GoodNotes vs Notability – Which Is Better?

In our busy day-to-day lives, it’s easy to overlook important tasks and ideas. I struggle with this as well. Sometimes, I’ll wake up with the perfect plan for how my day will go but will eventually forget before midday.

Other times, there are moments when a brilliant idea strikes me and if I fail to jot it down, I’ll forget in a few days. If you have ever been in situations like these, you know how frustrating it can be.

Thankfully, two note-taking applications, GoodNotes and Notability, come to the rescue. Yes, I know you can write down whatever idea or task you have in your notebook, but it could easily get lost.

With powerful digital note-taking apps like GoodNotes and Notability, you can easily capture your ideas on the go, organize projects effectively, and even collaborate with your team members with just a few clicks on your smartphone.

As much as these apps share lots of similarities, you can’t help but wonder what sets them apart from each other. In this article, I’ll review Notability and GoodNotes, explore their nuances, and ultimately compare both tools to arrive at a final verdict.

So, make sure you read to the end for an informed decision. Without further ado, let’s plunge right into it!

GoodNotes vs Notability – Introduction

What is GoodNotes?

GoodNotes is a powerful digital note-taking app developed by Steven Chan and launched in 2011. At the time, Steven started working on the app, he was pursuing a mathematics degree and sort of got frustrated with trying to recognize written mathematical equations.

He simply rolled up his sleeves and developed an application for recognizing hand-written characters, scribbles, and most especially, mathematical equations. That’s how GoodNotes was born.

The app is specifically designed for iOS and Mac devices. And it’s also free. Since its launch, GoodNotes remained one of the apps that ranked high on App Stores. In fact, the tool won the Best Apple iPad App in 2022.

People love just how seamless and easy it is to write on the app. It provides a natural handwriting experience, making it feel like you’re writing on real paper with a stylus or Apple Pencil.

Additionally, GoodNotes is good at converting handwritten notes into digital text, making it easy to search and organize information. You can also import and export different file formats like PDFs, images, web links, and Word documents.

You can even include audio recordings and synchronize them with your notes. Also, the app helps you to create digital notebooks and organize them based on the order of priority.

The fact that you can easily sync your notes through iCloud means that you can access them from anywhere and from any device.

Overall, it’s interesting that GoodNotes went from being just an app created to improve on physical paper notes to becoming a go-to choice for a lot of professionals, artists, and educators who need help noting down, shaping, and sharing their ideas.

What is Notability?

Notability is another robust digital note-taking app developed and launched by Ginger Labs in 2010. It was created to enable users to unleash their ideas and create and annotate anything from study guides to storyboards.

Though the app was initially designed for students and teachers, it has garnered popularity among other professionals including music composers, artists, film directors, and writers as well.

Interestingly, Notability’s powerful handwriting and sketching features make it easy for you to jot down your thoughts, express your creativity, and also create detailed notes. In addition, you can attach images, web links, and audio recordings to your typed text.

This makes it such a brilliant tool to record your lectures, interviews, or meetings and also annotate PDFs and other documents. You’re allowed to create and manage as many notebooks as you want on the platform.

They are not only well-structured but easily accessible. Thanks to the app’s customization features which allow you to select different paper templates, colors, and pen styles to suit your preference.

Another feature that makes Notability stand out is its seamless integration with cloud storage services like iCloud and Google Drive. This means that you can sync your notes across different devices, ensuring that they are always up-to-date and can be accessed from anywhere.

Notability is specifically designed for iOS devices including iPad, iPhone, and macOS. Overall, the app is well-known for its intuitive interface, robust features, and versatility.

GoodNotes vs Notability – Features

From the overview above, it’s clear that GoodNotes and Notability serve the same purpose and are built for the same device. However, their features are slightly different from each other. Now, let’s explore some of these features.

GoodNotes

Handwrite and search for documents

With GoodNotes, you can easily write out math equations, draw mind maps, and even mark up PDFs. It usually feels as if you’re writing on real paper.

The app also features powerful search tools that allow you to quickly search for any term within your notebook – whether handwritten or typed. The handwriting recognition feature will help you find what you wrote.

Annotation and Markup

You can easily mark up documents in different formats including PDFs and PowerPoint presentations. Because you’re not restricted to just typed text, the app is best for signing documents, writing on lecture slides, and reviewing and editing documents.

Create and organize multiple notebooks

Another feature to note about GoodNotes is that you can create as many folders and subfolders as you want. The best part is that no matter how many files you’ve created, you can easily organize them by subject, task, or any other criteria you want.

Notebook customization

GoodNotes comes with different covers and paper templates, giving you the freedom to create the notebook you want. You’ll get templates like graphs, dotted or lined paper, and weekly planners.

If you can’t find your desired template, you’re free to add your own custom templates. You can also choose from the different pen types and colors to add more clarity to your notes.

