documents, and more.

Best App for Taking Digital Handwritten Notes: Squid

Designed for handwritten notes; use your finger or a stylus.

PDF markup is easy.

Not available for macOS, iOS, or Windows devices.

Not easy to sync with other devices.

Squid modernizes the old-fashioned pen and paper with digital features that enhance the note-taking experience. Just use your finger or stylus to handwrite notes just as you would on paper. Similar to Google Keep and Notebook, Squid displays all your most recent notes in a card-like interface for easy access.

Every note has a toolbar at the top that allows you to customize your ink, duplicate what you've written, resize it, erase mistakes, zoom in or out, and more. You can insert PDF files for markup, highlight text, and insert new pages wherever you want.

Most Flexible Note-Taking App: Bear

Import notes from other apps.

Simple, easy-to-use design.

Export to a variety of formats, including PDF and JPEG.

Supports Markdown.

Available only for Mac and iOS devices.

Requires a paid plan to sync devices.

Bear is one of the most flexible, beautifully designed note-taking apps available for Apple devices. Made for both quick notes and in-depth essays with advanced markup and options to insert images, links, and more, the app offers a "focus mode" to help you concentrate.

You can customize the theme and typography to fit your style, use a wide variety of editing tools to optimize your notes, quickly add to-dos to any note, tag any note with a hashtag, and much more. The core version is free, but a pro subscription takes your note-taking to the next level.

Basic, Minimal, and Possibly All You Need: Notes

Handwrite notes and sketch with Apple Pencil.

Organize notes with folders and tags.

Pin notes to the top of the list.

Scan documents using device camera.

Available only for Apple devices.

Basic note-taking features.

Only simple text formatting.

Apple's Notes app is uncomplicated and intuitive, yet it does the job with just the essential features. In macOS Monterey (12.0) and later, you can use tags and smart folders to organize your entries, and you can mention collaborators with the @ sign to grab their attention.

Create a checklist, insert photos, customize formatting, or even add another Notes user so they can view and add information to it. Although it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of many other note-taking apps, Notes stands out for getting the job done in the simplest, quickest way possible.

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College Info Geek

The 11 Best Note-Taking Apps in 2023 – Evernote, Notion, and More

C.I.G. is supported in part by its readers. If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read more here.

Taking notes used to be so simple. You’d take out a sheet of parchment, dip your quill in ink, and get to writing.

Then a bunch of nerds got together and started  inventing things — and that’s when note-taking got complicated. Suddenly we had to choose from different models of typewriters and competing keyboard layouts.

Later the computer showed up, and with it, we got GUIs and dozens of different writing applications. And then the Internet came along, bringing cloud syncing into the mix.

In 2023, we’re faced with a dizzying array of tools and apps for taking notes. How do you choose which one to use?

Luckily, we’ve done the research. After putting dozens of apps through their paces and testing every feature — from the writing experience to shortcuts to sharing capabilities — we’ve put together this list of the best note-taking apps currently available.

Read on to find out which tool is the right one for you, your devices, and your price range!

Looking for tips on how to actually take your notes? Once you’ve chosen your app, check out our guide to the 6 best note-taking methods .

The Top 11 Note-Taking Apps of 2023

Overview:  Offers a powerful, database-driven note-taking experience that’s unlike most apps out there.

• Flexible pages. Notion has a template engine that allows you to turn pretty much anything into an easily-duplicated template, including a multi-layered collection of pages. It also has great media embedding and previewing tools, including a gallery view for photos and videos.
• Powerful tables. Tables in Notion aren’t just charts; they’re databases. Think of Notion’s databases as Google Docs + Google Sheets. Every row in a table is its own Notion page that you can go into and update.
• Nested hierarchical organization. You’re probably tired of this. But Notion does this. You can even turn a set of text into a dropdown so you can roll it up when you want non-immediate information out of the way.
• Hybrid editor. Notion lets you write in Markdown or use normal keyboard shortcuts and UI elements to format your text.
• Free personal accounts.  As long as you don’t mind the 5 MB file upload limit, Notion’s free plan offers everything you need to take notes.
• No offline support. Currently, you need to have an internet connection to use Notion. The team is working to change this, but it’s a big limitation at the moment.

Price:  Free

Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web

Notion is one of the most flexible and powerful apps I've ever used. It can be a note-taking app, but there's also a database feature with multiple views (including Trello-style kanban boards and calendars) the ability to make anything into a template, and great collaboration features. At CIG, we use it for all of our team documentation, and I also manage every YouTube video I make with it.

2. Evernote

Overview: Evernote is a cross-platform note-taking app that’s great for processing hand-written notes and clipping articles from the web. The price, however, could be prohibitive on a student budget.

• Multiple file formats. If you’re on a paid plan, Evernote can hold anything your professor throws at you: PDFs, PowerPoints, the 3 different sheets of requirements for one project. One fun extra: If you paste a Google Docs link, Evernote creates a Google Drive icon in-line and changes the URL to the name of the doc.
• Scanner for mobile. You can use Evernote as a scanner to take photos of pages of books when you don’t want to pay for photocopying. It also has optical character recognition.
• Web clipper for browsers. Great for saving those New York Times articles that are hidden behind a paywall so you can use them for your essay later. You can pick how much of the page you want to capture: everything, just the article text, or a highlighted selection of text.
• Limited organization. Imagine your study area’s desk : You have notebooks lying around that contain class notes, random doodles, and frustrated journal entries. You can pile up semi-related notebooks into stacks. You can put sticky notes or flags into pages of the notebook that contain certain topics you want to refer to. That’s the extent of organization with Evernote: stacks, notebooks, notes, and tags.
• No Markdown support. If you typically write in Markdown to speed up your writing process, you’ll find its lack of support in Evernote frustrating.
• Pricey. If you use Evernote to scan documents and save research papers as I do, the 60 MB included in the free plan won’t cut it. And if you want to use it with more than 2 devices or use optical character recognition, you have to go Premium. At least students get 50% off Premium for a year.

Price:  $7.99 / month

Overview: Microsoft’s free cross-platform note-taking app gives Evernote a run for its money, though the interface leaves something to be desired.

• Totally. Free. It has everything Evernote can do, but there’s no premium tier. So you get the full feature set out of the box.
• On basically all the platforms (for free). Just had to emphasize this: With OneNote, you get unlimited devices — a feature that other note-taking apps, like Evernote and Bear, keep behind a premium subscription.
• Freeform. Unlike Evernote, you can put text boxes everywhere on the screen for OneNote. You can draw. You can even change the background to look like a ruled notebook!
• Even less organization than Evernote. It lacks note sorting options, such as sorting notes by newest created or newest modified.
• Messy interface + Limited tagging capabilities.  With OneNote, you have notebooks and dividers within notebooks. Then you can also indent notes within notes. But it’s all over the user interface: notebooks on the left, dividers up top, then notes on the right. I’m a messy note-taker myself, but c’mon.

Price:  Included with a Microsoft 365 subscription (starting at $69.99 / year). Check if you have free access through your school or company.

Platforms:  Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web

4. Roam Research

Overview: Roam Research takes a different approach to organization than most note-taking tools. You can instantly link one note to another to create a web of information, doing away with the need for tags and folders.

• Delightful writing  experience . Roam has strong support for Markdown, and the app is set up so that you can immediately begin writing when you open it.
• The setup of the app encourages daily journaling. The default page when you open the app is a “Daily Note” for the current day. I’ve found this encourages me to journal in the course of using the app, which often leads to new ideas.
• Fluid note-to-note linking . One of the core features of Roam is how easy it is to link notes (what Roam calls “Pages”) to each other. After you get the hang of the syntax, you’ll find yourself automatically linking notes (and ideas) together.
• Easy to visualize the connection between notes. Roam features a “Graph Overview” that shows the connections between your notes as a web. It’s an interesting alternative to the hierarchical view that most note-taking apps use.
• No offline capability.  Roam currently works only in the browser, and it requires an internet connection to access your notes. However, the founder claims an offline version of Roam is in development.
• Learning curve. Roam is very powerful once you learn how to use it, but expect to spend a few hours learning the syntax and overall philosophy of the app.
• Expensive.  Access to Roam will cost you $15/month – more than any other tool on this list. Roam’s fans passionately argue that the tool’s design innovations more than warrant the price. We’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Price:  $15 / month (after a 31-day free trial)

Platforms: Mac, Linux, Windows, Web

Here’s an overview of Roam Research from our founder Thomas Frank:

Overview: Bear features powerful Markdown capability and an excellent writing experience. The only downside is its lack of Windows support.

• Hybrid Markdown editor. You don’t have to imagine what your formatted Markdown will look like after you write because Bear formats text as you type.
• Simple organizational system. Using “#” and “/”, Bear lets you tag each note and nest those tags within each other. #NestedHierarchy
• Archive feature. A small but time-saving feature. Archiving a note takes it out of search and organization without deleting it.
• Clean writing experience. Bear looks good out of the box — writing is readable, simple, and clean. The Premium version gets you a half dozen free themes that look even slicker.
• Just Mac and iPhone. If you have a Windows setup…sorry.
• Limited organization After a few weeks of using Bear, I started bumping up against the limitations of its organization system.

Price: Free for most features. Upgrade to the Pro subscription ($1.49 / month) to sync your notes between devices and get additional export options.

Platforms: iOS, Mac

6. Apple Notes

Overview: Apple Notes offers solid organization and formatting features, though it lacks Markdown support and is (unsurprisingly) only for Apple devices.

• Free.  If you have an Apple device, you have access to Apple Notes.
• Good-enough formatting tools. You get the usual bold , italics , and fonts.
• Allows cross-platform editing via the browser. No need for Google Drive/Dropbox workarounds. Just log in to your iCloud account from a browser and you can pull up your notes on a PC.
• Can create nested lists of hierarchical folders. This is surprising, given that some paid apps don’t have this feature. Well played, Apple.
• No hybrid Markdown. You can’t have it all in a free tool, can you?

Platforms:  iOS, Mac

7. Google Keep

Overview: Google Keep offers a basic, cross-platform note-taking app that plays well with other Google tools. The only downside is its lack of organizational features.

• Free.  All you need is a Google account.
• Simple. Imagine how you use sticky notes, and Keep will make sense to you. You write something on the note, stick it in a place you’ll remember, then (ideally) transfer it somewhere permanent. The Google Keep interface even looks like a wall of stickies.
• No hierarchical organization. There’s only one level of tags. Depending on how much organization you need, this may not matter.

Platforms:  Android, iOS, Web

8. Standard Notes

Overview: Standard Notes takes security seriously and has powerful search features. The only downside is its lack of in-app image hosting.

• Most security-focused. Everything you write is encrypted by default, and only you can access it.
• Free (mostly).  The free version of the app includes most features. But you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want support for rich text and Markdown.
• Powerful search. Custom tags are infinitely nestable, similar to Bear. You can also define and save custom searches based on different criteria.
• Supports all major devices. Including Linux.
• Limited image support. It can’t host in-app. You have to save your images elsewhere before you can save them in the app.
• Can’t drag-and-drop notes between folders and tags.

Price:  Free for basic features. Upgrade to the Core Plan ($29 / year) to get rich text, Markdown support, and other features.

Platforms:  Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows, Web

9. Obsidian

Overview:  Obsidian combines customizable knowledge organization features with a Markdown editor that’s a delight to use.

• Simple.  Obsidian is based around Markdown and a simple (local) file/folder structure. This means that even if the app eventually disappears, you’ll still have all your data in a universally readable format.
• Highly customizable.  If you have the skills, you can write your own Obsidian plugins. You can also turn features of the app on and off to suit your needs.
• Powerful organizational features.  Obsidian lets you create links between pages, helping you to expand upon your previous work. It also lets you view the connections between your notes on a graph (similar to Roam).
• Cross-platform . Obsidian is available on basically any platform you could want.
• Works offline.  You never need an internet connection to use Obsidian since all of your data is stored locally. In fact, you don’t even need an account to use the app.
• Limited image support.  While it is possible to embed images within your notes , you’ll still need to use the Markdown syntax. You can’t drag and drop images into notes as you can in Notion or other apps on this list.
• Text-based.  If you like highly visual notes, Obsidian won’t be for you. We recommend an option such as Notion instead.
• Syncing notes is a paid feature.  If you want to sync your notes across devices, you’ll need to pay for Obsidian Sync (currently $10 / month).

Price:  Free (for personal and educational use)

Platforms:  Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows

10. Ulysses

Overview: Ulysses is great for both note-taking  and  writing long-form essays or articles. But it lacks a free version and only works on Apple devices.

• A fully-featured writing app . If you want an app that you can use throughout your entire writing process from research to writing and printing, then Ulysses is your pick.
• Focus mode. Many authors write books in Ulysses. But unlike some other heavy-duty writings apps, Ulysses gets out of your way with its Full-Screen focus mode.
• Customizable. Ulysses has themes, including Dark Mode. You can also choose from several different markup styles and publishing formats — it’s really quite flexible.
• Publishing to WordPress. After writing, editing, and formatting an entire blog post within Ulysses, I don’t have to log in to my WordPress dashboard to publish it anymore. Ulysses allows me to format images, tags, categories, and meta-data and upload all of them from the app.
• Pricey. It’s $5.99 / month with no free plan, but you can apply for a student discount for 6 months and get it down to $1.99 / month.
• Mac and iOS only. As with Bear, the Ulysses app is exclusive to Apple devices. But if you just want to edit your files on a Windows computer, you can save them in a synced Google Drive or Dropbox folder and then edit the rich text file it provides.

Price:  $5.99 / month

Overview: Typora is highly customizable and works on all major operating systems, though it lacks online and mobile apps for working on the go.

• Hybrid Markdown editor. It formats text as you type, and it’s faster than Slite.
• Focus Mode. It dims the text you’re not currently working on.
• Table of Contents mode. Like Slite, it allows you to zoom into headings and outlines.
• Themes. Lots of themes that you can customize with CSS — a language that lets you dictate exactly how you want your content presented.
• No in-app storage. Since it’s just a Markdown editor, Typora doesn’t store notes in the app. Files are actually stored in your computer’s file system, meaning you can’t move notes around in the app.
• Desktop-only writing app. Typora doesn’t have a mobile app, but you can always complement it with a Markdown-editor mobile app such as iA Writer .

Price: $14.99 (one-time purchase)

Platforms: Linux, Mac, Windows

Take Notes Your Way

There are a lot of note-taking apps out there. And as with most recommendations, you have to figure out what works for you.

I hope that this list will help you decide on your note-taking app, whether it’s on this list or not.

Bonus: If you want to ensure that the rest of your productivity system is optimized as well, you might want to check out these guides:

• The Best To-Do List App in 2023
• The Best Time Tracking Apps in 2023: Toggl, Clockify, and More
• The 40+ Best Apps for College Students
• 15+ Writing Apps to Brainstorm, Draft, Edit, and Publish Your Work

• Web Version

Save your thoughts, wherever you are

Capture what’s on your mind.

Add notes, lists, photos, and audio to Keep.

• New bike helmet
• Cute house plant?
• Drop earrings
• Scarf, or triple wear scarf?
• Picture frame

When and where you need it

Need to remember to pick up some groceries? Set a location-based reminder to pull up your grocery list right when you get to the store. Need to finish a to-do? Set a time-based reminder to make sure you never miss a thing.

Share your thoughts with family and friends

Next time you go to the store, share your shopping list on Keep and watch as items get checked off in real time. No need for text messages back and forth. Get things done together, faster.

Find what you need, fast

Quickly filter and search for notes by color and other attributes like lists with images, audio notes with reminders or just see shared notes. Find what you're looking for even faster, and let Keep do the remembering for you.

• Pam Singleton
• David Augiere
• Ginny James

Always within reach

Keep works on your phone, tablet and computer. Everything you add to Keep syncs across your devices so your important stuff is always with you.

Syncing across your devices requires internet connection.

Keep every thought

• About Google

The best note-taking apps for collecting your thoughts and data

We look at evernote, onenote, notion, and a variety of other note-taking apps, from simple to complex..

By Barbara Krasnoff , a reviews editor who manages how-tos. She’s worked as an editor and writer for almost 40 years. Previously, she was a senior reviews editor for Computerworld.

Share this story

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These days, we are all dealing with huge amounts of information, from meeting notes to social media, to photos and videos, to whatever else we’ve collected — and we are all trying to find some way to store it, organize it, and find it when we need it.

If you want to get really basic, you can use a spreadsheet or create a simple set of word-processing documents. Otherwise, you can try what is somewhat inaccurately described as a note-taking app. These apps, at their simplest, store your notes and other thoughts and, at their more complex, are capable of manipulating any and all content you want to drop into them.

One of the most well-known has been Evernote, which has gone through quite a few changes over the years, both financially and in its feature set. I’ve been using it for my personal notes for years, and while I feel that it’s become way too overblown (and too expensive), I haven’t been able to motivate myself to pull my decade of data out of there. At this point, though, I’m not sure I’d recommend it to a new user — especially now that it’s limiting the features of its free version even more than it used to.

However, there are a lot of others out there now with a wide range of options, from just plain notes to applications that can do almost anything as long as you have the time and an inclination to learn. I’ve looked at a bunch, and these are some that looked most promising, from the most simple to the most complex.

In the end, though, the app you use will largely depend on your personal needs. Here are more details on our top picks in this category.

Google Keep started out as a fairly simple note-taking app, and while it has added a few features since it began, it’s still a good, straightforward way to record your thoughts. Because it is so interconnected with other Google apps (for example, you can access it directly from Google Calendar, and you can convert a Keep note to a Google Doc), it works especially well if you’re invested in the Google ecosystem. 

Keep isn’t quite as sparse as it used to be: you can create new notes with instant lists, drawings, or images; you can also add collaborators and a variety of backgrounds. In addition, there have been some interesting upgrades recently that have been promised, such as text formatting (although, as of this writing, they were only available for Android). Meanwhile, being Google, the search ain’t bad.

