University of Kwazulu-Natal

The Best Note Taking Apps We Ve Tested For 2026 Pcmag

Bonisiwe Shabane
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the best note taking apps we ve tested for 2026 pcmag

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. 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. The guide will answer all your questions about knowledge base with useful resources. There are over 25 core alternatives to Microsoft OneNote.

However, the question is: do you still use OneNote in 2026, or are you looking for the best OneNote alternatives? Documentation in 2025 is already driving product development, onboarding, customer support, internal wikis, compliance, team efficiency, and so many other processes. In 2026, documentation will become a core operational asset. Again, the question arises: is a note-taking tool enough, or does your team need a knowledge base tool that can document at scale? According to a report by Forrester Consulting, 47% of businesses reported higher customer satisfaction from digital document processes. Knowledge base tools helped them strengthen data security and make signing and sharing information easier.

This article talks about why teams in 2026 are looking for alternatives to Microsoft OneNote, shares insights on the top OneNote alternatives, and helps you list down the correct knowledge base for your team... 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. Even as a free app, OneNote stands out. It has every feature you could want, from organizational structure to cross-platform syncing, voice notes, and OCR. It also comes with the best web clipping tool we've seen. OneNote is the first application most people should consider when looking for a note-taking app.

It's a no-brainer if you subscribe to any Microsoft 365 plan. People who don't want to pay: Oftentimes, free apps lack significant features compared with paid services, but Microsoft OneNote is an exception. The only major things you give up by not paying are the ability to store files locally on Windows and additional storage space. Most people: Note-taking is a personal activity, so no single app will work for everyone; however, Microsoft OneNote is flexible enough to suit practically anyone. It offers apps for every major operating system, features an intuitive design, and boasts a plethora of features. The open-source Joplin is as close to a perfect note-taking app as you can get if you're looking for something relatively simple.

It's completely free and stores your notes locally on your computer if you choose—though you can also pay to use Joplin's cloud storage. Notes you take in Joplin are yours in the same way that notes you take in a paper notebook are. This approach, until recently, had a downside: a lack of collaboration tools. That's changed, as Joplin now offers notebook sharing for those willing to pay a fee. The idea of note-taking varies from one individual to another. For some, it is a simple & quick capture of ideas, while for others it is a full-fledged documentation with attached images, files, and links to create a knowledge management system.

And some professionals use notes to create a to-do list of tasks and expect task management and collaboration capabilities directly from notes. That’s why you often see note-taking apps as one of the most functionally diverse categorizations. And any app that lets you capture quick notes qualifies as a note-taking app, even if it is not designed primarily for note-taking. For clarity, in this post, I am going to cover the note-taking apps primarily from three points of view: I have shortlisted the 11 note-taking apps and defined the category for which each app is the best. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to choose the right app for your workflow, whether for personal organization or team collaboration.

Digital alternatives that will help you stay organized across devices 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. 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. Works with most popular platforms and devices. Text notes only; no images or other media. When it comes to to-do and note-taking apps, I’ve always had a hard time choosing the right one for my needs.

I want it all after all; A minimal and modern app that can handle all my notes, ideas, projects, and clients, while providing team sharing and co-working compatibilities, and all of that in a... But that sounds more like a dream rather than reality, or isn’t it? In one of my latest blog posts, I talked about the number of installed apps that we are using, all of which are basically doing the same thing. One of my current goals is to lower the number of apps and software I am using as a method to reduce the digital clutter that is making my everyday routine a whole more... I’ve been using a different app for my to-do lists and tasks, another for keeping all my ideas organized, and another for managing my clients and where I left off with each of them. I wanted to find a note-taking app that could manage all of this in a single environment that is designed for both simple and more complex pages with checklists, reminders, notes, attachments, etc.

Here’s what I was able to find out: what was my top and final choice, and the pros and cons of the 18 best and most popular to-do and note-taking apps in the world. Note-taking apps could as easily be categorized into three different sections; At first, we have simple to-do apps that are easy to use, fast, and without many options. Then we have the classic note-taking apps, most of them providing more features and ways of organizing our notes and to-do lists using tags and folders.

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