Import and export elements

GoodNotes comes with an “Elements Tool” that allows you to freely import and export different file formats including texts, images, PDFs, formulas, and diagrams. You can move them from GoodNotes to another app.

Audio recording

To ensure that you don’t miss anything, you can add audio recordings to your notes and synchronize them with what you’ve written or typed so far. When in doubt, you can always go back and replay the audio recordings.

Automatic cloud synching

Your notes are instantly synchronized across multiple devices no matter where you are. This way, you can always view your latest notes with any device you want. It also helps that your works are backed up to Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.

Easy collaboration

GoodNotes allows you to share some of your notes with your colleagues or friends. No matter where they are, you can always get a shareable link that gives them access to your work.

Also Read: Best Calendar Apps

Notability

Handwriting and sketching

Notability easily gives you a natural and smooth handwriting experience, making it feel like you’re writing on real paper. You can take handwritten notes, draw sketches, and even create diagrams with the app. Music professionals even use it to capture quick composition ideas.

Supports typed text

Aside from handwritten text, Notability also allows you to type your work. You can switch between handwriting to typing based on your preference.

Record audio and replay

Another feature that comes with Notability is its ability to capture audio recordings while you’re taking notes. This will come in handy mostly when you’re recording lectures, meetings, and interviews.

The audio recordings automatically synchronize with your written or typed notes and you can always replay them.

PDF annotation

Notability is also good at annotating and marking up PDFs. This makes it a convenient tool for reviewing and editing documents. You can highlight text, add comments, draw shapes, and even insert images directly into your PDF file.

Import and export different multimedia elements

You can incorporate various media elements into your notes. It could be web links, GIFs, or even videos. This feature totally enhances the note-taking experience and gives more room for you to capture information clearly.

Cloud syncing

To ensure that you can access your notes from wherever you are and with any device, Notability automatically syncs your notes across multiple devices. This way, your notes will always be up to date.

Organization and customization

It’s also easy to create and manage multiple notebooks on Notability. You can organize your notes however you want plus the customization options help you to personalize your work. You can choose the paper style you want, colors, and even pen types.

Search and Navigation

If you’re used to creating a lot of notes, the app’s powerful search function will ensure that you easily locate them. All you need to do is to type in specific keywords or note titles.

Presentation Mode

Notability is good for collaboration among team members. You can present and share your notes with your colleagues during meetings. Best of all, you can download notes from others!

Automatic backup

The app will surely back up your notes and restore them whenever you change to a new device.

Handwriting recognition

Notability’s “MyScript” features help you to convert your handwritten notes into digital text. That means that you can take notes with your pen and paper and convert them to written text.

GoodNotes vs Notability – Ease-of-use

As much as GoodNotes and Notability provide a simple and effective note-taking experience with their intuitive interfaces, there’s still a slight difference between both apps when it comes to their ease of use. I will explore them below:

GoodNotes

GoodNotes has a very simple and straightforward interface. In fact, it usually feels like you’re writing in a physical notebook when using the app.

If you prefer the traditional way of taking notes, you’ll love the familiarity and comfort that GoodNotes brings.

Regarding note templates, you have a lot to choose from when creating your note. There are also different paper styles from grid, lined, and blank pages. It all depends on what you want.

Plus, writing and sketching on GoodNotes feels so natural. The zoom feature helps you to produce neat and accurate notes.

One can’t ignore the app’s customizable toolbar. With this feature, you can easily put your preferred tools together for easy access when taking notes.

Overall, the only difference between writing with GoodNotes and on traditional paper is that the former is digital. Aside from that, everything else feels the same.

You can even undo, redo, and erase while writing with simple gestures. All these make GoodNotes the perfect pick for anyone who desires a notebook-like interface.

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Notability

Even though GoodNotes has a simple interface, Notability shares a similar trait but in this case, it has a more modern and polished design. This means that its interface is more contemporary and sleek than GoodNotes.

I noticed that Notability does not have as many templates as GoodNotes but its audio recording feature is easy to navigate. You can synchronize the audio with your written or typed content.

One of the reasons why artists and music composers can conveniently use the app is because the typing and handwriting functions are so seamless. Plus it can easily recognize handwriting and convert it to text.

Best of all, Notability is known for its ability to record and synchronize audio with written or typed notes. Also, its presentation mode is user-friendly. You can easily switch between notes and presentation formats during meetings or lectures.

Overall, Notability is quite simple and easy to use. It only has a broader range of tools and features which shouldn’t stress you much to get started.

GoodNotes vs Notability – Functionality

GoodNotes

When it comes to functionality, GoodNotes is specifically designed for Apple devices. This means that it works on iPhones, iPads, and Macs. You can download the app from the Apple Store.

From the information on GoodNotes’s website, the Android version will be released sometime in 2023. However, the Beta version is already available for download for Samsung users.

The device must be six inches wide or larger with at least 3GB of memory. Also, note that the Android features are a bit limiting. It mainly serves as a handwriting digital note-taking app.