Cost: Free.

Bear Markdown Notes

Bear Markdown Notes is an app for macOS and iOS devices with an excellent interface and selection of features that could make me regret my faithfulness to Android. Even the free version offers a number of tweaks — for example, the header can either be the first sentence of the note or the date and time (or you can leave it empty and put in anything you want). You have a wide choice of fonts and various formatting options. 

The app uses tags in order to organize its notes; you create a tag for a note by starting your chosen word with a pound sign (or surrounding a phrase with them). The word / phrase will then appear in the left-hand column, where you can click on it to find all the tagged notes.

Besides the column on the left, you have a second column that shows all the notes in the highlighted section, while the main window shows what is in the chosen note itself. It’s a UI that is used by several apps, including Evernote.

You can format your notes in a variety of ways by clicking a BIU (bold / italics / underline) icon at the top right of each note; you can also create subheads, bulleted and to-do lists, tables, links, and add attachments. Another icon lets you see the statistics for the note — number of words, characters, and when it was modified. You can also see an outline of your various heads, subheads, and any backlinks. In other words, even in the free version, there are plenty of ways you can play with Bear Notes. 

On the other hand, if you want to sync your notes across devices, you’ll have to upgrade to the Pro version. With that, you also get password protection, the ability to search inside attachments, more formats, and the ability to export notes as PDFs, ePub, and other formats (the free version lets you export in Markdown, TextBundle, txt, and rtf).

Cost: Free version available. Pro version costs $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year with a 7-day free trial.

Bending Spoons

Evernote started out in 2008 as an innovative and well-regarded note-taking app. Over the years, however, its reputation has suffered as it worked through privacy missteps , increased fees , and an interface that can feel bloated and feature-heavy. It is now owned by app developer Bending Spoons and has moved its operations to Europe ( laying off most of its US employees in the process). And as of December 2023, it is limiting its free version to 50 notes and a single notebook , making it essentially unusable for most users except as a trial version.

That being said, the paid version of Evernote still does what it does well, especially if you’re one of those users who has stuck with it for a while. The basic look and feel of the web app hasn’t changed much, although the homepage now shows recent notes, a scratch pad, and recently captured websites. (The homepage can be personalized with other widgets if you have a paid account.) There are several ways to organize your notes: they can be tagged and / or assigned to folders, and folders can be grouped into named “stacks.” You can create to-do notes. You can search within all your notes, clip webpages in a variety of ways, and sync up to two devices. You can upload up to 60MB of data a month with a maximum note size of 25MB. And Evernote has been adding AI features such as AI Note Cleanup , currently in beta, which uses AI to “tidy up” your notes.

In other words, Evernote has become a fairly complex product, although, as mentioned before, you’ll want to look at the paid versions to use it properly. The Personal plan lets you sync an unlimited number of devices, upload up to 10GB of data a month with a maximum note size of 200MB, connect a Gmail account, and more; the Professional plan adds additional app integration and a variety of other features. 

Cost: Limited free version available. Personal plan costs $14.99 a month or $129.99 a year. Professional plan costs $17.99 a month or $169.99 a year.

The Venn diagram of Evernote users and OneNote users seldom overlaps. This despite all they have in common: both have wide ranges of useful features, and each seems to add new functionality every couple of months or so. But the feel of each is different.

In OneNote, each entry is a page, and each page can contain a variety of different media, including text, audio, images, video, tables, and drawings, among others. Pages are organized into sections and sections into notebooks. 

There are a lot of ways you can tweak your data, how it is organized, and how it looks. You can create to-do lists and reminders, mark text as important, and change the look of the text. You can highlight and make a variety of drawings in a variety of colors. If you use other Microsoft apps such as Outlook, you can sync your OneNote entries with them — for example, to keep track of Outlook meetings. You can change the page color and style or switch from dark to light.  

In fact, like Evernote, OneNote has had so many different abilities added that it can become a bit overwhelming. For example, when I wanted to find out whether I could extract text from a photo, I went to OneNote’s “Tell me” icon, which, if it can’t find an immediate answer to your question, offers a smart lookup link. When “extract text” didn’t come up with anything, I clicked it and was offered (via a side column) a Wikipedia definition of a text file and links to several third-party apps. (A simple “we don’t do that” would have been nice.)

One thing about OneNote that gives it an advantage over Evernote: it is still completely free. So if you’re looking for alternatives, it’s worth giving OneNote a try.

Laurent Cozic

Joplin is an open-source app that, on first glance, looks like a somewhat simpler version of Evernote. It has the list of folders (also known as notebooks) on the far left, a column listing the contents of the folder to the right of that, and then a space to show the contents of the highlighted entry. 

A major difference, though, is that Joplin produces straightforward Markdown files (as opposed to Evernote’s proprietary .enex format), and there is actually a toggle that lets you see each file in markdown or, if you prefer, rich text. Which is handy, especially if you like to look at code; my only problem is that links are not live in the rich text format — although there is probably a way to tweak that.

And that is a second interesting thing about Joplin: if you want to be able to personalize your app, you can. There are a variety of plugins, and you can even create your own scripts and plugins using the Extension API. If, on the other hand, you’re not comfortable with coding and APIs, Joplin’s existing extensions should provide you with plenty to work with. You just may need to consult its lively user forum.

In order to synchronize Joplin among your devices, you need to set it up with one of several existing cloud services (such as Dropbox or OneDrive). You can also use Joplin Cloud , which is available in Joplin’s paid plans: Basic, which includes 2GB storage space and 10MB per note or attachment, and Pro, which offers 30GB storage space, 200MB per note or attachment, and other features. 

Cost: Free version available. Joplin Basic costs €2.99 ($3.27) a month or €28.69 ($31.36) a year; Joplin Pro costs €6.69 ($7.32) a month or €80.28 ($87.89) a year.

UpNote is a good-looking, relatively simple to master app that looks to be an attractive alternative to Evernote. It has approximately the same look, with notebooks listed on the left, the notes in a highlighted notebook listed next to it, and then a main window showing the contents of each note. It offers the ability to create checklists, insert images and tables, nest notebooks, and (if you have the Premium version) lock specific notebooks. And it imports a variety of formats — including Evernote.

There are apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, and there is a web clipper (a feature that is one of my “musts”) that works with the major browsers, although the clipper’s abilities are not as extensive as Evernote’s.

In fact, if you do plan to use UpNote extensively, you will have to move off the free plan, which only allows up to 50 notes. After that, the Premium plan — which is, admittedly, a lot cheaper than Evernote’s — would be the way to go, offering unlimited notes, the ability to add attachments (up to 20MB) and tables, more ways to design the interface, and the ability to export to a number of formats.

Cost: Free version available, limited to 50 notes. Pro version costs 99 cents a month or $29.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Notion Labs

If there’s one way to describe Notion, it would be ambitious. You can start with several different types of formats — a table, a board, a timeline, a calendar, a list, a created template, or just an empty page. If you’re an individual, you can create an unlimited number of pages, share your data with a number of apps, including Slack and GitHub, and share your content with up to 10 “guests” for free. In fact, for most people, free will be quite sufficient. There are some limitations — for example, file uploads are limited to 5MB — but not enough to really count. A Plus version adds unlimited uploads and some additional group features.

Like Evernote and other higher-end apps, Notion organizes its notes into folders — except in this case, each note can act as a folder and can contain other notes, which can contain other notes. Notion also seems to be constantly adding new features, such as AI writing capabilities and new types of sharing options.

In fact, its lack of limitations may be a problem for some users. If you like to really get into the workings of a complex app and screw around with it until it does everything you want it to do — and then some — then you may want to check out Notion and play a bit with its features. (For example, I currently use Notion to track my various workflows and upcoming tasks.) However, if all you want to do is write down your thoughts with maybe a few extra options, you might want to go with something a bit simpler.

Cost: Free version available. Plus version costs $10 a month or $96 a year.

Some apps are popular, some are very popular — and some actually have what amounts to fan clubs . Obsidian is one of the latter.

This app is the kind of thing that, if you’re into it, will have you exploring its various ins, outs, and add-ons for days and weeks on end. Obsidian uses the Markdown format for its notes (which means they can be used on a variety of other apps). Your notes and other media are kept locally in a Vault (in other words, a main folder). There are ways to sync between devices for free — depending on which devices you want to sync . Or you can use one of Obsidian’s paid plans : Standard, which lets you use Obsidian’s service to sync the data in one vault and store up to 1GB of data, and Plus, which lets you sync up to 10 vaults and store up to 10GB of data. There is a charge as well if you want to publish your notes to the web.

As you can imagine, something this flexible is hard to describe.

Even at the beginning, there are several interesting formats that you don’t get in most other note-taking software. When you first open it after installation, you get several choices on the left side of the page: a graph view, a canvas view (which lets you create a flow chart, pinboard, or other arrangement), and one of my current favorites, a daily note (which is simply a dated note but is a nice idea if you want to keep a journal). You can also create templates. And none of this takes into account the various plug-ins that have been created by its community — there were 1,233 when I last checked.

Of course, this means that if you want to really take advantage of Obsidian, you have to invest some time and effort. But for those into tweaking their apps to suit them completely, it will probably be worth it.

Cost: Free. Obsidian Standard costs $48 a year, while Obsidian Plus and Obsidian Publish cost $96 a piece.

Other apps to try

There are a lot of note-taking apps out there, and while not all made our “best of” list, there are others that might suit your needs, so I thought I’d mention them here.

• Notes is Apple’s version of Google Keep (or Keep is Google’s version of Apple Notes). It’s a free, built-in, simple way to take notes, save photos, scan documents, and make sketches, provided you are using an Apple device.
• Simplenote is a text-only app that offers straightforward note-taking for anyone who just wants to, well, take notes.
• Workflowy is an online app that uses an outline format and is actually more flexible than it looks at first.
• Anytype , which is still in beta, is an interesting and complex app that, like Obsidian, can be fun for those who really like to investigate how to personalize their applications.
• Zoho Notebook is a free app that organizes your notes by dividing them into separate notebooks; each notebook can also contain audio files, photos, or other attachments.

Correction, November 16th, 2023, 4:25PM ET:  I originally stated that Obsidian is open-source software. It is not. I regret the error.

Update March 20th, 2024, 2:30PM ET: This article was originally published on November 16th, 2023, and has been updated since to add UpNote, summarize several apps at the bottom of the article, and update the pricing, including Obsidian’s new plans.

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How-To Geek

The 6 best note taking apps of 2023.

Save a tree, take notes digitally.

Read update

This guide was originally published in December 2022. We've since updated our guide to include a pick for encrypted note-taking, and to make sure all our links are working.

Quick Links

Best note-taking app for mac and iphone: apple notes, best note-taking app for windows: onenote, best note-taking app for android: google keep, best note-taking app for features: evernote, best encrypted note taking app: standard notes, best minimalist note-taking app: simplenote.

There's nothing worse than jotting down a note and leaving it behind or losing it in a stack of paper. With note taking software, you can take your notes wherever you go or access them from any computer. Find the one for you with these best note taking apps.

UPDATE: 1/24/23

This list of note taking apps is in no particular order because there's one here for every platform or preference. You'll find the essential features you need in each application, so instead, we'll point out the notable features that put the app on our list.

For a free note taker app that comes preinstalled on iPhones , iPads , and Macs , Apple Notes is the way to go. You can sync your notes across devices, so you're always up to date.

Folders : Create folders and subfolders for each internet account you connect to Notes like iCloud, Gmail, or Exchange. This lets you keep all of your notes organized easily by account, for business or personal projects.

Password-protected notes : For added security, you can lock and password-protect certain notes. You can then keep the note away from prying eyes and only open it using your Notes password , device password , or Touch ID .

Scan and insert documents : For notes pertaining to documents or images, you can insert the item right into Notes . Scan a document, capture a photo, or sketch a drawing from your iPhone or iPad to include it in your note.

Additional features include pinning and sharing notes, a helpful search, bullet, number, and checklists, grouping by date, import and export options, and Quick Notes.

While you won't find Apple Notes for Android, Windows , or Linux, you can use the app if you have an Apple ID by visiting Notes on iCloud.com .

Related: How (and Why) to Switch to Apple Notes

If you're looking into note taking apps for Windows, then Microsoft OneNote is a solid choice. Although not limited to Windows, OneNote gives you an easy-to-use interface and robust features.

Notebooks : What's nice about Microsoft OneNote is that you can use notebooks to organize your notes. This lets you use the application for business, school, or household notes with a simple way to switch between notebooks.

Page templates : For a jumpstart on a new note, you can use premade page templates. You'll find OneNote templates for class lectures, meeting notes, and to-do lists in addition to blank decorative options. Simply pick a template, customize it to your liking, and let the note taking begin.

Transcription and dictation : If you record a speech, meeting, or lecture, you can upload recordings and then transcribe them in OneNote. Additionally, you can dictate and transcribe directly in the application to hold onto your own audio notes.

Additional features include customizable tags, video recording, drawing tools, translations, password-protection , and integration with Outlook Tasks.

Microsoft OneNote comes with Windows 10 and 11, is included in the Microsoft Office suite, is in the Microsoft Store , and is also available for platforms like Mac , Android , iPhone , and iPad . Use it on any device with the web version .

Related: The Beginner's Guide to OneNote in Windows 10

Google Keep is a handy note-taking tool for those who use Android or who just prefer Google's productivity apps. There's a dedicated mobile app, and it's accessible from the side panel in other Google apps on the web, giving you fast access to your notes whenever you need them.

Time and location reminders : Choose from a quick reminder like later today, tomorrow, or home. Alternately, pick a specific date and time or a place like work or school. You'll see your reminder pop up when the date and time arrives or when you reach your destination.

Convert to Google Docs : Maybe you have a note with tasks for a project, contacts for a report, or an event itinerary. You can copy the note to Google Docs in just a couple of clicks. Then, head to your Google Doc directly from Keep.

Collaborators : For working on a Google Keep note with others, add collaborators . You can then see the date and time a collaborator edits the note as well as view the changes immediately.

Additional features include a dedicated spot to view all note reminders, customizable labels, note background colors and images, checkboxes, and image upload ability.

You can use Google Keep on its website , from the side panel in apps like Docs, Sheets, and Calendar, or download it on Android , iPhone , or iPad . Also, check out the Google Keep extension for Chrome.

Evernote has been at the top of many note takers lists for years. The company continues to add new features and enhance existing ones to make Evernote reliable, full-featured, and solid note taking software.

Meeting notes templates : For a quick and easy way to capture meeting notes, use an Evernote template. You can start with a blank template or connect to Google Calendar to add the event details automatically.

Shortcuts : Similar to the Favorites feature you see in apps, Evernote gives you Shortcuts. Mark stars on notes you need often and then access them fast from the Shortcuts panel.

Work chat : If you collaborate on notes, you can hold a Work Chat directly in Evernote. Share any note or notebook, open the chat panel, and discuss what you need without leaving Evernote.

Additional features include date and time reminders, multiple notebooks, sharing via many methods, inserting items from Google Drive, creating and adding tags, and more.

Use Evernote on its website , Windows , Mac , Android , iPhone , and iPad as well as with browser extensions and app integrations. A Linux version at the time of writing is in beta and available through the early access program . Evernote is free for up to two devices and offers paid plans for more devices and features.

Related: How to Use the Notion App to Boost Productivity

The notes we take down often contain sensitive information, making security critical. Standard Notes put safety and privacy at the forefront, which is why we believe it's the best encrypted note-taking app available.

End-to-end encryption : Everything you write in Standard Notes is conveniently cloud-synced, but also  end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) . That means your data is secured before it leaves your device, and no one except you can read your notes---not even the Standard Notes team.

Two-factor authentication : Despite it being a relatively small project, Standard Notes is able to provide all-important two-factor authentication (2FA)  even for free accounts. That's critical if you're worried about hackers stealing your password .

Secure backups : In case you're worried about a cloud sync failure, Standard Notes makes it easy to back up your notes on-device, in either encrypted or plaintext form. It can also email you daily encrypted copies of your notes so you've always got a recent backup.

Those are just security features for the free version. A paid subscription (starting at $90/year, with student discounts and economic assistance available) brings numerous enhancements and additional features, including Markdown support, checklists, spreadsheets, and more.

Get the Standard Notes app free for Windows , Mac , iPhone , iPad , Android , and Linux , or use the web app on any device.

If bells and whistles aren't what you need in a note taking app, Simplenote might just be the ideal option for you. For a completely minimalistic note taker, you can just type and go.

Markdown support : If you're accustomed to writing in markdown , Simplenote lets you capture and preview notes with it. Just enable the Markdown option for a note, type it using headings, bold, italics, or lists, and then preview the note when you finish.

Checklists : For project tasks, items to purchase, or contacts to invite, use the checklist option in Simplenote. Type each list item, hitting Enter or Return after each, and you'll have a nice and neat checklist.

Import and export : Whether you're switching from another note taker app or want to save a backup of your notes, you can use both import and export options in Simplenote.

Additional features include sharing with other Simplenote users, a customizable display for line length, view, sorting, and theme, create and add tags, and a helpful search feature.

Simplenote is available for free on Android , iPhone and iPad , Windows , Mac , and Linux as well as the web .

With these terrific note taking apps, there's hopefully at least one on the list that's perfect for you. For more productivity tools, look at our picks for the best to-do list apps .

Best note-taking app of 2024

Notes on the go

Best overall

Best dedicated, best for ios, best simple, best interface, best for collaboration, best for microsoft 365, best for features, best comprehensive, how we test.

The best note-taking apps make it simple and easy to take and manage notes wherever you are, in the office, the home, or on the go.

