University of Kwazulu-Natal

Note Taking Apps We Tested And Ranked The Best 15 Apps

Bonisiwe Shabane
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note taking apps we tested and ranked the best 15 apps

Everyone needs to write things down from time to time. Note-taking apps let you do just that, and they seamlessly sync your memos across all your other devices. However, their real advantage lies in how they help you organize and find information. The best apps offer multiple structuring options, including folders or notebooks, as well as effective tagging and search features. In short, a good note-taking app is like having a personal internet where you can easily look up anything about your life. We've been testing note-taking apps for more than a decade, and our top picks include the extremely capable Microsoft OneNote and the open-source Joplin.

But these aren't the only apps worth checking out, so read on for more of our top picks. With a fine-grained organizational structure, a generous free version, and an abundance of features, OneNote is a superbly versatile and complete note-taking app. Joplin is the ideal note-taking app for users who value simplicity, local storage capabilities, and dedicated apps on every major platform. Evernote is a powerful note-taking app with advanced AI features, best-in-class tools for jotting down your thoughts, and an exceptionally clear design, though it comes at a premium price. Obsidian is a highly adaptable and free note-taking app for power users who don't need collaboration features. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Here’s how it works. We list the best note-taking apps, to make it simple and easy to manage your notes on the go. 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. Capture all your ideas with the best note taking apps for your smartphone When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Having one of the best note-taking apps at your disposal is a no-brainer. Inspiration can strike at any time, and when it does you'll naturally turn to a device that's close at hand.

Be it a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Sure almost all of your devices will have their own default note-taking app. Those are fantastic, and can be incredibly useful, but third party offerings have features and capabilities that will be a major boon to your productivity. Things like handwriting support for phones with styluses, AI tools that can neatly arrange or summarize your thoughts, and more. Whether you're taking shorthand, whipping a to-do list or just jotting down a reminder, there's an app out there that can meet your note-taking criteria. These are the best apps for note-taking that we've found for mobile devices.

Evernote truly is awesome, but it’s web clipper has had repeated issues over the years, as well as image display in notes (pics come out strange in the desktop versions sometimes). Most annoying: the note-size limit is extremely bad. As a “premium” subscriber, I expect larger note-size limits. The greatest thing I love about Evernote is the ease of which I can scrawl a note on regular paper, take a pic, and (if I wrote legibly) be able to search that text. Mind blowingly cool. Very very useful for songwriting or creative writing.

Whilst Google Keep doesn’t have a Windows desktop client you can create a shortcut to the Chrome App version that runs within Chrome if you have it installed. Create a desktop shortcut with this command line “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” –new-window –app=https://keep.google.com/ Looking for the best note-taking apps in 2026? Notion is the best overall for flexibility and organization. PlanWiz offers the most powerful free features with template-based planning, while GoodNotes and Notability deliver the best handwriting experience on iPad.

Whether you’re a student managing lectures, a professional managing complex projects, or someone who just wants to capture ideas quickly, the right note-taking app transforms how you work. This comprehensive guide compares 15 apps with real testing data, detailed feature breakdowns, and honest recommendations to help you choose the perfect tool, free or paid, for your specific needs. To ensure accurate, reliable, and unbiased recommendations, I conducted extensive and systematic testing across a wide range of criteria, including functionality, performance, usability, cross-device compatibility, collaboration features, offline access, and real-world workflows, covering both... All apps were tested under real-world conditions to see how they perform in daily workflows. We focused on both speed and reliability, tracking how well each app handled notes, media, and syncing across devices. This approach ensured that our recommendations reflect practical usage, not just feature lists.

Finding the right note-taking app can make a big difference in how you organize your life, whether you’re in school, at work, or just keeping track of personal ideas. Some people may need a simple way to jot down their thoughts, while others may want only the best note taking app that can be used across all their devices. This guide highlights 10 of the best note-taking apps for students, professionals, iPad owners, iOS and Android users. We tested 21 different apps, including every major windows app and mobile option, and narrowed them to the ones that performed best for speed, layout, and reliability. Each note taking application here gives you the tools you need to help you organize projects, class notes, and work tasks. Many support cloud storage, allow you to handwrite or doodle, and include stuff like rich text editing, AI features, and integration with Microsoft Teams or Google Drive for action items, collaboration, and project management.

Microsoft OneNote is a flexible note-taking app and one of the best app choices for students and professionals. A favorite app of many a diligent note-taker, it combines typed notes, images, and sketches, making it a great way to take notes and keep them organized. Whether you are a high school student, an intern in a private company or an experienced professional in any field, you need to take notes and write down important things throughout the day. Do keep in mind that the culture of note-taking is not new as it has been a method of conveying ideas for hundred of years. But, now it’s more important than ever. Before the digital age, there were note pads and pencil scratches.

However, the rise of desktops and smartphones have opened the gates to new and powerful tools to take the place of pen and pencils. Smart note-taking apps have indeed changed the way we manage our work and schedule. Furthermore, the rise of cloud computing has now enabled users to access their notes anytime, anywhere they want. But then all the apps are not the same; each has its own weakness and strong points. So today, we have compiled a list of the 15 best note-taking apps to help you choose the perfect one for yourself, which will assist you with your job throughout the day. ColorNote is a simple, yet an effective note-taking app for your Android device.

With the app, you can easily manage a to-do-list, write down notes and memos, etc. It has two types of note-taking formats; lined text and checklist format. The lined text format serves as a simple word processor, without any character restrictions. Overwhelmed by keeping track of ideas, tasks, and meetings? The right AI note-taking app can save you time, keep you organized, and transform your workflow. This guide will walk you through the 15 best AI note-taking apps to find the perfect one for your needs.

Finding the right AI note-taking app is about choosing one that matches your workflow and simplifies your day-to-day tasks : If you rely on spoken content, accurate transcription is a must. The app you choose should reliably capture every word, even in fast-paced or complex conversations. Look for tools with strong speech recognition capabilities that can handle different accents and nuances. You shouldn’t have to spend time editing or double-checking what the app captures—accuracy saves you time and ensures you have dependable notes.

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