If you ever considered taking notes in a digital way you might have discovered that there are a lot of app out there that offer this. It might be overwhelming especially if you are a bit obsessive as I am when it comes to finding the perfect apps for things.
That is why I have decided to share with you my top 3 apps that I have tried for digital note-taking so you don’t have to spend your money on them and decide that they are not for you.
PIN ME FOR LATER
ONE NOTE
If you are just starting now with your digital note-taking I would strongly suggest starting with a free app like One Note from Microsoft. If your school or university doesn’t allow bringing your laptop or tablet to the class (like mine) you will find yourself going back and forth from a plain paper to a taking notes app. Trust me, I have been there a lot of times. I am not using the app for all of my notes because most of the time I like to write them on paper so I can easily carry them with me at Uni. I do use the app for the notes that require more pictures or different schemes that will help me understand and learn everything better.
I switched late to One Note after buying the other two that are in here and that it’s only because I found this one complicated at first. It really wasn’t but I somehow made myself to think it is. The great advantage of this one is that it syncs with all your devices. It is amazing this due to the fact that besides my iPhone and iPad I also own a computer that works with Windows. I really like the way the app lets you organize your folders and that you can type but also write your notes using an Apple Pencil. You can import pictures, documents, PDF, or audio notes.
PRICE: free
PLATFORMS: works on your phone, iPad, Mac, or Windows computer and syncs with all of them. Download for Windows; iPhone; iPad; Mac; Android
NOTABILITY
This one is the second on my list of favorite apps for digital note-taking. The organizational system on this one is really simple. You have a column on the left of the app where you can write your main category (for me it’s University) and under it, I have different sub-folders for every class that I have. Then in every sub-folder, you can create a note for everything that you need.
You can choose from 13-page styles as well as 15 colors for your page. When it comes to choosing your pen, you can only choose from 2 styles but a bunch of sizes and colors.
This app also works for typing your notes, drawing shapes, or inserting photos. You can also record your lecturer and use that record later when writing your notes. One of the tings I don’t really like about this one, but at the same time it doesn’t bother me that much, is that if you chose to use a lined paper the lines tend to be a blue color comparing to the lines in the Good Note 5 app that are not pooping out that much.
The great downside of this app as well as Good Notes too is that it only works with IOS or MAC OS so if you own a computer that works with Windows you will not be able to write on your notes and only to read them after exporting them as a PDF from the app.
PRICE: $9.99 on MAC OS and $8.99 on IOS
PLATFORMS: IOS and MAC OS
GOOD NOTES 5
This was actually the first app I bought when I first got into digital note-taking. I liked it a lot and it wasn’t really that expensive. I used to own the Good Notes 4 but after they came with the 5th edition I was able to upgrade for free.
With this one, you can sort your notes in Folders. Under each folder, you will then be able to open a notebook for every class that you have. You can choose its cover page from a variety of patterns. When it comes to the type of paper you have to choose from the variety is bigger with this one. It has the basic styles like blank, dotted, lined, and squared plus some more. You can choose your paper every time you want during your note-taking process.
You can choose from 3 pens: a fountain pen, a ball pen or a brush pen using any color you want for writing your notes. This one also works for typing your notes, drawing shapes, or inserting different photos into your pages. To skip from one page to another, you will have to swipe with 2 fingers from the right to your left.
To be honest I didn’t really notice a huge difference between this one and Notability and I really think it comes down to how the app looks for you. In the past I had a bit of a trouble with Good Notes freezing from time to time but this was when the 5th version of it first came up.
PRICE: $7.99 on MAC OS and $7.99 on IOS
PLATFORMS: IOS and MAC OS
If you still don’t know which app to choose, I’ll insert some videos for you all that I have found really helpful in the past.
What apps are you using for digital note-taking? Share your favorites in the comments down below!
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