1. Best overall 2. Best dedicated 3. Best for iOS 4. Best simple 5. Best interface 6. Best for collaboration 7. Best basic 8. Best for Microsoft 365 9. Best for features 10. Best paid 11. Best comprehensive 12. FAQs 13. How we test

Note-taking apps have become increasingly popular, not least with the wide availability of mobile devices, especially business smartphones . This means mobile apps for taking notes now allow you to write wherever you are, whether in the office or on the go, and there are a large range of apps available.

However, while there are basic software apps for taking notes, sometimes bundled as free software with mobile devices, these can be quite limited and offer little more than text notes. These days much more feature-packed note-taking apps are now available, allowing you to not just take notes with text, but also use multimedia.

These more advanced apps can work in multiple forms, from trying to replicate the word processing experience, to imitating blank notepads in digital form and so allow for handwriting and sketching.

Additionally, some note apps also include the ability to add images, audio, even video, to your notes, and even share these directly with colleagues and working teams.

Below we've listed what we think are the best note-taking apps currently available.

We've also listed the best note-taking apps for Android and the best iPad Pro note-taking apps .

Reader Offer: Start for free with 3 editable boards Miro's digital collaboration tool is a visual workspace where you can work with sticky notes online and numerous other features. Start for free today and get access to 3 editable boards and 2500+ templates.

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The best note-taking app of 2024 in full:

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Our expert review:

Reasons to buy

Reasons to avoid.

Miro is one of those online tools that aims to bridge the gap between traditional office working and the modern hybrid routine that many of us are familiar with. It is best described as a multipurpose online collaboration tool, and its list of features is pretty extensive stretching beyond the typical realms of similar software.

The majority of the work you’ll end up doing in Miro will revolve around what it calls boards, which start off as entirely blank spaces. Setting one up from scratch can be daunting and time-consuming, which is why the company has designed templates that you can pick from the get-go.

Some of its most commonly accessed templates include mind maps, Kanban boards, flowcharts, product roadmaps, and timelines. Many of these will serve well as project management tools, and anybody familiar with other project management software like Airtable or Trello will already be familiar with how they work.

Overall, we think Miro is hard to beat. Its long list of features should cover all parts of a typical business process from research and design to presentation, and its collaboration abilities are second to none. Furthermore, its transparency around security and reasonable pricing make it hard for us not to recommend it. The only thing we could wish for is better support channels.

Read our full Miro review .

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2. Evernote

No list of best note-taking apps is complete without Evernote, which is one of the oldest and most fully-featured. Evernote lets you create both simple and complex workflows using a combination of notebooks, notes and tags to keep everything organized.

One of its best features for gathering research is the Web Clipper extension (supported in Chrome, Firefox and Safari ), which lets you save entire webpages - including text, images and PDFs - with a single click. Notes can be accessed on laptops, mobile devices and the web, so you're rarely left with a situation where you can't retrieve what you've saved. Other features include the ability to set reminders, present notes PowerPoint-style, and merge them together.

Recent additions include new tables and a Siri integration for those using the iOS edition. 

While there's a free plan with some limited features, there are also two paid plans, the Evernote Premium plan for individual users, and the Evernote Business plan for business. 

The Evernote Premium plan allows for integrations with Slack, Outlook, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and Salesforce , as well as provides an AI for content suggestions such as similar content in other notes you've made, as well as content info from media sites. 

The Evernote Business plan includes the above but also comes with collaborative options and team administrative features.

Read our full Evernote review .

Ulysses has been around for a while now, and it's one of the most polished note-taking apps on Apple 's computing platform. (One that's perfectly equipped for long-form writing, too.) Notes are written and stored in the app's proprietary Markdown style, which allows for inventive (and colorful) use of headings. 

Added to that, images can be embedded in the form of links within documents; rather than displaying them in the body text, you can double click the links to preview image thumbnails. Ulysses also positions images in a sidebar that can also display a word count, mini notes and other information at a glance.

Ulysses uses iCloud to save and sync your documents, and these can be exported to a number of other formats, including PDF. Word .doc, ebooks, and HTML. All these extra features come a price tag, with monthly or annual subscriptions available.

Read our full Ulysses review .

4. Simplenote

Simplenote’s selling point is its clear, simple user interface, making it easy to keep track of notes. It is available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux, with data synced automatically. There is also a web app if a client can’t be downloaded.

Tagging and search tools ensure users can find what they are looking for and notes can be shared or published to others working in the same team or on a project. Simplenote backs up previous versions of documents so it’s always possible to revert to an earlier one.

Simplenote does not have many advanced features, but is an ideal candidate for simple note taking. It offers decent syncing and collaboration, but best of all, it’s free. If you want extreme simplicity and a bare-bones app, then this will be apt for you. 

Read our full Simplenote review .

A relative newcomer to the note-taking app scene, Bear lies somewhere in-between Evernote and Ulysses, allowing you to create notes and sync them across various Apple devices using iCloud.

Using a Slack-like three-pane interface, you can arrange notes by applying hashtags, which allows a subfolder style system. Bear uses rich Markdown for editing, so you can insert links into documents without having to display the full URLs in a similar manner to Ulysses. However, Bear, which is pretty easy on the eye, and one of the few polished Markdown apps that allow you to insert images directly into notes, which could make it a far more valuable app overall if images are a big part of your workflow.

Latest features include Tag autocomplete, light and dark themes, annotation of PDFs, encryption and app lock.

Most of Bear’s features are free to use on any iOS device, but there is a paid-for pro-version with additional themes, export options, which are available with a small monthly or annual subscription.

Read our full Bear review .

6. Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper launched in August 2016  and works across the cloud platform’s mobile suite for Windows, iOS, and Android. What separates Paper apart is its focus on collaboration, allowing teams to share their ideas, images, and videos for projects.

The app offers integrations with productivity apps such as Google Calendar and Slack as well as some more surprising tools like Spotify.

Recent additions include new organization tools such as the ability to create mobile folders on the go as well as improved delete and archive features. Dropbox also redesigned the Paper homepage which brings users Paper docs and Dropbox files together.

Its enterprise features make it an ideal note taking app for businesses, but it goes without saying that you will get the most out of it only if you are already a Dropbox customer.

Read our full Dropbox Paper review .

7. Google Keep

Google Keep is the simplest note-taking app on our list, both visually and how it operates. Think of Keep as your place for storing digital post-it notes, with each note dotted around the interface as if they were laid on a table in front of you.

Notes can be given labels, pinned to the top, given a color, paired with reminders and collaborated on in real time. Additionally it also offers speech-to-text functionality so you can dictate notes on the go rather than have to write. There's also the ability to set up check boxes for lists to work through.

Overall, though, Google Keep is more minimal than other writing apps, which either works for or against it depending on your viewpoint. If you want to break away from your operating system 's notes app, but don't want all of the features that come with other apps on our list, Google Keep is an, ahem, keeper.

Read our full Google Keep review .

OneNote is an app that can help you keep and organize your notes with ease. It has a user-friendly interface and there’s a free version anyone can use.

There’s a free version of the OneNote app that anyone can use. But, this version provides only 5GB of storage and lacks specific features, such as stickers and the math assistant. There's also a free version for verified educational users that provides 1TB of storage.

You need a paid Microsoft 365 account to access additional storage and unlock all the features of the OneNote app.

You can access OneNote through the web-based interface or download the app on your device. You should pick the latter option if you want to make the best of the note-taking tool, as the web-based version lacks some features available on the native app. 

OneNote is an excellent note-taking app. It has ample features that let you keep notes, organize them, and access them from any device. We liked its support for real-time collaboration and the extensive third-party integration.

The app has its drawbacks, such as limited text formatting and the small amount of storage (5GB) assigned to free users. 

Read our full OneNote review .

Joplin app is free to use. But, you’ll have to pay for the Joplin Cloud service to enable note syncing and sharing, customer support, and to access the app through a web-based interface. You can choose one out of three plans; Basic, Pro, and Teams. 

You can take advantage of the 14-day free trial period to test the Joplin Cloud service before making your final decision. We advise every user to do this because the platform doesn’t offer refunds to customers.  

The core feature of Joplin is the digital notebook, which is akin to a hard copy notebook, but with virtual unlimited features. You can create a new notebook at any time and type content into it.

If you want a free, user-friendly app to help you keep notes effectively, then go for Joplin. The comprehensive feature set it offers for free is valuable, and the additional paid features make it more worthwhile.

The main drawback we observed with the app is its limited customer support. 

Read our full Joplin review .

Quip is an excellent note-taking tool in addition to having many other uses. The app has a collaborative bent, making it best to use within corporate settings.

The Quip app has one of the best interfaces we’ve encountered in a note-taking tool. The interface is minimal and uncluttered, making the app enjoyable. We also liked the step-by-step tutorials the app provided to help guide us through it.  

Unlike most note-taking apps, Quip is a strictly paid tool. There’s no free version, and the paid plans are pretty costly. If your company already has a  Salesforce CRM (opens in new tab) subscription, you can create a free Quip account for personal use, but sharing files within your company has limits unless they pay for a separate workplace subscription.  

We enjoyed using Quip all around. The app has a tidy interface that makes it easy to navigate. We also liked its comprehensive feature set, as it lets you format the content of your notes extensively and share them with other users alongside having an intuitive tool for creating spreadsheets. 

The main drawback with the Quip app is its relatively high price. 

Read our full Quip review .

11. Obsidian

Obsidian offers sophisticated features for a note-taking app. It also has a stellar user interface that makes using it enjoyable.

The app makes it easy to create notes and access them at any time. It has some noteworthy features that make it aesthetically pleasing. For example, you can use Graph View, which resembles an interactive map.

The only concern we have in this criterion is that there’s no web-based version of the app. Many rival note-taking apps offer web-based interfaces that make them easier to access, but not Obsidian. 

The Obsidian app makes note-taking delightful, including for free users. It has a comprehensive feature set that you’ll likely enjoy and a pretty tidy interface that’s easy to navigate. However, we observed a few drawbacks, including limited (email-only) customer support and having no web version.  

Read our full Obsidian review .

We've also listed the best free alternatives to Evernote .

What is a note-taking app?

A note-taking app is a lightweight tool that allows you to digitally record information on your device instead of writing it on paper. The best note-taking apps make it simple and easy to organize essential information and store it for quick access. 

How to choose the best note-taking apps for you?

When deciding which of the note-taking apps to use, consider how demanding your needs are. Do you only need to make simple notes, or do you need to be able to add different types of media, including video? Do you also need a wide range of features or to connect your notes with other apps? Free and simple apps will deliver a simple experience, but for more complex feature needs you should probably look to an app with a paid for subscription.

There are now a plethora of note-taking tools available to users - whether they need to keep track of important work tasks or simply need to jot down their shopping list. With smartphones now ubiquitous, individuals expect to have access to a note-taking app that is suitable for their needs. 

With that in mind, we’ve assessed several apps for ease of use, features, aesthetics, team collaboration, cloud functionality, and a number of other factors. We also looked at how simple the app setup was, the interface simplicity, cross-platform support, and overall performance. 

Read how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .  

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Brian has over 30 years publishing experience as a writer and editor across a range of computing, technology, and marketing titles. He has been interviewed multiple times for the BBC and been a speaker at international conferences. His specialty on techradar is Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, covering everything from office suites to IT service tools. He is also a science fiction and fantasy author, published as Brian G Turner.

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The 17 Best Note Taking Apps On The Market In 2024

• Michaela Rollings
• December 27, 2023

Since the pandemic changed the way we all work, meetings have looked a bit different. Over the past couple of years, we’ve gone from conference rooms and round tables to Zoom meetings and Google Hangouts, which ultimately means that the way we collaborate and interact is going to be different. Enter remote collaboration tools, and more specifically, note taking apps.

“Taking notes” is something that has long been important for successful communication and teamwork, but it’s taken on a whole new meaning in our remote world. First of all, setting an agenda before the meeting via note taking apps helps everyone get on the same page.

Without those moments before meetings to chat over the agenda in person, you need to create some sort of format for your meeting. Using note taking apps to prep the team for the meeting, and sharing the note with everyone beforehand, is essential.

During your virtual meetings, things are also much more likely to get lost in the shuffle. Did you know that over 70% of communication is non-verbal? This means that something you say over Zoom may be taken a totally different way than it would in person.

That’s why taking accurate notes, or designating a team member to record all items discussed, is important. Without notes that reflect the meeting’s contents, it makes things much more difficult in the long run, as you won’t have a log of items discussed to reference in the future, or for anyone who couldn’t make the meeting.

As remote teams look to optimize their time in meetings, utilizing meeting tools to create an agenda, take notes, and send follow-ups is critical. Because we can’t communicate face-to-face and in an office, we’re going to need to pass along our thoughts, feedback, and next steps virtually. 

Finding the best Note taking apps

When it comes to taking better notes at work , finding yourself an excellent note taking app is critical for managing your projects successfully, logging next steps, and planning overall strategy. When you are able to record your next steps with one of many great note taking apps on the market, and ideally assign them out to meeting attendees, you are actually able to start getting work done in the meeting.

This prevents you from having follow-up meetings where everyone is confused and no one knows what they were responsible for – it’s one of the most impactful ways to improve meeting productivity.

With the right note taking apps, you’ll leave every meeting with the next steps and remain confident in your game plan. And to help you navigate all of the options on the market, here are our favorite picks for the best note taking apps your team can start using today.

1. Hive Notes

If you’re a Hive user, Hive Notes is a great way to integrate your meetings with your to-do list, bringing your traditional meeting notes to a whole new level. In Hive Notes, you can actually connect a note to a meeting on your Google or Outlook calendar, assign meeting attendees next steps, and easily share the meeting note with everyone – whether they attended the meeting or not – after the event is over. It’s one of the best note taking apps on the market.

Since Hive Notes syncs up with your calendar, it’ll also send you a reminder in Hive five minutes before your meeting starts prompting you to take notes. If the meeting is recurring, Hive also offers a “notebook” style set-up where you can add multiple entries to the same note. During the meeting, use Hive Notes to collaborate in real-time, Google-doc style, so multiple people can add comments at once.

One of the most unique aspects of Hive Notes is its Zoom integration, which lets you access the power of Hive Notes inside your Zoom meetings. With Hive Notes for Zoom , you can take notes collaboratively in Zoom without opening another screen. You can share the note with all meeting participants, type in real-time, and assign action items within the Zoom meeting itself – it’s a brand new virtual meeting experience.

To start using Hive Notes in Zoom today (free for everyone, forever) simply download the Hive Notes app in the Zoom marketplace.

Get started for free today to see why hive scored 100 out of 100 in popularity among its customers – the highest score of all tools on the market. level up your note-taking tool with hive..

2. Evernote

One of the most popular and very traditional note taking apps, Evernote is used by teams around the world who want one central location for all meeting notes and documents. Within Evernote, you can store all of your notes in one place, and sync notes between devices. You can also capture photos to save in your notes, and add checklists for the next steps.

Additionally, audio from your meetings can also be recorded and attached to the meeting note, which is an excellent way to ensure people who couldn’t attend the meeting will stay in the loop.

Microsoft’s OneNote is a solid note-taking tool if you’re looking to stay in the Microsoft universe. With OneNote, you’ve got a massive note-pad at your fingertips, which you can write in, add images to, and divide into pages and sections. This is a great tool if you use other Microsoft products, as you can plug in other documents into the note itself, like Spreadsheets or Word docs.

Create lists with a few clicks and revise notes with type, highlight, and ink annotations, which are fun to add if you’re using a touch-screen device. You can also share ideas and collaborate with other users in OneNote.

Notion is one of our favorite note taking apps used by teams for a few primary things, including taking notes, managing projects, and creating team-wide wikis. With Notion, you can store notes and docs in List view, which helps you see quickly the most important aspects of a note and its contents. Users can then assign tasks directly from notes with a few clicks. This is one of the most popular note taking apps that has recently become very popular.

Team wikis help you store information like company policies, contact info, and engineering practices. You can even use emojis here, which makes wikis a bit more fun!

Hugo is a centralized place for all notes, meetings, and tasks. This is a relatively newer product on the market and is basically a central place to gather everything related to any upcoming meetings. In Hugo, you can see a general overview of the meetings on your calendar, as well as any tasks that are related to them. You can also set reminders to alert you to any upcoming meetings so you never forget to set an agenda or prepare.

Hugo also helps you prep agendas with one-click templates and you can take in-meeting notes with both internal and external participants. Hugo is one of our favorite online note taking apps for its futuristic and advanced capabilities. Try it if you’re tired of your basic notepad.

6. Simplenote

Simplenote is one of our favorite note taking apps for those who want something straightforward and simple, as the name suggests. Simplenote allows you to sync all notes across devices, and you can view past changes in markdown mode. Additionally, you can easily share lists/notes and meeting items with other people, as well as publish your notes online.

Bonus: Simplenote is free!

Fellow is on our list of the best note taking apps because of its integration into each individual’s workflow. Within Fellow, you can build collaborative meeting agendas, record action items, and plot out actionable next steps. In Fellow, you can start by applying a template to your meeting note, then build your agenda. From there, you can assign the next steps to meeting attendees and exchange feedback.

Those are our top 7, but here are a few more great note taking apps.

Bear bills itself as an app that you can use for everything from basic notes to full-on essays. The app has an advanced markdown mode that lets you edit and revise thoroughly. Got notes that you don’t want others to see? You can use FaceID to password-protect those notes. Additionally, you can convert your notes into PDFs or Word Docs.

9. Google Keep

Google Keep is Google’s note-taking solution that lets you take, store, and share notes from any of your devices. While Google Keep doesn’t offer as many features as some of the other apps we’ve mentioned, it’s a convenient platform for anyone who already uses and is familiar with Google’s productivity tools. With Google Keep, notes can be organized with labels or colors and can be pinned to the top for easy access. You can also collaborate on a note in real-time once they are shared with others. And like most of Google’s other products, it’s totally free to use.