You can also import and annotate PDFs like digital planners, lecture slides, and eBooks. That’s all! All other features like exporting documents, sharing, and customizing your notes are not available on the app’s Android version.

The application is also available for Windows but it’s just the Beta version. This means that it’s only available for testing at the moment.

For those using iOS devices, GoodNotes ensures that your notes are automatically backed up and synced across all devices. This way, you can easily access them.

Overall, it’s quite exciting that there are intentions to introduce the Android and Windows versions of this award-winning app.

Notability

Notability on the other hand is only available on the Apple Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. This means that Android users cannot access the app.

Also learning that there are currently no plans to introduce the Android or Windows version of the app makes it a bit limiting. Even if you’re using an iPhone or iPad, the device has to be iOS 15.0 or a later version.

However, Notability will make sure that your notes are saved automatically as long as you have access to the internet while taking your notes. That’s a major similarity the app shares with GoodNotes.

Also Read: TickTick vs Todoist

GoodNotes vs Notability – Pricing

GoodNotes

GoodNotes comes in two versions – the free and paid versions. The free version is a chance to try out the app. You are only allowed to create three notes and that’s where it stops.

To unlock the full features of GoodNotes, you need to upgrade to the paid version which costs only $9.99. You only need to pay once to enjoy full access to the platform.

You can create as many notebooks as you want, customize them, record audio, import documents via email, and get shareable links to get your team to collaborate with you.

The paid version also supports handwriting recognition and prioritizes email support.

Notability

Notability essentially has two versions. There’s the free version which you get once you download the app, and the paid version called “Notability Plus.”

The free version gets you started. You’ll get the essential features of the app which include creating multimedia notes, importing documents for annotating, recording audio lectures, adding custom stickers, document sharing, and presentation mode.

However, if you want to enjoy the limitless note-taking experience of the app, you can upgrade to the Plus version.

Some of the additional benefits include iCloud synchronization, converting handwritten documents to text, handwriting search and indexing, converting math equations to LaTex as well as auto backup for peace of mind.

The Notability Plus version costs $12.99. However, it’s an in-app purchase meaning you only have to make a one-time payment to have lifetime access.

Another beautiful advantage of subscribing to the “Notability Plus” version is that once you have paid for it, you can utilize the app on all your iOS devices as long as they are linked to the same Apple ID.

GoodNotes vs Notability – Pros and Cons

GoodNotes

Pros

• Has an intuitive user interface
• Supports handwriting recognition
• Using it feels like you’re writing on traditional paper
• Ability to create multiple notes and customize them
• Comes with different annotation tools like highlighters, shapes, and text boxes
• Automatic backup and sync across different devices
• Import and export documents and various media types
• You can back up your notes on Google Drive and Dropbox

Cons

• Full features are only available for iOS devices
• No web version
• To enjoy the app’s full features, you have to subscribe to the paid version

Notability

Pros

• Available for both iOS and macOS devices
• Has excellent handwriting and sketching features
• Can record audio and synchronize it with written content
• Can convert handwriting into text
• Search and locate your past notes
• Backs up notes so that you can access them from any device
• Presentation mode allows for easy collaboration with team members

Cons

• Can only be downloaded from the Apple Store
• Android and Windows versions are not likely to come out
• Can only enjoy the app if you subscribe to the paid version

GoodNotes vs Notability – Similarities and Differences

Similarities

• Both apps are easy to use
• They enable sharing and collaboration with teams and colleagues
• Both support handwriting recognition
• You can create and organize several notes
• Both apps allow you to import different multimedia tools
• They can automatically sync your notes across all devices
• You can annotate and mark your notes
• Both of them support audio recordings
• They are available on iOS devices
• Both apps support math conversion

Differences

• GoodNotes is much more affordable than Notability
• GoodNotes has a Beta version available for Android and Windows while Notability is strictly for iOS devices
• Unlike GoodNotes, Notability allows you to download notes from other users

GoodNotes vs Notability – Which is better?

As you can see, both GoodNotes and Notability are primarily designed to serve the same purpose. Both note-taking apps are intuitive and easy to use.

However, while GoodNotes is popular for its natural handwriting experience, Notability is more contemporary. Although you can create as many notes as you want with Notability’s free version, Goodnote only allows you to have three notes.

Even at that, Notability’s full features can only be enjoyed when you subscribe to the paid version. The same applies to GoodNotes except that it’s cheaper than Notability.

Additionally, GoodNotes is currently working on releasing the Android and Windows versions. In fact, the Beta version is currently available for download on the app’s website.

Hopefully, a few months from now, GoodNotes can work both on Android, Windows, and iOS devices. Notability is still strictly for iOS devices.

So, between the two apps, which is better? If you want to still enjoy the traditional way of taking notes, that is, with pen and paper, you should choose GoodNotes.

It’s also the cheaper option for Notability as it costs only $9.99. However, if you want a note-taking app with a more sleek design, then Notability is your best choice.