November 2022

Productivity Hacks

The Best Note-Taking Apps of 2023

You are on the search for the best note-taking app in 2023? This Blog will give you an insight into what the best note-taking app might be for you.

Leo
Founder Associate

Taking notes can be quite individual. Some of us like using our physical notebooks, whereas others only consider digital note-taking apps. However, more and more users are shifting from their physical notebooks to a digital version. Some reasons being:

- Never to lose your notes again because they are saved in the cloud
- Always have your notes with you on your phone or tablet
- Never to run out of fresh pages
- Organize and search for important information within seconds

There are many note-taking apps on the market, but which one is the best for you? In this blog post, we will discuss the 5 best digital note-taking apps of 2023. We will also provide an insight into the pricing of these apps. Whether you are a student, business professional, or just need to take notes occasionally, one of these apps will be perfect for you!

PS: At the end of the blog we have a little tip for you on how you can save up to 10 hours every week on taking notes

1. Evernote (your digital notebook)

2. Google Keep (Google Suit users)

3. Microsoft OneNote (for Microsoft users)

4. Apple Notes (for Apple users)

5. Notion (for collaboration and more)

The Best Note-Taking Apps

In the following, we will introduce each of the note-taking apps individually and discuss the main features as well as the pricing.

1. Evernote

Evernote is one of the “oldest” but still most popular note-taking apps on the market, and that has a reason. It allows you to take notes and organize them in many ways, making it perfect for students, business professionals, and anyone who needs to take notes occasionally.

Some of Evernote's main features include the ability to take notes in formats of text, audio, and video. Through notebooks and tags, you also can organize your notes or build individual more complex workflows, so you can find them easily. Moreover, your notes are always synchronized between devices, so you can access your notes from anywhere.

An image of the note taking app Evernote, showing a list of tasks and notes on a mobile and desktop device.
Image credits: Evernote

Pricing: Evernote offers different pricing plans for individuals and business. You can get started with its free plan that includes some limited features and limited monthly upload capacity. If you want to use all of Evernote's features or even want to collaborate with your team, the paid individual plan or the business plan is the right one for you.

2. Google Keep

Google Keep is probably the simplest note-taking app out there. You can think of it as a space where you can save all your ideas in the form of Post-its. Notes can have labels, be pinned to the top, or be given a color. Google Keep also allows you to set reminders.

An image of the note taking app Google Keep, showing a Sticky Notes with tasks, To-do lists and images.
Image credits: Google

Additionally, it has speech-to-text capabilities, allowing you to transcribe notes verbally rather than writing them down while you're on the road.

Pricing: Google Keep is completely free to everyone. There are no premium versions or features. The only requirement is to have a Google account that can be connected to Google Keep. So if you are already using Google Suite and you are looking for a very simple note-taking app, this might be a good choice.

3. Microsoft OneNote

Another note-taking app is Microsoft OneNote. It's easy to use and compared to other Microsoft applications rather intuitive. When taking notes, OneNote is highly flexible. Each Notebook is organized into parts that include subsections known as pages. Each page serves as a blank canvas where you may add whatever type of remark you choose. You can also drag and drop an image into the document. However, it is quite limited when it comes to text formatting.

An image of the OneNote navigation panes, showing a list of notebooks and the list of sections and pages within a notebook titled Work Notebook
Image credits: Microsoft

Pricing: When it comes to pricing, OneNote is free. However, users have to keep in mind that all notes that are created are stored on their personal OneDrive storage. This means once your 5 GB (free) are used, you will have to upgrade your storage. In order to upgrade to more storage, you need a paid Microsoft 365 account.

4. Apple Notes

We can not talk about the best note-taking app without mentioning Apple Notes. The software is free and preinstalled on all, macOS/iOS devices. This makes it probably the most convenient note-taking app for Apple users. It does a great job of letting you type or capture notes on the go. The sketching tools in the application works well and makes it simple to add drawings and images to your notes.

The greatest benefit of Apple Notes is definitely its deep integration and compatibility with iOS. You can simply move between taking notes on your iPad, iPhone, and Mac.

Although it's completely free, the drawback is that it can only be used by Apple users.

An image of the free note taking app Apple Notes, showing a dashboard with multiple notes.
Image credits: Apple

Pricing: It is free to all Apple users. However, similarly to OneNote all your notes are saved into the cloud, so once that limit is reached, users might have to upgrade in order to use it across different devices.

5. Notion

Unlike other tools that we have mentioned, Notion isn't intended to simulate the feeling of handwriting or writing anything down on the go. However, it is a great note-taking app and hence we had to add it to our list.

The majority of the applications we've examined so far are for taking notes for yourself. In Notion, one of the main benefits is that you can exchange ideas and work together on notes. Every page is organized in block-like elements, allowing you to enrich your text through To-do lists, toggle lists, and more. In fact, Notion is so much more than just a note-taking app. It essentially combines three tools into one: an effective note-taking app (which is why it is on this list), a task and project manager, and a reference wiki. So it's up to you to decide on how to use those three elements.

An image of the note taking app Notion, showing a To-do list on both desktop and a mobile device
Image credits: Notion

Pricing: For individuals, Notion offers a free plan with some limited features and functionalities. However, if you want to use all its features or collaborate with a team, the pricing lies at 4€ (for individuals) or 8€ per user (for teams).

Which note-taking app should you choose?

Note-taking is as individual as it can get. When choosing the right note-taking app for you you should ask yourself some of the following questions: Do you require the ability to upload other forms of material, including video, or are basic notes sufficient? Do you additionally require a variety of features or the ability to connect or access your notes to other devices? How much are you willing to pay for your perfect note-taking app?

A good note-taking app will take your needs into account, allowing you to take notes digitally in the method that works best for you. The greatest note-taking app will thus be the one that seems most natural to you. Our tip is to try out a few of them and get into note-taking mode. That is what counts.

Do you want to work even more efficiently?

By combining your favorite note-taking app with jamie, you can save hours every week and focus on what really matters. is your personal AI assistant that takes notes in all of your meetings. All you have to do is to paste those notes in your note-taking app of your choice and there you go. If you want to find out more abou nd how it can be used in your daily life, feel free to visit our website or contact us at hey@meetjamie.ai

This is a screenshot of the AI-meeting note tool jamie. It captures relevant talking points automatically and creates a meeting summary with no effort.

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