Notes can be given labels, pinned to the top, given a color, paired with reminders, and collaborated on in real-time. Additionally, it also offers speech-to-text functionality so you can dictate notes on the go rather than have to write. There’s also the ability to set up check boxes for lists to work through.

10. Apple Notes

If you are in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Notes (or simply Notes or iCloud Notes) is an easy-to-use and convenient free tool for note-taking. From a quick thought or idea to checklists, images, web links, scanned documents or handwritten notes , Apple notes make it easy to document and access your notes. 

If you go to icloud.com/notes you are even able to get an online version of the app with all your notes – even if you are on a PC or Chromebook. Apple notes allow users to share notes with other Apple users and also use @mention them. It’s perfect for managing a grocery list in-real time and sharing it with your family. Another great feature is their search: you can look for images, text, drawings, text scanned in documents, and even something inside the image you are looking for, for example: “a book”.

Another solution to facilitate your note-taking is Clover . The software works as a digital notebook that blends notes, tasks, a digital whiteboard , and a daily planner into one streamlined app. The solution offers powerful features including infinite canvas, presentation options, and the ability to embed rich media to your notes, so your colleagues can interact with content from YouTube, Figma, SoundCloud, and more.

Clover is available on Mac, Windows, iPad, iPhone, and the web and offers a free plan that supports up to three guests and 50MB uploads. Clover Pro plan starts at $6 per month with unlimited guests and 10GB monthly uploads.

Bit.ai allows you to c reate dynamic notes, documents, wikis, knowledge bases, projects, client deliverables, technical docs, training guides, and client portals while integrating across the apps you work with. The platform offers a smart and minimalist editor feature that facilitates communication between remote teams. Bit.ai also has @mentions,  real-time notifications, shared workspaces, permissions, guest access, and several integrations. Bit.ai offers free and paid plans . Its ProPlan starts at $8 per member/per month.

nTask is a great task management and project management solution that also offers a note-taking application.

The software has a lot of features that make it the ideal tool for storing short and long-form information about your project. These features include document management , note-taking feature, time and issue tracking, and even panel-specific comments. These panels include projects, tasks, risks, and many others. On top of note-taking, nTask has other collaboration tools to help teams of all sizes, such as team chat, bulk team invites, dedicated workspaces, and task comments.

14. Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is an excellent tool for taking notes across platforms. The app helps you and your team to jot down ideas on an always backed-up and synced note-taking platform.

With checklists, the ability to add media, include files and sketch out drawings, Zoho Notebook also offers integrations. Not only can you integrate with other Zoho software , but you’ll also be able to bring your Notebook ideas over to other popular apps such as Zapier, Google Workspace, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more. Best of all, it’s free to use!

xTiles is a note-taking app with an intuitive interface and an infinite canvas workspace where you can lay out ideas and keep it all organized with a drag-and-drop editing feature. xTiles is easily customizable, with a flexible kanban board-style layout. You can add a variety of resources to your board, mixing notes, assorted media, links and files. xTiles makes it easier to turn ideas into projects, share them, and collaborate with a team. Its search function lets you look through your notes quickly, optimizing your productivity.

Another advantage of xTitles is its versatility, being available on desktop and mobile, you can jot down notes on your phone and then pick up on it again when you are back at your desk. There’s a free plan available with limited file uploads and cards, and you can get unlimited usage for $8/month.

16. GoodNotes

GoodNotes is a note-taking app that offers a unique digital note-taking experience that allows users to create customizable notebooks that resemble writing on paper. It features a variety of annotation tools, such as pens, highlighters, and shapes, that users can use to personalize their notes according to their preferences. GoodNotes also has handwriting recognition and powerful search capabilities, making it easy to retrieve specific words or phrases within notes.

GoodNotes can integrate with popular cloud storage platforms, such as iCloud and Google Drive, ensuring easy access to notes across different devices. It also supports PDF import, so users can review and add notes to existing documents. GoodNotes has a variety of features that can enhance productivity and simplify workflow, such as text conversion, audio recording, and effective note organization using folders and tags.

Typora is a note-taking app that gives you a seamless experience as both a reader and a writer. The platform is designed to help you focus. It removes the preview window, mode switcher, syntax symbols of markdown source code, and all other unnecessary distractions. Typora has a vast library of templates to facilitate your note-taking process. Typora is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. This note-taking solution is also good for blogging  and writing documentation. One of its most popular features is the real-time preview markdown code. With Typora, you can export to PDF, HTML, EPUB, and other formats and sync with cloud storage services like Dropbox and OneDrive. You can try Typora for free for 15 days on up to three devices. This minimal Markdown editor and reader paid plan costs $14.99 (without tax).

There you have it. We’ve shared our favorite note-taking apps to help you and your team collaborate effectively and efficiently while working remotely. If you’ve got any other tools that you think we should add to this list, let us know in the comments below!

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12 Best Note Taking Apps for Every Use Case in 2023 (Free & Paid)

Everyone takes notes. From listing down things to do or simple doodles at the margin of our books and jotting down a quick reminder in our phones on a busy day, making notes is a simple yet universal concept.

Whether you love or not an avid fan of note taking, you’ll find yourself doing so in all sorts of situations and circumstances. 

Some write down their notes using a good old fashioned pen and paper while most have resorted to note taking down their phones, tablets, and computers.

It’s easy to lose important notes and other information you’ve jotted down if you don’t have a dedicated journal or note taking application.

Start building your note taking habit by having a dedicated place to keep all of your notes together. While the traditional pen and paper works, you might want something that you can bring and access anytime. 

Having a simple note taking application on your phone or computer is a great way to keep all of your notes in one place. 

Note taking apps offer important features and functions that will serve various purposes to organize and store your notes. Let’s take a look at the top paid and free note taking apps for each use case that you can try this 2023.

Best All-Purpose Note Taking Apps

Best as: all-purpose collaboration and note taking platform.

ClickUp is an all in one project management software that comes with a rich set of features and functions to boost productivity. The software application comes with Notepad , a simple and easy way to jot down notes that you can access from anywhere. Quickly write down important notes, reminders, and information during meetings and calls with this easy to use Notepad feature. Transform your ideas to life by converting each into any trackable task.

Add more context to your notes by rich format editing and images. Together with the Notepad feature, ClickUp also allows you to take quick screenshots anytime with its screen capture tool. Create a detailed meeting minutes document with the help of this ClickUp Meeting Minutes template . 

Best Features

• Transform notes into trackable tasks with due dates, assignees, priorities and more
• Drag and drop to move items from your checklist to create a visual hierarchy
• Format your notes with super rich editing features including headers, bullets, colors, and more to organize your notes

Current Limitations

• Learning curve due to customization features
• ClickUp has a Free Forever plan that offers most of the features you need. 
• Unlimited ($5 per member/month), Business ($12 per member/month), Business Plus ($19 per member/month), Enterprise plan (contact sales).

Try ClickUp for free today, no credit card required

2. Otter.ai

Best as: voice-to-text note transcription.

Users who frequently hold interviews and meetings may fight taking meeting minutes and transcription a time-consuming task. Otter provides an automated transcription service to help speed up the process of creating meeting minutes or transcribing entire meeting agendas. The tool also offers editing tools as well as functions to share transcripts directly with others. The application provides support for both education and enterprise use. 

• Take and share meeting notes automatically by connecting your Google or Microsoft calendar
• Variety of transcription editing and collaborative tools
• Below-average accuracy for simple and complex audito test
• Accuracy issues for real-time transcriptions of natural speech
• Basic plan is free for individuals
• Pro: $8.33 per month
• Business: $20 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing

Note Taking Apps for Professionals

3. supernormal, best as: ai note taking for google meets.

If you’re looking for a note taking application to help you take quick meeting notes from virtual meetings, Supernormal is a great option to consider. This application helps users stay focused and engaged with its AI-powered platform that automatically captures a transcript of your virtual meetings. Keep your hands free and focus on your meeting without worrying about taking meeting minutes. All users have to do is to highlight the key points after every meeting. 

• Records the meeting video to help keep meeting minutes accurate
• Integrations with Slack and Google for easy note sharing
• Offers transcription for English, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese
• UI/UX can be improved
• Starter plan comes for free
• Pro: $22/month

4. Obsidian

Best for: markdown writers and power note takers.

Obsidian is a note taking application that allows users to create and store notes in a Markdown file format. Users can link notes together and create a knowledge graph of information based on all of the notes stored. Obsidian is great for note takers who need to process their notes with software and applications that require plain text files.

• Write notes in plain data for data processing and encryption
• Uses Markdown formatting which is used by sites like Reddit and GitHub
• Link relevant pages to support your notes
• Notes cannot be stored in the cloud
• Obsidian is a free for personal use
• Catalyst: Starts at $25 (One-time payment)
• Commercial: $50 per user per year

5. Google Keep

Best for: google power users.

Google Keep is a simple and free note-taking app. This online application is great for quick random notes. While it is great for a variety of users, Google Keep works best for Google users. Google Keep features a simple interface which gives users the ability to copy notes into Google Docs and add collaborators. It is a basic tool that is a great addition for every Google user.

• Simple and easy to use interface
• Add collaborators with Google access
• Copy notes directly to Google 
• Embed option is not available
• Storage is limited to 15GB which includes all other applications under user’s Google account
• Google Keep is free with a Google Account

Best as: open source note taking app

Individuals looking for an open source note taking application they can use can check Joplin . This simple open source application offers a cloud solution that lets users share notes with anyone. Joplin also allows users to publish a note online and share the URL with others. This notes app has a web clipper extension which makes it easy to save web pages and take screenshots as notes. This is great for individuals who do a lot of online research to keep their notes organized all in one place.

• Access your notes from your computer, phone, or tablet
• Sync notes with Joplin Cloud across devices
• Available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS
• Limited storage space
• No collaboration tools
• Joplin is a free to use open-source application
• Joplin Cloud is available for purchase
• Basic plans start at $1.60 per month
• Pro plans start at $6.40 per month

7. Boost Note

Best as: note taking for programmers and developers.

Programmers and developers looking for a note taking application that can easily be integrated with their workflow. Boost Note is a note app designed with key features for developer teams. This tool comes with a markdown editor which allows other users to easily write tech spec with Charts.js, Mermaid, Latex, PlantUML, and more. 

• Real-time editing allows users to collaborate with various users
• Public API offers a customizable workspace depending on developer needs
• Add various views such as Kanban, Table, and Calendar to build your workflow
• Limited sync capabilities with third-party services such as Dropbox
• Offline editing currently not available
• Free version and trial available
• Standard: $5 per member per month
• Pro: $8 per member per month

Note Taking Apps for Students

8. marginnote, best as: e-book note taking app.

With a lot of classes happening virtually or online, students will need to step up to be able to keep up with the challenges of remote learning. One way to keep up with a lot of information is to have an efficient way of taking study and lecture notes. MarginNote is an e-reader that provides book annotation, mindmapping, flashcards, and more tools to help users create better reading notes. Through this online note taking app, you are able to organize all of your reading notes however you want. 

• Manage all of your book reading annotations in one application
• Focus on your readings and look up keywords with the built-in research browser
• Review and study your notes as flashcards
• Purchase is restricted to a single device use
• One time purchase starts at $13

9. GoodNotes 

Best for: students and ipad users.

GoodNotes is a digital notepad application with a PDF markup tool. It is a simple iOS note taking application with a drag and drop interface to help users read documents while taking notes at the same time. It features an integrated handwriting function to help create mind maps, markup PowerPoints, PDFs, as well as write equations. 

• Create folders to organize and separate notes
• Handwrite equations, draw mind maps, and mark up PDFs 
• Built-in flash cards study mode help with studying and learning
• Application is limited for iOS users
• Convert to text feature can be slow
• Free 3 notebooks
• Full version starts at $7.99 (One-time purchase)

Note Taking App for Small Businesses

10. notejoy, best for: writing and sharing ideas and information.

Notejoy is a collaborative note taking application. It is made to create and edit notes with real-time collaboration capabilities. This tool is great for remote teams looking to brainstorm and share their ideas real-time. It has a simple yet intuitive interface to provide users with a clean document editing space as well as features to organize notes and upload documents. Collaborate on various projects and documents from roadmaps, OKRs, tasks lists, and so much more. 

• Make quick notes using web, mobile, and desktop
• Track changes and updates with the activity bar
• Look up any note or document with Notejoy’s powerful search bar
• Limited formatting capabilities
• Slight issues with offline syncing
• Basic version is free 
• Solo: $4 per month
• Plus: $8 per month
• Premium $12 per month

Note Taking App for Personal Use

11. evernote, best for: all-purpose note taking.

Evernote is a note-taking application with a wide variety of capabilities that makes it a flexible tool when needed. It is great for on-the-go individuals who wants to have a dedicated place to have all of their notes and tasks together. It also provides a space for users to store photos, files, lists, and even manage your personal calendar.

• Integration with popular third-party applications
• Easy access to notes in all your devices
• Powerful search to easily find notes and tasks
• Free version offers limited basic features
• Premium plan can be expensive
• Evernote offers a free version
• Personal: Starts at $7.99/month
• Professional: Starts at $10.99/month
• Teams: Starts at $14.99/month

Best for: Personal ideas and goals

Notion is a project management and note-taking application for a variety of uses such as task management, document management, team collaboration, note taking, building workflows, and more. It provides a simple and clean space for users to write down their thoughts, ideas, and any type of content. Notion’s dashboard also makes it easy to organize complex and detailed notes and ideas.

• Easy and simple way of creating and linking notes together
• Integrated templates to help any user start with projects or tasks
• Integrations with other apps such as Jira and Slack
• Simplicity of the dashboard can make it confusing to organize
• Sync across multiple devices can be slow and clunky
• Free for individuals with limited features
• Plus: Starts at $8 per user per month
• Business: Starts at $15 per user per month

Benefits of Note Taking

If you’re not one of those people who take notes whenever possible, it’s time to start this small but great habit. Taking notes doesn’t have to be about writing everything down. It’s also all about building another productive habit into your routine. 

Here are a few simple but great benefits to building note taking habits:

• Enhances strong listening skills
• Helps build productive habits
• Improves attention span and concentration
• Boosts organization skills

Note taking doesn’t have to be all about writing everything down. Start by simply jotting down important points from your meetings, classes, or even from your personal schedule. Stay organized and start by choosing from a variety of great note taking apps to keep all of your notes in one place.

Start Note Taking Habits with ClickUp

Using online applications and tools is just as easy as your previous doodles and scribbles using pen and paper. But choosing the right note taking app will offer you other capabilities and functions to bring your ideas and goals to life. 

ClickUp is a productivity platform that offers a variety of communication and collaboration tools. On top of its project management capabilities, ClickUp Notepad is a great note taking app along with Docs . Both are simple and versatile tools to create notes and keep all of your tasks in one place. 

Quickly write down your ideas, organize your notes, create checklists, and list down your tasks in this all in one platform. With this app, there’s no need for you to move from one tool to another. Easily move your notes from one place to another and convert them into action items anytime. Keep all of your work and notes organized with ClickUp. Try it for free today !

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20 Best Free Online Notepads to Use in 2023 (No Login Required)

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20 Best Free Online Notepads for 2023 (No Login Required)

• 14 mins read time

While there are so many notepad apps to choose from, it’s important to opt for the right one that effectively meets your needs. To help you narrow down your selection criteria, we’re listing some of the best online notepads that you can use for your online note-taking needs.

Why Do You Need an Online Notepad?

In today’s busy life, note-keeping is vital to staying organized.  Whether you need a tool to organize thoughts or need to create a shopping list, a notepad app is a perfect solution for your daily note-keeping needs.

For years we have indeed relied on pen and paper to do this job for us. But now, modern technology has helped us get rid of carrying a cumbersome notebook and a pen. By using a digital notepad, you can take notes far more efficiently through your smartphone or laptop while you’re on the go.

In addition to that, you can create special assignments, to-do lists, or simply make a note of things that would otherwise be hard to memorize. Keeping an online notepad gives a quick reminder of the things you need to complete and ultimately increases your productivity.

The Best Free Online Notepads in 2023

1. rapidtables.

• Multi-language support: No
• Login Required: No
• Cloud Storage: Yes
• Attachments: No
• Emoji Support: Yes
• WYSIWYG editor: No

Rapidtables lives up to the name as it is one of the quickest and easiest free-to-use online notepad applications. All it takes is to just launch the notepad and make use of the large text area. Rapidtables contains a group of commonly-used functions, including opening an existing file, cut/copy/paste, redo, and select all text.

It also provides you to take a closer or distant look at your text with zoom-in and out functions. When you are finished making notes, just hit the Save As button to save your text file on your device.

• Share your notes on social networks and via email
• Footer contains the line, column, and character count
• A flurry of other handy tools, such as line graph makers, PDF converters, etc.

2. Anotepad

• Attachments: Yes
• WYSIWYG editor: Yes

Anotepad is one of the most feature-rich notepad applications on our list. Not only does it contain a stunning user interface, but it also allows for advanced formatting requirements.

Moreover, you can save all your data on free cloud storage by creating an account. By doing so, you can keep a secure backup of your notes, and also access them from another device. Having said that, you can also save your notes on your device without creating an account. Anotepad also lets you share your online notes on social media.

You can also secure your notes by setting a password and storing it in an online password manager . Only those with access to the password can access your notes online.

It’s hard to believe that all of these awesome features come entirely for free.

• Set color theme to Dark mode for easier readability
• Secure your notes by setting a password
• Apply HTML tags to embellish your notes
• Set privacy to “Public” or “Private”
• Download notes in a ZIP file
• Optionally, enable note commenting
• Auto-save notes while working
• Take a glance over multiple notes using the preview option
• Create to-do lists, set time zones, sort your notes by date or title, and much more!

