Goodnotes suits people who love planners, journals and handwritten notebooks, and teams who want a whiteboard and shared documents. Notability suits students and professionals who record lectures or meetings and want the audio, transcript and handwriting in one note. If you plan and journal, start with Goodnotes; if you record and revise, start with Notability.
Both are built around handwriting on a tablet, and both now add AI, transcription and flashcards. The differences are in how much each free plan lets you do and what each app is built around. I read both makers' plan pages, the Goodnotes site and both App Store listings.
Goodnotes and Notability at a glance
| Goodnotes | Notability | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, free forever with 3 notebooks | Yes, Starter with 5 free notes |
| Audio recording | Synced to your writing; 20 mins on the free plan | Synced to the exact moment you write |
| Study tools | Study Sets flashcards with spaced repetition | Quizzes and flashcards from your notes |
| Extras | Whiteboard, Text Documents, planners and stickers | Two notes side by side, forms, one-time Classic option |
| Devices | iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android, web | iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows, Android, web |
| Collaboration | Real-time collaboration on Pro | Shared note libraries on Business plans |
What Goodnotes does well
Goodnotes is the one that's built for creativity. Its App Store listing covers planners for the week, month or year, daily journals with photos and stickers, and customisable paper templates from Cornell to checklists. There's also a Whiteboard on an infinite canvas for brainstorming and mind maps, and Text Documents for typed work.
For meetings, Goodnotes AI records, transcribes and summarises, then lets you merge the transcript with your handwritten notes. You can present from the app over AirPlay or HDMI with a laser pointer. Backups go to Google Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, and iCloud keeps iPad, iPhone and Mac in sync.
If you're coming from paper, the handwriting stays searchable, so you can find any word across every notebook, even mid-lecture. PDF tables of contents import automatically, which helps with long reports and textbooks.
What Notability does well
Notability's built around recording. Its listing says audio is synced to the exact moment you write, so tapping a word plays what was being said at the time. That makes it handy for lectures. You get real-time transcription, summaries, and the option to chat with your notes on the higher plans. Search covers handwriting, transcripts, typed text and PDFs, so revising before an exam or a client call is quick.
It's also handy at work. You can fill in forms on a job site, mark up PDFs and slides, and view and edit two notes side by side. Notability has also brought back a Classic option, a one-time plan for people who'd rather not sign up to anything recurring.
The free plan detail most people miss
Both apps say you can start free, but the limits are different and they shape how far you'll get. Goodnotes' free plan gives you 3 notebooks, limited sharing, 100MB of storage and 20 minutes of audio recording. Notability's Starter plan gives you 5 free notes with all the editing tools and its template library.
So Goodnotes lets you keep a few long notebooks going, while Notability counts individual notes. If you take one note per lecture or meeting, you'll hit Notability's limit quickly. If you keep one big notebook per subject or client, Goodnotes' free plan stretches further. That's the detail that's easy to miss on the plans pages, and it's worth checking before you start.
Who each app suits
Goodnotes suits planners, journallers, visual thinkers and small teams who brainstorm together. Notability suits students who record lectures, consultants and coaches who record client calls, and anyone who revises from audio. If you're studying, these productivity tools for students and my ChatGPT prompts for studying and revision work well with either app.
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My advice on Goodnotes or Notability
Use each free plan for one real week rather than a ten-minute play. Record one meeting or lecture in Notability and see if the synced audio changes how you review. Build one planner or project notebook in Goodnotes and see if you open it every day. Whichever one you reach for without thinking is your answer, and you can move PDFs between them, so you're not locked in.
Do you make note-taking or study apps? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Goodnotes free?
Yes. Goodnotes has a free forever plan with 3 notebooks, limited sharing, 100MB of storage and 20 minutes of audio recording.
Is Notability free?
Yes. Notability's Starter plan is free with 5 notes, all editing tools and its template library.
Does Goodnotes work on Windows and Android?
Yes. The Goodnotes site lists apps for iOS and iPadOS, Mac, Windows, Android and the web.
Can Notability record audio while I write?
Yes. Notability says recordings are synced to the exact moment you write in a note.
Can I keep using Goodnotes 5?
Yes. Goodnotes says existing Goodnotes 5 users can keep using it indefinitely or move to the new Goodnotes.