The creators of Shrib call it the “fastest notepad on the planet” and rightly so; this free online notepad operates incredibly quickly – kudos to their web hosting service .

There’s more to Shrib than just speed. If you fancy minimal design, then you’d admire Shrib. You’ll see on Shrib is a plain, white text editor that covers your entire browser screen. This type of interface lets you focus more on your text and less on your side functions. Shrib is surely a standout choice among all the best free online notepads when it comes to both speed and simplicity.

• Create a URL for every note to make your notes easy to access.
• Save your notes on the cloud for 3 months (after which they are deleted).
• Quick-print your note from the notepad
• Share your notes on over 180 social network websites

4. Just Notepad

On #4 of our list of the best online notepads, we have Just Notepad. Using it is as simple as ABC. The text box occupies plenty of space on the browser screen for easier readability. Also, you can use the “New” button to add as many pages as you need.

Regardless of whether you are making everyday notes, or creating a draft for your next blog, you’ll relish working on Just Notepad.

• Create a temporary link for your text to access them later via the cloud
• Saved notes are titled “by date” and “time” for easy identification

5. Memo Notepad

Memo Notepad is one of the most elegantly designed online notepad apps. It looks as if writing on physical paper on a wooden surface. So if you’re bored with mundane, blank designs and do not wish to use advanced formatting either, then you’d love to use Memo Notepad.

• Ability to email notes to friends or colleagues immediately
• Make notes using guest mode or create an account to save them on the cloud

6. ClickUp Notepad

• Login Required: Yes

ClickUp Notepad is surely one of the best free online notepad apps with one of the sleekest designs available.

This notepad application is one of the most advanced ones available in terms of technology and features. Not only ClickUp’s notepad is topnotch, but it also has a myriad of features that provide an alternative to other online collaboration tools that you may use.

• Available for Desktop and also as a Chrome extension
• Make to-do lists and mark them when they are done
• Create and handle to-do tasks just like Trello
• Communicate with your team through threads just like Slack
• Use spreadsheets just like Excel
• Handle project management tasks just like Jira
• Track time and goals on the go

7. iTextPad

iTextPad is another cloud-based notepad that allows you to access notes wherever you go. Available on both desktop and mobile, iTextPad provides a responsive notepad solution. With strong privacy features and accessibility options, iTextPad is a brilliant choice for both individuals and corporate businesses.

• Lock feature to encrypt your note and restrict reading access to only specific people
• Available on both Android and iOS
• Manage notes by date through an on-screen calendar

8. Primapad

Primapad is an online notepad app that contains a two-step process to create new notes. First, you give your note or document a name and click go. Second, you access the notepad screen with the URL containing the name of your note for easier accessibility. Also, you don’t have to worry about losing your notes because they are saved on the cloud.

• Quick note sharing feature to manage notes in a group project
• With cloud storage ability, create and edit notes online anywhere, anytime
• Multi-language support: Yes

Yanobs is more of a sticky note editor rather than a traditional note editor. If you’re not satisfied with the built-in sticky notes app in your operating system, then Yanobs is a great alternative. Plus, you can save them to your computer as a TXT file.

• Ability to attach images, docs, videos, etc.
• Use the in-app search engine to find text in your notes

10. ZippyJot

Making notes on ZippyJot feels like writing an email. You write the title just like the subject line and then type in your text the way you want. The design is simple, without any clutter. The bottom half of the notepad contains the list of previously contained notes, which you can access anytime, anywhere.

• A backlog of accessible notes maintained in the ZippyJot server
• Search and sort notes by date and title
• Save notes on the cloud without fear of getting deleted

11. Guinbox

Access notes from anywhere by way of Guinbox. It contains probably the grooviest design you’ll ever get to see on a notepad. Its default dark background doesn’t strain your eyes, so you can type as much as you want without any breaks.

• Save notes on the cloud forever without fear of getting deleted
• Secure notes using a PIN code
• Create a custom URL for easier accessibility of your notes
• Add images, emojis and print notes directly from the browser

12. Protected Text

As the name suggests, Protected Text has a keen emphasis on protecting your text. Dubbed by its creators as “the safest site on the web for storing your text, this app will make sure that your notes are safe by encryption, and no one can access them without your permission.

With growing vulnerabilities in the digital and connected world powered by the internet, Protected Text ensures you don’t have to fret about the security of your data being compromised.

• Back up your notes on the cloud and access them from anywhere
• Ability to work offline
• Available on Android

13. New Text Document

This is just a plain white, blank screen on your entire browser. So if you’re looking for a simple, clutter-free notepad, New Text Document is the right notepad for you.

The screen editor is so large it covers the entire browser area. At first glance, it looks as if there’s no formatting at all, but surprisingly they have got plenty of formatting options available; just right-click the screen. This feature provides you with more screens to work with the least distractions possible.

• Save and backup notes on the cloud to access them anytime, anywhere

14. Speech Notes

This is one of the most unique notepads to type what you say. This saves time and keystrokes a great deal and it works well. If you’re writing long-form content and you have to type in a lot of words, then Speech Notes is arguably the best choice to get your task done.

Speech Notes is among the best free online notepads that are innovative, and this speech-to-text feature could prove to be revolutionary in the field of publishing and writing.

• Allows for dictation of the punctuation marks
• Upload your data to Google Drive to securely store them in the cloud
• Works entirely online in your Chrome browser – no need for installation or account creation

15. Edit Pad

• Cloud Storage: No

Edit Pad is one of the simplest notepads out there. All it contains is a giant text box that you can use to type anything you want. The bottom of the screen contains the Download & Save button used to instantly save your note as a TXT file. The More button contains a word counter, a character counter, copy, and cut function, as well as the function to open the app in a pop-up.

• Instantly save your work in TXT format
• Keep track of your work using the word/character count

16. Calmly Writer

Calmly Writer is one of the best online notepads that contain an intuitive interface and features aimed to fulfill the requirements of professional writers.

The layout is so good that it feels almost as if you’re going to channel your inner philosopher and write like a poet. If you write content regularly, then Calmly Writer could be your go-to option.

• Smart punctuation feature to auto-capitalize words and automatically add commas, periods, etc. where needed.
• Proof-read your content with a free grammar checker
• Ability to expand text editor to full screen
• Dyslexic mode for people with learning difficulties

17. Notepad.js

This is a lightweight, web-based, and one of the best online notepads that load with lightning-fast speed. Having said that, Notepad.js also works offline. It’s minimally designed, nippy, and distraction-free. Notepad.js focuses on users’ privacy and never collects any user data.

The entire interface is just a large text box with Clear and Dark mode buttons. That’s about it.

• Installable on supported browsers for offline use
• Enable Dark mode for easier readability

18. SimpleNote

SimpleNotes truly lives up to its name. It has no rich text formatting, no image uploads, and no file attachments, just like traditional notepad software. SimpleNote focuses on making note entries simple, minimalistic, and free of distractions.

Though Simplenote is web-based, it can also run on major platforms as mentioned in the list of features.

• Available for installation on Linux, Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS
• Search functionality to find your old notes
• Ability to sync and store your data
• Add tags to organize your text
• Version history for all your notes and the ability to restore any prior version
• Share and collaborate with friends or colleagues

Scribz is one of the best notepads that have a responsive minimalist design. This app also contains keyboard shortcuts of its own.

All you need to do is just register an account and start creating as many notes as you want.

• Your data is protected by SSL encryption
• Store your favorite web links and bookmarks

20. Notepad.pw

Notepad.pw is an amazing alternative for discontinued online notepads for note-taking, such as notepad.cc and notepad.io.

This online notepad also gives you access to some useful tools, such as text-to-speech and speed-to-text, which you can use for absolutely free on your Chrome browser.

• Enable Dark mode for easier readability.
• Code view option for coding-based layout
• Create a URL for every note for easy future access

Free online notepads are certainly the best mediums to jot down all your thoughts and ideas. Whether you need to write meeting minutes or reminder notes, you can always make the most of the best online notepads. Given the variety of choices, it all eventually comes down to your preferences.

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We met Dan at a tech conference in San Francisco earlier this year, and his obsession with software was amazing to see. Next thing you know we are best friends with Dan, and welcomed him to the All That SaaS contributing staff with open arms.

Which notepad uses no data?

There’s another best free online notepad called etextpad, it’s ad-free.

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21 Best Note Taking Apps For Students In 2024 (Free & Paid)

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Here's a blog worth taking a note of!

As a student, struggling to keep up with lectures and all the other information flying your way is no mean feat. Frantically scribbling down notes on loose papers only to lose them is definitely not everything anybody enjoys! The good news is that we live in the digital age, where there’s an app for just about everything – including apps for writing notes. Well, we've scoured the web for the best note-taking apps for students in 2024, so grab a seat as we embark on a quest to find the perfect app that fits your needs and complements your creative flair. Whether you're looking for simple sticky-note-style apps for taking notes or a database-driven powerhouse, we've got you covered. So, buckle up, and let's discover the best note-taking apps for students in 2024 to help you jot down your ideas, sketches, and dreams!

Key Features of the Best Note Taking App 

Using the best apps for taking notes for students has been a long-practised and trusted method for academic success. The best app for making notes for students ensures effective learning, too. You will find the perfect way to retain any sort of information! Before you download the best note taking app for students, keep these factors in mind: 

21 Best Note Taking Apps for Students

By believing that our brain is like a sponge, it soaks a lot of information in a day; finding the best note taking apps for students we are talking about here is a strategy that helps to wring out and organise this information. As we grow in a digital age, below is the list of some of the best note taking apps for students:

1. Apple Notes

Platforms: iOS, macOS, Web Price: Free USP: Voice Notes Rating: 4.8/5 Review: “I love this app so very much, and I find it very useful. I also like to schedule my daily plans and/or last minute trips. I feel like this app is my getaway to a world of writing.”

Also known as Notes or iCloud Notes, Apple Notes is easily one of the best note-taking apps for students. It is available for free to all Apple device users. One unique feature that makes Apple Notes the best app for taking notes for school or college is its ability to edit notes from any device with a browser through an iCloud account, eliminating the need for a separate file-sharing service.

2. Dropbox Paper

Platforms: iOS, Android, Web Price: Free USP: Create Presentations Rating: 4.0/5 Review: “Paper is great for imagining what the final article is going to look like.”

One of the revolutionary study notes apps has some of the best features found in notes for students apps. The student note taking app allows students to send large files, embed YouTube videos, and edit PDFs, among many other features. Two of the exceptional features of one of the best note-taking apps available are electronic signatures and the ability to scan receipts, pictures, documents, and much more.

Platforms: iOS/ Windows/ Android Price: Free USP: AI-powered writing Rating: 4.7/5 Review: “I've used this in my training courses for years. I take notes quickly and it transcribes everything to perfectly readable text.”

Apart from being one of the top note-taking apps, Nebo is also one of the most revolutionary study notes apps. With Nebo, you can take notes in your handwriting, and this note taking app for students will convert them into text! From AI-powered handwriting to editing via pen gestures, this is the best app for taking notes for school, providing a seamless experience for users.

4. Goodnotes

Platforms: iOS, Windows, Android, Mac Price: Free USP: AI-powered writing Rating: 4.8/5 Review: “Honestly, I really love using this app! It is very well thought out, and I can use it for many different kinds of workflows.”

Goodnotes is an app that has reimagined the task of taking notes for students. As one of the best note taking apps for students to have on their phones or laptops, it brings features like none other on the table. AI writing experience and on-the-go access to PDFs and other documents are some of the many incredible features that make Goodnotes the best app for making notes. 

5. Freeform 

Platforms: iOS, Mac, iPad Price: Free USP: All in one Rating: 4.6/5 Review: “I have only had PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 for five months. However, thanks to Freeform, it has made my science fair project for the next school year easier.”

An app developed exclusively for Apple product users, FreeForm has impressed students with its user-friendly interface. Students can do it all, from projects to recording audio and embedding videos. If apps are not your thing, you can always look for the best study websites for students , which are easy to understand and resourceful.

6. Obsidian

Platforms: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux Price: Free (for personal and educational use) USP: Customisable toolbar Rating: 4.5/5 Review: “It's surprisingly customisable for a mobile app; it even has a plugin system. It's like a full-featured desktop app shrunk down to phone size, but somehow doesn't feel too cluttered or bloated, which is a design miracle.”

Known as one of the best note taking apps for students, Obsidian is a must-have for power note-takers. It is based on Markdown and a local file/folder structure, making it simple and accessible to all users. The study notes app is highly customisable, allowing users with technical skills to create plugins and turn features on and off to suit their needs. Apart from being the best app for making notes for students to use on a day-to-day basis, the cross-platform app can be accessible offline without an account.

7. Evernote

Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web Price: $7.99/month USP: Customisable home dashboard Rating: 4.4/5 Review: “The app is really good for note-taking! Organisation is also very easy in it, and you can even link to another note in one.”

Evernote is cross-platform and multi-platform and one of the best apps for notes students can try. The best student note-taking app is suitable for processing handwritten notes and clipping articles from the web. It is the best note taking app for students because Evernote can hold multiple file formats, including PDFs and PowerPoints, and offers a scanner for mobile and a web clipper for browsers. Students can receive a 50% discount on Premium for a year. Using Evernote when preparing for an exam like the TOEFL exam can reduce your stress dramatically! Its easy note organisation feature makes it to the list of the best note taking apps for students. 

8. Roam Research

Platforms: iOS, Mac, Linux, Windows, Android Price: $15/month (after a 31-day free trial) USP: Bidirectional link Rating: 3.0/5 Review: “Love that it's finally out. Great interface; love the quick capture and easy switching to the graph.”

Roam Research is the best note taking app for students, and it works with Windows and Linux, among other platforms. One feature that makes it the best app for taking notes is its feature of linking between notes instead of folders and tags. It has strong support for Markdown and encourages daily journaling, making it one of the top free note taking apps for Windows and Linux. Following a bi-directional approach, this app is not your everyday study notes app and lets you switch back and forth through your ideas smoothly and fluidly.

Platforms: iOS, Mac Price: Free for most features. Upgrade to Pro for $1.49/month. USP: Individual notes encryption Rating: 4.7/5 Review: “Bear is really handy, and it has just enough features. I can clip from any webpage, I can hashtag my notes for easier sorting, and I especially like the security feature.”

Bear blends word processing and note-taking to create an irresistible combo that allows users to enjoy the best of both worlds. A study notes app with powerful Markdown capabilities and a great writing experience, Bear's organisational system is simple, using tags and nested hierarchy, and it has an archive feature to save notes. Not only is it the best note taking app for students, but it is also perfect for those with a penchant for creativity. Bear never lets you forget any ideas or inspiration you stumble upon! Being one of the best apps to take notes on Mac for college, it offers a clean look and additional features in its premium version.  

10. Standard Notes

Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, Mac, Windows, Web Price: Free for basic features. Upgrade to Core Plan for $29/year. USP: Tagging system to mark notes Rating: 3.0/5 Review: “Cross-compatibility is flawless. Firing it up and taking quick notes is super simple, as is the editor.”

If a secure and private note-taking app is what you're looking for, Standard Notes is the way to go! It’s the best note taking app for students that prioritises security, offers powerful search, and encrypts all notes by default. As the best study notes app available, Standard Notes' free version surpasses other apps' premium versions regarding features you can access. Its feature of letting you revisit older versions of your notes or recover accidental edits makes it our favourite app for study notes. 

Platforms: Linux, Mac, Windows Price: $14.99 (one-time purchase) USP: Seamless live preview Rating: 3.0/5‍ Review: “When opening the app, the first thing you'll notice is how simple it is. And this is what sets Typora apart from most writing and Markdown tools. This simplicity helped me get into a flow state without much hassle.”

Typora is a highly customisable hybrid Markdown editor and one of the best note-taking apps for students. It works on all major operating systems and offers users a seamless reading and writing experience. We think it’s the best app for taking notes in class because of its Focus Mode, Table of Contents, and multiple themes. You can organise your files using the file tree panel and import files in PDF format to optimise search. Paired with a language-learning app, Typora can be your BFF for learning a foreign language, as well as the best note taking app for students. 

12. Microsoft OneNote

Platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Web Price: Free USP: Scan pictures & extract text Rating: 4.7/5 Review: “Pretty powerful notes app. Lots of editing options and instant syncing across all devices.”

Microsoft OneNote is the best free note taking app for Android tablets or any other device. It is a cross-platform app for study notes with all the features of Evernote. It offers a free-form text box and drawing capability. Microsoft OneNote also allows users to pick from various templates for every imaginable purpose, including e-books and University-focused templates. Some OneNote tips and tricks will enhance your experience, making it one of the must-have apps for uni notes or while studying. 

13. Google Keep

Platforms: Android, iOS, Web, Chrome Price: Free for 15GB of storage across all Google apps USP: Pin notes to your phone Rating: 4.1/5 Review: “I love this app. It's very simple to use. I especially like how I can verbally update my list through Google Home and it's super convenient.”

If you primarily use Google applications for your work, you will worship Google Keep, which tops this list for being the best note taking app for students and every Google user. It is a cross-platform note-taking app with a simple interface that works well with other Google tools. Students can also categorise their notes by adding up to 50 tags and highlighting them using colours, enabling them to study effectively. Also, Google Keep has become the best note taking app for students because of its uncluttered look and zero complex menus. 

Typora is a highly customisable hybrid Markdown editor and one of the best note-taking apps for students. It works on all major operating systems and offers users a seamless reading and writing experience. It has features like Focus Mode, Table of Contents, and multiple themes. You can organise your files using the file tree panel and import files in PDF format to optimise search. Paired with a language-learning app, Typora can be your best buddy for learning a foreign language.

Microsoft OneNote is one of the free note taking apps. It is a free cross-platform study notes app with all the features of Evernote. It is available on unlimited devices and offers a free-form text box and drawing capability. Microsoft OneNote also allows users to pick from various templates for every imaginable purpose, including e-books and University-focused templates. Some OneNote tips and tricks will enhance your experience, making it one of the must-have apps for taking notes while studying.

If you primarily use Google applications for your work, you will worship Google Keep, which tops this list for being the best note taking app for students and other Google users. It is a cross-platform note-taking app with a simple interface that works well with other Google tools. Students can also categorise their notes by adding up to 50 tags and highlighting them using colours, enabling them to study effectively.

Platforms: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web Price: Free USP: No storage limit Rating: 3.6/5 Review: “Simply Incredible! This note taking app does it all, literally. The file and webpage embeds are very useful. The infinite recursion is valuable. The templates and tutorials are succinct, but to the point, so that you are not lost in the sea of possibilities.”

If you're looking for the best note taking apps for college students for collaboration purposes, look no further! Notion is one of the powerful, database-driven school and uni note taking apps, offering flexible pages with a template engine. The tables function like databases, nested hierarchical organisation, and a hybrid editor allowing Markdown and UI formatting. These aspects make Notion one of the must-have apps for students , and it is ranked as the best note-taking app for Android for students.

Platforms: iOS Price: Free; subscription plans starting from $8 USP: Archive or unarchive notes Rating: 4.4/5 Review: “Perfect for drafts and making quick notes and even better you can save your ideas that pop up on the go, on the app.”

Mem is a super AI and one of the best note taking apps for students in the market. It has integrated the potential of artificial intelligence for taking notes through AI-driven building features. The study notes app delivers unique functions like smart search, which saves time in looking for notes based on their history, goals, and theme of search. Keeping AI at its prime, this student note taking app lets you save links and sync emails. You can use the calendar, which brings everything in one place, so you don't have to switch through tabs anymore!

16. Zoho Notebook

Platforms: iOS, Android, Windows Price: Free & paid subscription plan USP: Launcher Shortcuts Rating: 4.0/5 Review: “Perfect note-taking app. There are lots of customisation options - choosing notebook covers, extensive text formatting, and the ability to create different types of notes (written, to-do list, audio, drawn, photo, video, and file attachment).”

Zoho Notebook is the best student note-taking app in Windows and is thoughtfully designed to arrange your thoughts and put them in an organised manner. Zoho Notebook is not just a "simple" student note taking app but has a lot in store. Its 168.8 MB capacity is a good way to collaborate, manage & organise your notes. Zoho also paves its way as one of the best reminder apps , as you can set alarms. It is also the best note taking app for uni students, owing to its tags to help you sort similar notes in one place. In short, it has carefully chosen and integrated the best functions in one app for study notes!

17. Agenda Notes

Platforms: iOS Price: Free & subscription plans USP: Timeline approach to organising notes Rating: 4.7/5 Review: “Agenda's versatility makes it perfect for deploying & repurposing content so it becomes useful at your fingertips.

Agenda Notes, one of the best note taking apps for students, has cracked the code to keep your productivity or organising train on track. With a unique focus on chronological events, you can assign dates or link your calendar in Agenda Notes. One feature that makes it one of the most downloaded and best note-taking apps for students is its timely reminders. Agenda Notes has also won the Apple Design award because of its intricate, fun, and pop design that landscapes the feeling of being motivated!

18. Simplenote

Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free USP: Collaborate and work together Rating: 4.0/5‍ Review: “Great, minimalistic interface. A tool for taking notes needs to be simple, not cluttered with pointless, fussy options. This app delivers perfectly.”

When it comes to complex interface and puzzling navigation, you are likely to hit the uninstall button for a class notes app. Simplenote tackles this problem as it lives up to its name. With its no-frills design, you can easily create to-do lists & ideas and take important notes. Some features that make it one of the best note taking apps for students: it can be anywhere across all your devices. With this app for study notes, you can add tags for easy bifurcation & navigation, go back in time and see any changes, and publish your notes online.

19. Milanote

Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Subscription plan USP: Drag-and-drop interface Rating: 3.7/5 Review: “I like the approach of this phone app in that it does not try to replicate the capabilities of the desktop/iPad app. Milanote is a highly visual program, and this would not be very user-friendly on a small screen.”

Milanote is an innovative and the best note taking app for students, as it goes beyond traditional text-based notes for students. A visually rich interface allows users to create dynamic visual boards to capture and organise their ideas, inspirations, and projects. Milanote is the best note taking app for students, as you can add images, videos, links, and notes to boards. It’s even a perfect match for creative professionals, designers, and teams collaborating on visual projects. Milanote is a versatile and best note taking app for students that empowers them to turn their ideas into visually engaging and well-organised notes.

20. Noteful

Platforms: iOS, Web Price: Free USP: Beautiful handwritten notes Rating: 4.7/5 Review: “Incredibly, Noteful checks all the boxes and adds stuff I wouldn't have thought of!!.”

As a student, getting a seamless experience while taking notes, either in a class or for other purposes, is vital. Interestingly, Noteful checks all the boxes of being at the top among the best note taking apps for students. You can import PDFs along with your Microsoft Office documents in the app before your exams. The student note taking app also provides you with strong editing capabilities and to audio record your notes. Apart from functioning as a note-taking app, there are various study planning apps for students that can further help you ace your exams.

Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, Windows, macOS

Price: Free 

USP: Workflow customisation is available 

Rating: 4/5 

Review: “I love that it's open-source and free, you can sync with Dropbox or OneDrive.” 

If you are looking for open-source, subscription-free and apps to make notes on laptop and phone, Joplin is the answer. You will enjoy its clean interface to organise notes with ease. Plus, Markdown support helps you format and highlight like a pro, along with several plugins. Joplin is not only the best note taking app for lectures but also keeps your notes private. You can collaborate with your friends after classes and access notes anywhere. 

Best Note Taking Apps for Android and iOS

We have curated a list of study note apps made for students, which are built for phones, tablets, and desktops. Let’s have a look at the best note taking apps for students for Android and iOS: 

Efficient note-taking has never been more exciting or easier! With many options, you're sure to find the perfect note-taking app that suits your quirky personality and meets all your jotting needs. These best note taking apps for students will help you survive your first year in college. Whether you're a fan of stickies, fancy a more database-driven approach, or just want a plain and simple interface, there's an app for everything. So pick one (or more!) to include in your student starter pack and start scribbling your next big idea or simply jot down your grocery list. Plus, don’t forget to check out amber app if you want to make big savings on flight bookings or Forex cards. So, happy note-taking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Which are the best apps for taking school notes, which free app is best for making notes for students, which is the best app for school notes, mention an app that takes notes for you., which are the best apps for uni notes, which online note-taking tool allows students to store information on an extensive backup system.

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Call of Duty®️: Modern Warfare®️ III & Warzone™️ Season 03 Patch Notes

The gigantic Season 3 drop is here, including the return of Rebirth Island, four new weapons, eight Aftermarket Parts, and full Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile integration.

April 23, 2024

• WZ Ranked Play: Resurgence

The following patch notes pertain primarily to Global changes made to all Call of Duty Modern Warfare III titles and those made exclusively to Warzone.

For an overview of changes unique to either Multiplayer or Zombies, please visit the dedicated patch notes here .

TUESDAY APRIL 23

• Fixed additional collision issues on Rebirth Island that allowed players to exploit geography.
• Fixed an issue preventing the gas mask animation from playing, leading it to function improperly.
• Fixed an issue preventing players in a passenger seat from using UAVs.

TUESDAY APRIL 16

» lethal equipment «.

• Reverted the change that was preventing C4 from being detonated mid-flight.
• Decreased intermediate explosive damage radius to 3.8 meters, down from 4.9m.

Assault Rifles

• Increased bullet velocity to 690m/s, up from 650m/s .

• Adjusted recoil and gun kick to decrease deviation, allowing a more predictable pattern.

• Decreased horizontal and vertical recoil by 20%.
• Decreased gun kick by 20%.
• Decreased visual recoil by 18%.
• Note: Changes to the M16 were released before today’s game update.

Submachine Guns

• Decreased minimum and maximum hipfire accuracy by 10%.
• Increased aim down sight time to 220ms, up from 200ms.

• Decreased aim down sight time to 204ms, down from 215ms.
• Increased bullet velocity to 570m/s, up from 540m/s.

• Decreased flinch resistance to 0.15N, down from 0.8N.

Sniper Rifles

• Corrected an optic misalignment causing shots to travel slightly off-center.

» ATTACHMENTS «

• Removed aim down sight speed benefit.
• Added compatibility with all MWII Submachine Guns.
• Fixed issues preventing High Trip challenges from tracking properly. 
• Fixed an issue where the Signal Intelligence public event would complete other hacking contracts.
• Fixed an issue causing Mosquito Drones to disappear in a player’s hands when hit by a Shock Stick.
• Fixed an issue causing players to hear incorrect VO from Biometric Scanners. 
• Fixed an issue causing the amount of Bots spawning into the Bootcamp playlist to be inconsistent.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 10

• Max Damage decreased to 28, down from 36.
• Min Damage decreased to 24, down from 28.
• Max Damage Range decreased to 12.44 meters, down from 17.52.
• Lower Torso Multiplier increased to 1.1x, up from 1.
• Arms and Hand Multiplier increased to 1.1x, up from 1.

TUESDAY APRIL 9

» rebirth island | resurgence «.

• Ground vehicles have been enabled on Rebirth Island.

• Optic Attachments with an integrated laser are no longer compatible with the ECS Requieter Suppressor Muzzle.

Light Machine Guns

Taq evolvere.

• Removed duplicate ZEHMN35 Compensated Flash Hider Muzzle Attachment.
• Removed the ability to equip this incompatible Attachment.
• Fixed an issue preventing tactical and lethal equipment from auto picking up.
• Fixed an issue preventing players from shooting their weapon while ledge hanging after picking up the Gaurdian-SC killstreak.
• Fixed an issue preventing the red outline on the border of the minimap to display when under the effects of an enemy's Advanced UAV.
• Fixed an issue preventing one shot protection from functioning in Ranked Play: Resurgence.
• Fixed an issue causing too many and UAV Towers to spawn in Ranked Play: Resurgence. 
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from equipping unlocked items in the Rank Overview within the Rank Rewards Menu.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 3 SEASON 3 LAUNCH

Battle pass.

The Season 3 Battle Pass is stacked with 110 pieces of unlockable content, including three free Base Weapons (detailed previously), two new Operators (Banshee and Hush), and new Skins for Makarov (two Skins), Snoop Dogg, Swagger, Ripper, Doc, Riptide, Banshee (new Operator), Corso, Byline, and Hush (new Operator).

Returning Map

» rebirth island «.

Brought to you by the talented team at Beenox, the fan-favorite island is finally back! Our philosophy was to maintain what fans loved about Rebirth Island while refining gameplay in select areas. This iteration juxtaposes its storied history while also showing what Makarov and his Konni Group are doing here. Through our new innovations, we wanted to deliver an experience both familiar and evolved.

• Bioweapon research laboratory
• Partly renovated by Konni Group to test modern biological weapons
• Elevated control over tip of island
• Chemical synthesis facility
• Upgraded by Konni to generate more energy for Industry
• Great balance between short, medium, and long lines of sight
• Smooth transition to Harbor and Industry
• Constant firefights due to proximity to Bioweapons, Harbor and Prison
• Former chemical decontamination center
• Converted by Konni to kinetic weapons development
• Shelter from Prison and high ground
• Long interior lines of sight
• New Konni built power plant to smooth transition to Chemical Engineering
• Abandoned amenities between the new power plant Factory
• New short underwater tunnel
• Iconic gondola that leads to Prison roof
• Abandoned soviet prison
• Diverse with mess hall, infirmary, offices and showers
• Rooftop vantage over full island
• Courtyard with ramparts reinforced during Vanguard operations
• Formerly used to produce Nova 6
• Retrofitted by Konni to store key equipment and surveil the island
• Access to old tunnels
• Docked Ship
• Former lieutenant housing
• One residence was given the callout alias “Grandma’s house” by Operators
• Perseus’ missile command outpost
• Completed construction prior to the destruction of Verdansk
• Close quarter, dense loot and rooftop power position
• Secondary wharf with docked cargo ship
• Chemical waste disposal
• Flooded bunker that used the contain Perseus’ riches
• Residences for Konni personnel
• Tents were upgrade to provide better protection
• Hectic combat weaving through the various structures
• Security checkpoint for Konni personnel
• Reinforced during Vanguard operations
• Communication tower provides vantage point of the surroundings

Infil Strikes In-Season

We sought to evolve classic points of interest without permanently altering iconic areas of Rebirth Island. Infil Strikes are a brand new addition that feature rare dynamic destruction scenarios during infil.

• As a polarizing tower to snipe from or keep away from danger, we felt this landmark would make for a great target.
• As the tower collapses on Prison it forms a ramp, allowing players to sprint directly to the roof of prison and the structure below the tower.
• Prison being one of the most powerful but also biggest points of interest in the map, this was an obvious target. 
• This strike splits the roof in two creating separate engagement areas on top of new navigation opportunities. Players may now access the roof from the middle interior section of the prison.
• Similar to the lighthouse, the water tower is one of the highest positions in the map and also has very limited access points. At the same time, the ground near it lacks cover which resulted in a rough transition.
• This strike splits the tower in half smoothing the transition between Industry and Prison while removing a polarizing position.

» WARZONE BOOTCAMP «

Refine your Battle Royale tactics in a new training mode against real players and bots. Game progression is limited in this mode and results will not count against your stats. Drop in, learn the ropes and get ready to take on the world.

This mode supports:

» REBIRTH RESURGENCE «

Get ready to dive into Resurgence just like when it all began!

As long as one of your teammates is still alive, you have a chance to redeploy after a short countdown. But as the match progresses into the late game, it's game over for those who lose their fights. Looting, completing contracts, moving around, and engaging other players not only helps you survive but also speeds up the countdown for your teammates to come back. There are also some exclusive features in this mode which we'll talk about in the Gameplay section below.

• 44 Players  
• Vehicles will be enabled for Rebirth Island Resurgence later into Season 3.

For information about upcoming Playlists, please check out the dedicated Warzone Trello Board .

• This system rewards players with additional Player, Weapon, and Battle Pass experience for playing consecutive matches with squadmates.
• The player has at least one friend in their party
• The player queued with Squad Fill enabled
• The player queued with Stay with Squad enabled at the end of the previous match
• First - 1000  
• Second - 1500
• Third - 3000
• Fourth & Above - 5000
• We’ve increased the amount of time players are on screen to improve the overall flow and better showcase player operators.
• Players may now select up to 5 challenges for easier tracking.

» ALL MAPS | ALL MODES «

• We have adjusted buy station locations to encourage new combat scenarios and strategies.
• On infil, squads that touch ground within close proximity of one another will be rewarded with additional experience, cash, and an Advanced Supply UAV.
• This is disabled in Ranked, Lockdown and Plunder.

» Urzikstan, Vondel | Battle Royale «

• Gulag rounds now have a chance to trigger this public event that drops 2 ladders providing an opportunity for both players to leave the arena alive.
• In addition to redeployment, players are rewarded with $3,500 in cash for using this mechanic.

» rebirth island | resurgence «

• Biometric scanners are scattered across Rebirth Island.
• Armor Plates
• Lethal & Tactical Equipment from your Favorite Loadout
• Bronze Keycard Content
• Perk Package from your Favorite Loadout
• Silver Keycard Content
• Random Plate Carrier
• Random Rare Field Upgrade
• Gold Keycard Content
• Random Epic plus Field Upgrade
• Random Killstreak
• 1 Classified Weapon
• 5 Free Items at Buy Station
• 2 Classified Weapons
• 10 Free Items at Buy Stations
• Using biometric scanners with a squad member closeby increases the odds of receiving better keycards.

• Smart Displays can be found across Rebirth Island both inside and outside of buildings.
• High Activity Rate - Which POI has a large population of players.
• First Player - Which player first reaches 10/15/25 eliminations.
• Biometric Scanner - Which player has been lucky enough to find a Polyatomic or Orion keycard.

• Eliminate a swarm of drones to receive useful rewards including up to 4 P.R.D.s and an AUAV. This is the perfect contract to get intel and reposition your squad quickly.
• Similar to the previous iteration of Rebirth, we’ve included a series of hand-selected locations across the island that have a chance of spawning high quality weaponry for players to find.
• Squad Rage applies the exact effects of Battle Rage to all squad members within close proximity.
• Expect the greatest Resurgence challenge conceivable as players must reduce 3 massive Resurgence timers within a very limited amount of time. Unforgiving, this quest will leave no room for mistakes.
• Engine Light’s On Weapon Camo
• Material Handler Unique Operator Skin
• Champion Banner Animated Calling Card 
• Master Procrastinator Weapon Charm
• Alpha Particles Weapon Sticker
• Molotovs, Thermites, and EMD grenades have been removed from ground loot.

We're taking this opportunity to refine the loot experience and ensure that each item has a unique role to play. Those removed from loot will still be accessible in the loadout and we plan to take a further pass at the functional purpose of each item in the future.

• Added a new functionality that highlights supply boxes through walls.
• Now only displays legendary and favorite supply boxes to reduce minimap noise.

» urzikstan | ALL MODES «

• C4 Damage to Palfa increased to 45% of vehicle health, up from 25%.
• JOKER Damage increased to 48% of vehicle health, up from 32%.
• Semtex Damage increased to 20% of vehicle health, up from 15%.
• Frag Damage increased to 20% of vehicle health, up from 15%.
• Full Refuel and Repair time increased to 70 seconds, up from 60.
• Max Fuel time decreased to 190, down from 210.

The heavy chopper has been a force to be reckoned with, often over-rewarding those hunkered down within. With the above changes, the pilot now needs more regular and longer refuel sessions. We’re also rewarding expert use of the C4 and JOKER against the vehicle itself.

» URZIKSTAN | BATTLE ROYALE «

• Gulag loadouts have been updated.

NEW WEAPONS

• An ultra-compact SMG with best-in-class CQC damage and mobility.
• Available via Battle Pass Sector 8

• This single-load railgun delivers a high-damage payload with excellent velocity and penetration.
• Available via Battle Pass Sector 4

• A compact, concealable punch knife that was initially used by gamblers and politicians.
• Available via Battle Pass Sector 15

NEW AFTERMARKET PARTS

• Compatibility: MCW (MWIII), MTZ (MWIII), M4 (MWII) (Assault Rifle), and AMR9 (MWIII) (Submachine Gun) Platforms
• This 3D-printed stock provides an unrivaled combination of speed and stability while aiming down sights.
• Compatibility: BP50 (MWIII) (Assault Rifle)
• This conversion kit turns the BP50 into a CQC legend. A 9mm caliber conversion with shortened receiver and high-capacity magazine.
• Compatibility: KV Broadside (MWII) (Shotgun)
• Converts this Shotgun into a hard-hitting, automatic Battle Rifle.
• Compatibility: Bruen Mk9 (MWIII) (Light Machine Gun)
• Converts the Bruen Mk9 into a compact and integrally suppressed light support weapon chambered in 300 blackout.

GENERAL ADJUSTMENTS

• Decreased obstructive VFX while firing MWII Weapons to align with MWIII standards.
• Removed variance from ADS Idle Sway, allowing a predictable sway pattern.

Our next step toward improving the responsiveness and accuracy of aiming across all input devices in Modern Warfare III arrives in Season 3. As previously detailed, this mechanic discourages players from holding their sights for an extended period of time with a constant, subtle motion that introduces slight inaccuracy. In today’s update, we’ve removed variance from ADS Idle Sway, resulting in a predictable and consistent motion curve. This change raises the skill ceiling and rewards players who take the time to master their favorite Weapons.

WEAPON ADJUSTMENTS

• Max Damage decreased to 32, down from 36.
• Near-Mid Damage decreased to 28, down from 30.
• Max Damage Range decreased to 24.13 meters, down from 26.67.
• Head Modifier decreased to 1.2x, down from 1.3x.
• Neck Modifier decreased to 1x, down from 1.3x.

• Increased sprint to fire time to 199ms, up from 178ms.

Lachmann 556 (MWII)

• Max Damage increased to 28, up from 24.
• Near-Mid Damage increased to 24, up from 21.
• Neck Modifier increased to 1.1x, up from 1.06x.
• Upper Torso Modifier increased to 1.1x, up from 1.06x.
• Arm and Hand modifier increased to 1.1x, up from 1x.

M13C (MWII)

• Max Damage Range increased to 21.59 meters, up from 17.78.

FR Avancer (MWII)

• Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.12x, up from 1.06x.

Tempus Razorback (MWII)

• Max Damage increased to 28, up from 27.
• Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1x, up from 0.9x.

Battle Rifles

• Decreased rate of fire to 600rpm, down from 667rpm.
• Decreased recoil center speed by 6%.
• Max Damage decreased to 90, down from 100.
• Near-Mid Damage Range decreased to 25.4 meters, down from 27.94.
• Head Modifier decreased to 1.4x, down from 1.6x.
• Upper Torso and Arms Modifiers decreased to 1.1x, down from 1.3x.
• Decreased sprint to fire time to 226ms, down from 252ms.
• Decreased aim down sight time to 240ms, down from 300ms.
• Decreased aim down sight rate of fire penalty to 135%, down from 150%.

• Max Damage decreased to 38, down from 40.
• Near-Mid Damage decreased to 35, down from 38.

SOA Subverter

• Max Damage Range decreased to 22.86 meters, down from 25.4.
• Near-Mid Damage Range decreased to 41.91 meters, down from 46.23.
• Increased sprint to fire time to 268ms, up from 256ms.
• Increased aim down sight time to 290ms, up from 270ms.

• Decreased sprint to fire time to 210ms, down from 231ms.
• Increased bullet velocity to 770m/s, up from 600m/s.
• Max Damage decreased to 27, down from 30.
• Decreased sprint to fire time to 147ms, down from 178ms.

• Max Damage decreased to 27, down from 31.
• Min Damage decreased to 22, down from 25.
• Near-Mid Damage decreased to 25, down from 27.
• Max Damage Range decreased to 17.78 meters, down from 22.86.
• Near-Mid Damage Range decreased to 34.29 meters, down from 40.64.
• Decreased sprint to fire time to 136ms, down from 189ms.

• Increased sprint to fire time to 110ms, up from 93ms.

• Increased sprint to fire time to 110ms, up from 94ms.
• Increased sprint to fire time to 110ms, up from 100ms.

• Max Damage Range increased to 12.19 meters, up from 10.67.
• Increased sprint to fire time to 103ms, up from 100ms.

• Increased sprint to fire time to 110ms, up from 88ms.
• Increased sprint to fire time to 99ms, up from 88ms.

• Near-Mid Damage increased to 28, up from 26.
• Max Damage Range increased to 11.17 meters, up from 9.65.

Lachmann Sub (MWII)

• Max Damage Range increased to 9.65 meters, up from 8.25.

BAS-P (MWII)

• Max Damage increased to 28, up from 26.

• Min Damage decreased to 24, down from 26.
• Decreased aim down sight time to 350ms, down from 410ms.

TAQ Eradicator

• Max Damage increased to 30, up from 28.

TAQ Evolvere

• Increased sprint to fire time to 257ms, up from 245ms.
• Increased aim down sight time to 415ms, up from 385ms.
• Decreased rate of fire to 789rpm, down from 857rpm.

RAPP H (MWII)

• Upper Torso & Neck Modifier increased 1.1x, up from 1.08x.
• Arm and Hand Modifier increased to 1.1x, up from 0.95x.

HCR 56 (MWII)

• Max Damage Range increased to 33.65 meters, up from 30.73.
• Arm and Hand Modifiers increased to 1.1x, up from 0.99x.
• Leg Modifier increased to 1x, up from 0.95x.

RAAL MG (MWII)

• Increased sprint to fire time to 216ms, up from 199ms.
• Increased aim down sight time to 380ms, up from 330ms.

Marksman Rifles

Tempus torrent (mwii).

• Max Damage decreased to 70, down from 74.

XRK Stalker

• Increased aim down sight time to 600ms, up from 580ms.

KV Inhibitor

• Increased aim down sight time to 580ms, up from 540ms.

SP-X 80 (MWII)

• Increased sprint to fire time to 310ms, up from 270ms.
• Increased aim down sight time to 590ms, up from 570ms.
• Max Damage Range increased to 12.95 meters, up from 11.68.

WSP Stinger

• Increased rate of fire to 750rpm, up from 600rpm.
• Added initial aim accuracy benefit to all Heavy Bolts for Sniper Rifles.
• Laser is no longer visible to enemies at the hip.
• Flashlight is no longer visible to enemies at the hip.
• Laser is no longer visible to enemies.
• Increased sprint to fire speed penalty to 5%, up from 2%.
• Decreased horizontal recoil control benefit to 10%, down from 13%.
• Decreased aim down sight movement speed benefit by 3-4%, dependent upon Weapon Class.
• Decreased horizontal recoil control benefit to 8%, down from 12%.

ADJUSTMENTS

» Lethal Equipment «

• Damage radius decreased to 5m, down from 6.5m.
• Outer damage increased to 110, up from 105.
• E.O.D. will now prevent the victim from going down when stuck with a Semtex.

Semtex has been a dominant choice for quite some time. With these changes we are looking to provide more opportunities for other grenades to be a fair pick.

• Damage radius increased to 10m, up from 3.5m.
• Outer damage decreased to 75, down from 125.
• Inner damage decreased to 155, down from 175.
• Drone velocity increased to 0.75, up from 0.4.
• Outer damage increased to 125, up from 100.
• Inner damage increased to 250, up from 170.
• Phase 1 burn damage increased to 20, up from 15.
• Phase 2 burn damage increased to 35, up from 25.
• Phase 3 burn damage increased to 40, up from 30.
• Outer damage increased to 77, up from 70.
• Inner damage increased to 155, up from 140.
• Outer damage increased to 110, up from 75.
• Mid damage increased to 125, up from 80.
• Inner damage increased to 155, up from 90.
• Damage Outer increased to 155, up from 105.
• Damage Inner decreased to 225, down from 275.
• Damage Outer increased to 110, up from 105.
• Radius increased to 7.8m, up from 6.5m.
• Detonation Delay decreased to 0.05, down from 0.1.
• Damage Inner increased to 275, up from 200.
• Damage Outer increased to155, up from 105.
• Velocity increased to 600, up from 425.

» Tactical Equipment «

• Outline duration increased to 5 seconds, up from 1.65.
• Outline radius increased to 15m, up from 9.5m.
• Will now require Line of Sight.
• Snapshots will now persist their outlines if the victim is in smoke.
• Battle Hardened will counter this.

Within the current ecosystem of equipment we want to provide opportunities for counterplay. With Smokes being a dominant item, the Snapshot will now act as a direct counter. With this change we have required that Snapshots have line of sight when they perform the “snap” to reveal enemy players.

• Outer damage decreased to 10, down from 25.
• Inner damage decreased to 15, down from 25.
• Frangible Debuff - Players are unable to sprint, slide, or jump. Movement speed decreased.

» Killstreaks «

• The attack delay of the active drone increased to 3 seconds, up from 0.5 seconds.
• This provides more time between when the drone sees you, activates (audible sound), and then flies to its attack destination.
• The radius and height that the drone patrols has been slightly increased to perform better and create less issues with geometry below the drone.
• The drones targeting has been widened slightly to provide better coverage within its patrol radius This helps to avoid unintended blind spots..
• The visual for the killstreak on the maps will now be a static circle showcasing the danger/safety areas for the enemy/ally.
• Damage radius increased to 10m, up from 6.3m.
• Outer damage decreased to 175, down from  225.
• Inner damage decreased to 250, down from 300.
• Destroyed damage radius increased to 2.5m, up from 1.3m.
• Destroyed outer and inner damage increased to 110, up from 75.

We have heard feedback both internally and externally that the Mosquito Drone inside of Warzone felt inconsistent and unpredictable at times. With these changes we are creating a clear definition of danger zones. Further we have tuned the timing and damage of the drone to better allow reflexive and predictive movements when targeted by the drone.

» Field Upgrades «

• Reduced the number of armor plates supplied to 4, down from 6.
• Additionally, we have reduced the price of an armor plate in the buy station from $500 to $300.

WARZONE RANKED PLAY: RESURGENCE

Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence continues in Season 3, with a new location to hone your talents: Rebirth Island! Check out the full patch notes below to get all the details on the updated match rule set for Rebirth Island and NEW Seasonal Rewards, like the Pro Issue WSP Swarm and Divisional Camo Rewards.

New to Rebirth Island? Get all the map details right here.

Match Ruleset Update

• Rebirth Island
• 45 (15 Squads)
• Rebirth Island Map Adjustments
• Biometric Scanners: Disabled
• Squad Assembly: Disabled
• Spy Drones Contract: Adjusted to offer a UAV instead of an Advanced UAV as loot.
• Circle 2: Loadout Drop
• Circle 3: Fire Sale
• Circle 4: Restock
• Reduced to 2.5s.
• The weapon’s maximum damage will be 299.
• Loadouts issued to players who are respawning are static, not random. 
• Riot Shields
• KV Broadside
• MX Guardian
• Dragon’s Breath
• All Thermals
• Jak Purifier
• Corvus Torch
• Maelstrom Dual Trigger
• Mosquito Drone
• Technician 
• All Turreted Ground Vehicles
• All Turreted Aquatic Vehicles

Rebirth Island Updates

• Placement Star Rewards, Placement SR Rewards, Kill & Assist SR, SR Fees, Death Fees, and SR Challenges have been adjusted for the new Max Player Count on Rebirth Island.

SR (Skill Rating) & Divisions

• All new players begin a Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence Competitive Season in Bronze I with 0 SR.
• Players earn SR based on match performance with SR awarded for Kills, Assists, Kills earned by Squadmates, and outlasting other Squads.

Breakdown: Divisions & Tiers

• Bronze – Starting Division
• Silver – 900 SR 
• Gold – 2,100 SR 
• Platinum – 3,600 SR 
• Diamond – 5,400 SR 
• Crimson – 7,500 SR 
• Iridescent – 10,000 SR 
• Top 250 – 10,000+ SR
• All Divisions except for Iridescent and Top 250 have 3 Tiers - Tier I, Tier II & Tier III. Climb into higher Tiers as you advance your way through each Division. 
• Show Off Your Skill: It’s easy to see which Division someone is in in Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence. Your entire Rank Icon will change color and material depending on your current Skill Division. Your current Tier is also prominently shown in the center of your Rank icon.

Breakdown: Earning SR

• Players gain SR over the course of each match every time they get a Kill or Assist, with Kills and Assists being treated equally to encourage teamwork between Squadmates.
• Players also receive some SR each time a Squadmate kets a Kill, even if they didn’t contribute to the Kill.
• To reward high-stakes Kills and teamwork, SR increases over the course of each match based on the number of Squads left alive.

Kill & Assist SR

* Updated for Rebirth Island.

• Players earn SR based on their Final Placement at the end of the match.
• Players will see this SR added throughout the match. Reach Top 10 and you’ll gain 15 SR. Reach Top 7 and you will see another 15 SR for a total of 30 SR.

Final Placement SR Rewards

• Players will be able to see and track SR earned via Kills, Asists, Unassisted Squadmate Kills, and Placements on a visible tracker in-game.
• The SR Tracker will be visible while alive or spectating a Squadmate and will always display your own SR for the current match.
• If your team is eliminated, the SR Tracker will be hidden when spectating an Enemy Squad, and your final earned SR will be shown in the After Action Report.
• Seasonal Challenges are a Ranked Play SR system which allow players to complete a finite amount of challenges each Season that reward a large amount of SR.
• These one-time Seasonal SR Challenges are intended to supercharge SR gains at the start of each player’s Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence Season. 
• Players can complete the below challenges once per Season.

Seasonal SR Challenges

First Kill or Assist

10 Kills or Assists

25 Kills or Assists

50 Kills or Assists

100 Kills or Assists

Reach Top 7 Squad*

Reach Top 5 Squad

Reach Top 3 Squad

Win a Match

* Updated for Rebirth Island

• Death Fees are a SR system intended to ensure that every combat scenario feels high-stakes and that each life has meaning in Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence.
• Death Fees begin at Silver I, increasing in -SR with each Division, and apply with every death.
• Competitors cannot lose more SR than their Deployment Fee which are listed further below.

Bronze I-III

Silver I-III

Platinum I-III

Diamond I-III

Crimson I-III

Iridescent & Top 250

Breakdown: Deployment Fees

• Deployment Fees are a Ranked Play system that ensure that each division above Silver has increasing performance expectations which must be exceeded to progress.
• Deployment Fees apply at the beginning of each match starting at Silver I, increasing in -SR with each Division, and are deducted from each player’s current SR total.
• Players must earn this amount of SR in the following game if they wish to advance towards the next Skill Division or Tier. Failing to earn back the Deployment Fee will result in players losing SR for the match.

Deployment Fee

Platinum II

Platinum III

Diamond III

Crimson III

-120 SR to -300 SR*

Deployment Fee increases every 500 SR above 10,000+ SR.*

Breakdown: End of Season Skill Setback

• At the end of each Season, your ending Skill Division and Skill Division Tier will determine where you start the following season: 
• Bronze through Crimson I Players are set back three (3) Tiers below where they finished in the previous season.
• Example: A Player ending Season 3 in Gold III will begin Season 4 in Silver III.
• Players Crimson II and above will start Season 4 in Diamond I.
• The highest starting position each Season is Diamond I.

Top 250 Leaderboard & Division

• Players will qualify for the Top 250 and appear on the Leaderboard as they surpass 10,000+ SR. 
• The top 250 players with the highest SR above 10,000 will remain on the board and compete for 1st place over the remainder of the Season.
• Ultimate Bragging Rights: In addition to new Rank and Seasonal Rewards in Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence, the #1 Ranked Resurgence player will receive a unique, one-of-a-kind Calling Card and Emblem at the end of each Season.

Separate from the player’s SR and Skill Division is Rank. Rank persists across Seasons to celebrate the player’s journey across their Ranked Play career.

Breakdown: Ranks

• All new players start at Rank 1 and can progress to Rank 50.
• Players increase their Rank by earning Stars. Each match has the ability to award three (3) Stars dependent on match placement. Earn enough Stars to reach the next Rank.
• Stars awarded by Placement:

Rank Placement Rewards

Warzone ranked play: resurgence rewards.

Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence offers a variety of valuable customization rewards available to players via ranking up and progressing through Skill Divisions.

Breakdown: Rewards

• Players can continue their previous Rank grind in Season 3.
• Season Rewards: Available at the start of a Season and only available in that Season.
• Season 3 brings new Seasonal Weapon Camos to unlock in WZ Ranked Play: Resurgence!

New Season 3 Rewards

• Finish Top 15 25 Times: ‘Eat. Sleep. Ranked. Repeat’ Large Weapon Decal
• Finish Top 5 25 Times: ‘Pro Issue WSP Swarm’ SMG Weapon Blueprint
• Finish 1st: ‘Straight Fire’ Weapon Charm
• Get 25 Kills or Assists: ‘WZ Ranked Play Season 3 Competitor’ Weapon Sticker
• Get 100 Kills or Assists: ‘WZ Ranked Play Season 3’ Loading Screen
• Get 500 Kills or Assists: ‘WZ Ranked Play Season 3 Veteran’ Weapon Camo

New End of Season Rewards

• At the end of each Season, players will be awarded Skill Division rewards that represent their highest attained Division that Season or an active placement in the Top 250 Division.
• Bronze: ‘WZ Season 3 Bronze’ Emblem
• Silver: ‘WZ Season 3 Silver’ Emblem
• Gold: ‘WZ Season 3 Gold’ Weapon Camo and Animated Emblem
• Platinum: ‘WZ Season 3 Platinum’ Weapon Camo and Animated Emblem
• Diamond: ‘WZ Season 3 Diamond’ Weapon Camo and Animated Emblem
• Crimson: ‘WZ Season 3 Crimson’ Weapon Camo and Animated Emblem
• Iridescent: ‘WZ Season 3 Iridescent’ Weapon Camo and Animated Emblem
• Players must finish in the Top 250 Division to qualify for these rewards.
• New in Modern Warfare III, Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence competitors can also earn the Skill Division Operator Skin set for use with both 2024 CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions.
• Regardless of where you play, MWIII or Resurgence Ranked Play, show off your highest attained Division above Gold.
• Gold - Iridescent: Earn the applicable ‘Gold Competitor’, ‘Platinum Competitor’, ‘Diamond Competitor’, ‘Crimson Competitor’, or ‘Iridescent Competitor’ Operator Skin set based on your highest Skill Division reached over the course of the Season. 
• The player who finishes Season 3 in the #1 position on the Top 250 Leaderboard will receive an animated unique, one-of-a-kind Calling Card and Emblem for ultimate Season 3 bragging rights.

Competitive Integrity Features

• Players must have at least 1 Squad member remaining.
• There must be at least 3 Squads remaining in the match.
• Players can only rejoin the same match once.
• To protect against abuse, players can have their ability to Rejoin temporarily limited if they repeatedly disconnect from matches.
• When a player disconnects their operator will remain in match and can be eliminated as if they were playing. Players who do not Rejoin during the allotted time will have their operator fully disconnected.
• When a disconnected player is eliminated, their Resurgence timer will countdown as expected but they will only be redeployed once reconnected.
• Players that have been eliminated for over 3 minutes and intentionally disconnect  via ‘Leave Match’ will not be presented with the option to Rejoin.
• Players that disconnect while operating a vehicle will be ejected from the driver’s seat.
• Squad Backout / Match Cancel: If you lose a matchmade teammate before the match begins, your squad will be taken back to the lobby so you don’t start the match shorthanded. If too many squads get backed out before the match begins, we will return everyone to the lobby to find a better match.
• Note: Players that have been eliminated for over three minutes can disconnect from the match via "Leave Match" without penalties.
• SR Forgiveness: If a matchmade teammate disconnects during a game and does not rejoin, you won’t lose any SR for the match. You’ll still be able to gain SR if you manage to gain more than your Deployment Fee. However, SR Forgiveness does not apply if a party member leaves the match early. 
• Demotion Protection: Every time you are promoted to a new Division, you’ll gain 3 games of Demotion Protection where you won’t lose any SR. Once those games have passed, if you happen to lose enough SR where you would normally get demoted, you’ll instead only lose enough SR to reach the Division SR floor (Gold would be 2100 SR for example) to give you one more chance before getting demoted.
• Bronze - Platinum: Can party up without any restrictions
• Diamond: Can party within 2 Skill Divisions
• Crimson & Iridescent (Including Top 250): Can party with players within 1 Skill Division

Additional Features

• Hot Streaks: Win a Ranked Play game to earn Victory Streak Flames that appear behind your Rank Icon in the lobby and in-game. Extend your win streak to progress the flames. Victory Streak Flames expire when you are eliminated or after 72 hours without playing a Ranked Play match. Go on a roll and the competition will know the heat is coming.
• Social Profile: Your Warzone Ranked Play: Resurgence Rank & Division icon will be added to your Social profile anywhere your profile is viewed across Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone.
• Allows players to filter the Operators in the Operators Screen by Status, Games, and to sort them by Default, Newest First and Alphabetical Order.
• Allows players to configure and test their speakers setup in order to optimize their audio experience.
• Seasonal cinematic cutscenes can now be skipped.
• Tac-Stance status is now indicated on the HUD in the Firing Range.
• Mastery Emblem unlock requirements are now displayed in the Customization menu.
• Changed filter combination logic from AND to OR.
• Selected filters are now reset after each game session.
• Removed redundant Locked and Unlocked filters.
• Filters button now displays actively engaged filters.
• Added an option in the Ping Wheel to clear squad pings.

This option will clear all pings from a player’s screen. This means that the player’s own pings will be deleted while squad member pings will be cleared only from the player’s perspective.

• When creating a new loadout, if no Custom Perk Packages exist, one will be created with the "starter" perks and equipped. 
• If a Custom Perk Package does exist, the new Loadout will use the player's first Custom Perk Package.
• Users can now Hold to Stow items that they already have equipped. 
• Added more clarity to Ranked messaging when kicked due to incomplete squad.
• When Redeploy Packs and Gulag Tokens are converted to money when the gulag closes, that money amount will now appear on the loot feed.
• Prestige levels will now show in the Warzone progression menu.

• Fixed an issue preventing eliminated players from dropping armor plates if they haven’t looted armor plates.
• Fixed an issue where players that rapidly opened and closed the buystation could not interact with it.
• Fixed an issue where self revive would display both "Swap" and "Hold to Stow" prompts if player had a full inventory and one already equipped.
• Fixed an issue causing the incorrect voice lines to play from a Bunker Buster.
• Fixed an issue causing Redeploy Packs to stay in the player’s backpack after the Gulag closes.
• Fixed an issue causing players to be redirected to Resurgence Ranked Play after completing a Battle Royal match.
• Fixed an issue preventing supply boxes on the Research Vessel from appearing after a player activates a Supply UAV.
• Fixed an issue preventing the “stow” prompt to appear when looting a Plate Carrier.
• Fixed an issue causing the “Toggle Mute” option to be non-functional while in a match.
• Fixed an issue causing the Loadout selection to remain on screen during the infil cinematic.
• Fixed an issue causing “fist” eliminations to incorrectly display on the elimination cam.
• Fixed an issue causing the JAK Purifier audio to be silent when on an ascender or zipline.
• Fixed an issue where players were seeing all Champion’s Quest rewards after any CQ match.
• Fixed an issue causing duplicate splashes to appear when Most Wanted time is reduced after opening crates.

For regular updates about all Call of Duty® related live issues, follow  @CODUpdates .

For regular updates about Call of Duty®: Warzone™, follow  @RavenSoftware .

For regular updates about  Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare III, follow  @SHGames .

For updates about  Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War and MW Zombies, follow  @Treyarch .

For updates about  Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare II, follow  @InfinityWard .

For all sorts of other franchise content, check out our  Call of Duty® Blog .

*Game features described above are based on current in-development features that are subject to change based on final development changes and/or game tuning or updates that may remove or modify some or all of the above features.

The Software License and Service Agreement will be updated. Please follow this link [ https://www.activision.com/legal/ap-eula ] in order to see these changes.

Try Goodnotes for Web

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Upcoming features, smart offline mode, sync with ios, change color of writing, favorite documents & folders, search within documents, full-page typing, try goodnotes for free today, sign-up for goodnotes for web today and try for free. unlock all features for just $6.99 a year., can i sync my android and windows notes to web.

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Can I sync Goodnotes documents from my iPad to the Web app?

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Chrome Releases

Stable channel update for desktop.

The Stable channel has been updated to 124.0.6367.78/.79 for Windows and Mac and 124.0.6367.78 to Linux which will roll out over the coming days/weeks. A full list of changes in this build is available in the   Log .

The Extended Stable channel has been updated to 124.0.6367.78/.79 for Windows and   Mac which will roll out over the coming days/weeks.

Security Fixes and Rewards

Note: Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.

This update includes 4 security fixes. Below, we highlight fixes that were contributed by external researchers. Please see the Chrome Security Page for more information.

[$16000][ 332546345 ] Critical CVE-2024-4058: Type Confusion in ANGLE. Reported by Toan (suto) Pham and Bao (zx) Pham of Qrious Secure on 2024-04-02

[TBD][ 333182464 ] High CVE-2024-4059: Out of bounds read in V8 API. Reported by Eirik on 2024-04-08

[TBD][ 333420620 ] High CVE-2024-4060: Use after free in Dawn. Reported by wgslfuzz on 2024-04-09

We would also like to thank all security researchers that worked with us during the development cycle to prevent security bugs from ever reaching the stable channel. As usual, our ongoing internal security work was responsible for a wide range of fixes:

[ 336329431 ] Various fixes from internal audits, fuzzing and other initiatives

Many of our security bugs are detected using AddressSanitizer , MemorySanitizer , UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer , Control Flow Integrity , libFuzzer , or AFL .

Interested in switching release channels? Find out how  here . If you find a new issue, please let us know by  filing a bug . The  community help forum  is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues. Daniel Yip Google Chrome

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An official website of the United States government

Gross Domestic Product, First Quarter 2024 (Advance Estimate)

• News Release
• Related Materials
• Additional Information

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2024 (table 1), according to the "advance" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter of 2023, real GDP increased 3.4 percent.

The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency (refer to “Source Data for the Advance Estimate” on page 3). The “second” estimate for the first quarter, based on more complete source data, will be released on May 30, 2024.

The increase in real GDP primarily reflected increases in consumer spending, residential fixed investment, nonresidential fixed investment, and state and local government spending that were partly offset by a decrease in private inventory investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased (table 2).

The increase in consumer spending reflected an increase in services that was partly offset by a decrease in goods. Within services, the increase primarily reflected increases in health care as well as financial services and insurance. Within goods, the decrease primarily reflected decreases in motor vehicles and parts as well as gasoline and other energy goods. Within residential fixed investment, the increase was led by brokers’ commissions and other ownership transfer costs as well as new single-family housing construction. The increase in nonresidential fixed investment mainly reflected an increase in intellectual property products. The increase in state and local government spending reflected an increase in compensation of state and local government employees. The decrease in inventory investment primarily reflected decreases in wholesale trade and manufacturing. Within imports, the increase reflected increases in both goods and services.

Compared to the fourth quarter, the deceleration in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected decelerations in consumer spending, exports, and state and local government spending and a downturn in federal government spending. These movements were partly offset by an acceleration in residential fixed investment. Imports accelerated.

Current‑dollar GDP increased 4.8 percent at an annual rate, or $327.5 billion, in the first quarter to a level of $28.28 trillion. In the fourth quarter, GDP increased 5.1 percent, or $346.9 billion (tables 1 and 3).

The price index for gross domestic purchases increased 3.1 percent in the first quarter, compared with an increase of 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter (table 4). The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 3.4 percent, compared with an increase of 1.8 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased 3.7 percent, compared with an increase of 2.0 percent.

Personal Income

Current-dollar personal income increased $407.1 billion in the first quarter, compared with an increase of $230.2 billion in the fourth quarter. The increase primarily reflected increases in compensation and personal current transfer receipts (table 8).

Disposable personal income increased $226.2 billion, or 4.5 percent, in the first quarter, compared with an increase of $190.4 billion, or 3.8 percent, in the fourth quarter. Increases in compensation and personal current transfer receipts were partly offset by an increase in personal current taxes, which are a subtraction in the calculation of DPI. Real disposable personal income increased 1.1 percent, compared with an increase of 2.0 percent.

Personal saving was $755.7 billion in the first quarter, compared with $815.5 billion in the fourth quarter. The personal saving rate —personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.6 percent in the first quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the fourth quarter.

Source Data for the Advance Estimate

The GDP estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. Information on the source data and key assumptions used in the advance estimate is provided in a Technical Note and a detailed " Key Source Data and Assumptions " file posted with the release. The second estimate for the first quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on May 30, 2024. For information on updates to GDP, refer to the "Additional Information" section that follows.

*          *          *

Next release, May 30, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. EDT Gross Domestic Product (Second Estimate) Corporate Profits (Preliminary Estimate) First Quarter 2024

Full Release & Tables (PDF)

Technical note (pdf), tables only (excel), release highlights (pdf), historical comparisons (pdf), key source data and assumptions (excel), revision information.

• GDP Lisa Mataloni  301-278-9083 [email protected]
• Corporate Profits Kate Pinard 301-278-9417 [email protected]
• Media (BEA) Connie O’Connell 301-278-9003 [email protected]

Additional resources available at www.bea.gov :

• Stay informed about BEA developments by reading the BEA blog , signing up for BEA's email subscription service , or following BEA on X, formerly known as Twitter @BEA_News .
• Historical time series for these estimates can be accessed in BEA's interactive data application .
• Access BEA data by registering for BEA's data Application Programming Interface (API).
• For more on BEA's statistics, refer to our online journal, the Survey of Current Business .
• BEA's news release schedule
• NIPA Handbook : Concepts and Methods of the U.S. National Income and Product Accounts

Definitions

Gross domestic product (GDP), or value added , is the value of the goods and services produced by the nation's economy less the value of the goods and services used up in production. GDP is also equal to the sum of personal consumption expenditures, gross private domestic investment, net exports of goods and services, and government consumption expenditures and gross investment.

Gross domestic income (GDI) is the sum of incomes earned and costs incurred in the production of GDP. In national economic accounting, GDP and GDI are conceptually equal. In practice, GDP and GDI differ because they are constructed using largely independent source data.

Gross output is the value of the goods and services produced by the nation's economy. It is principally measured using industry sales or receipts, including sales to final users (GDP) and sales to other industries (intermediate inputs).

Current-dollar estimates are valued in the prices of the period when the transactions occurred—that is, at "market value." Also referred to as "nominal estimates" or as "current-price estimates."

Real values are inflation-adjusted estimates—that is, estimates that exclude the effects of price changes.

The gross domestic purchases price index measures the prices of final goods and services purchased by U.S. residents.

The personal consumption expenditure price index measures the prices paid for the goods and services purchased by, or on the behalf of, "persons."

Personal income is the income received by, or on behalf of, all persons from all sources: from participation as laborers in production, from owning a home or business, from the ownership of financial assets, and from government and business in the form of transfers. It includes income from domestic sources as well as the rest of world. It does not include realized or unrealized capital gains or losses.

Disposable personal income is the income available to persons for spending or saving. It is equal to personal income less personal current taxes.

Personal outlays is the sum of personal consumption expenditures, personal interest payments, and personal current transfer payments.

Personal saving is personal income less personal outlays and personal current taxes.

The personal saving rate is personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income.

Profits from current production , referred to as corporate profits with inventory valuation adjustment (IVA) and capital consumption (CCAdj) adjustment in the National Income and Product Accounts (NIPAs), is a measure of the net income of corporations before deducting income taxes that is consistent with the value of goods and services measured in GDP. The IVA and CCAdj are adjustments that convert inventory withdrawals and depreciation of fixed assets reported on a tax-return, historical-cost basis to the current-cost economic measures used in the national income and product accounts. Profits for domestic industries reflect profits for all corporations located within the geographic borders of the United States. The rest-of-the-world (ROW) component of profits is measured as the difference between profits received from ROW and profits paid to ROW.

For more definitions, refer to the Glossary: National Income and Product Accounts .

Statistical conventions

Annual-vs-quarterly rates . Quarterly seasonally adjusted values are expressed at annual rates, unless otherwise specified. This convention is used for BEA's featured, seasonally adjusted measures to facilitate comparisons with related and historical data. For details, refer to the FAQ " Why does BEA publish estimates at annual rates? "

Quarterly not seasonally adjusted values are expressed only at quarterly rates.

Percent changes . Percent changes in quarterly seasonally adjusted series are displayed at annual rates, unless otherwise specified. For details, refer to the FAQ " How is average annual growth calculated? " and " Why does BEA publish percent changes in quarterly series at annual rates? " Percent changes in quarterly not seasonally adjusted values are calculated from the same quarter one year ago. All published percent changes are calculated from unrounded data.

Calendar years and quarters . Unless noted otherwise, annual and quarterly data are presented on a calendar basis.

Quantities and prices . Quantities, or "real" volume measures, and prices are expressed as index numbers with a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2017). Quantity and price indexes are calculated using a Fisher-chained weighted formula that incorporates weights from two adjacent periods (quarters for quarterly data and annuals for annual data). For details on the calculation of quantity and price indexes, refer to Chapter 4: Estimating Methods in the NIPA Handbook .

Chained-dollar values are calculated by multiplying the quantity index by the current dollar value in the reference year (2017) and then dividing by 100. Percent changes calculated from real quantity indexes and chained-dollar levels are conceptually the same; any differences are due to rounding. Chained-dollar values are not additive because the relative weights for a given period differ from those of the reference year. In tables that display chained-dollar values, a "residual" line shows the difference between the sum of detailed chained-dollar series and its corresponding aggregate.

Updates to GDP

BEA releases three vintages of the current quarterly estimate for GDP. "Advance" estimates are released near the end of the first month following the end of the quarter and are based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. "Second" and "third" estimates are released near the end of the second and third months, respectively, and are based on more detailed and more comprehensive data as they become available.

The table below shows the average revisions to the quarterly percent changes in real GDP between different estimate vintages, without regard to sign.

Annual and comprehensive updates are released in late September. Annual updates generally cover at least the five most recent calendar years (and their associated quarters) and incorporate newly available major annual source data as well as some changes in methods and definitions to improve the accounts. Comprehensive (or benchmark) updates are carried out at about 5-year intervals and incorporate major periodic source data, as well as major conceptual improvements.

Unlike GDP, advance current quarterly estimates of GDI and corporate profits are not released because data on domestic profits and net interest of domestic industries are not available. For fourth quarter estimates, these data are not available until the third estimate.

GDP by industry and gross output estimates are released with the third estimate of GDP.