Best note taking apps in 2021 | Identify the best from top 30 note taking apps!

Whether we are working in an office, at home, or anywhere else, there are times when we quickly need to jot down different types of information on a daily basis. This is where note-taking apps come into the picture.

These multitasking note-taking apps lets you take note of everything from text messages to voice memos. Read on to find out our pick of the best note-taking apps across different platforms. These apps are available on iOS, Android, and can be accessed online via the internet browser.

Choose the one perfect for you based on your device and requirements. Meetings necessitate recording of notes for future reference and tracking the action items. They are either noted by the meeting coordinator or the host of the meeting.

Even individuals attending the meeting are required to take notes for their benefit and reference. A common question that often arises is what are the best note taking app available, that are user-friendly and easy to use. The answer is Yes, there are ample note taking software and app present for use.

They are similar to that notebooks and are often available in the cloud which simplifies the ease of sharing with multiple people. They are even efficient to capture pictures, record audio, and take snapshots of web pages. Here’s a list of the best note taking apps we will be covering in this article.

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Why you need the best note taking applications?

Imagine recording notes in a notebook while attending meetings and simultaneously actively participating in them. Difficult right? You may miss noting down many vital points since you need to rely on your writing speed and ability.

This poses a risk for your future reference and correspondence with your team members. It may harm your regular work too. Similar problems may occur while attending training sessions or conferences.

You may fail in capturing essential points or knowledge imparted by the trainer or the speaker. If you leverage and utilize the efficient features of digital note-taking or online note taking app, then your life is easier and risk-free.

You can capture images and screenshots while attending online meetings, training, or web conferences. You can even record the audio of the speaker for listening to them later and utilizing them for your assignments and coordination with your team or manager.

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Top features of digital notebook applications in 2021

As we progress, so does the way of jotting down the information. Pen and Paper have been replaced by the different digital notebook applications that are used to take notes. Let us discuss the top features provided by these applications below,

1. Notebook software offers flexibility

Digital notebook applications offer flexibility in terms of noting down information. You can record meeting minutes, make a checklist, create tasks, organize different information, save videos and links, etc. Note-taking is not just limited to text if you know where to find the best note taking apps.

2. Best notes app offers convenience

Best note taking apps are convenient to use. There is no need to carry pen and paper everywhere you go. If you have a phone in your pocket, all you have to do is to start jotting down the information on any one of these digital applications.

3. Electronic note taking allows searching

Writing on paper doesn’t allow you to search for a piece of information within seconds. However, digital applications come with a search option that lets you search anything through all your notes and find it within seconds. Best note taking apps make it simple to keep up with information.

4. Applications allow aesthetic note taking

Digital applications allow you to take aesthetically pleasing notes whether you have good handwriting or not. They offer different options such as text color, background color, tables, shapes, diagrams, sticky notes, erase options, etc. Best note taking apps make it easy to keep information presentable.

5. Note taking applications provide accessibility

Beyond the ease of convenience to carry information in your pocket anytime and anywhere, the best note taking apps also provide accessibility. The digital applications are supported by multiple platforms, making it easier to edit, copy and add your notes from a laptop, phone, or tablet.

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9 best note taking apps and software

In this section, we will elaborate on the best app to take notes on, its features, and its benefits. You can review them and decide the best one for your professional as well as personal use.

1. Evernote notebook

Evernote is one of the most impressive and best note taking app used in the digital world. It is compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems. The app provides the extensive capability to organize notes and search them efficiently. It supports different types of notes in the form of text, audio files, images, screenshots of web pages, and many more.

Some additional features of Evernote include online chatting and collaboration with different members of your team. It has both free and paid plans. Almost all the basic features of the software are available through the free plan. The paid plan provides an additional feature of searching texts in saved PDFs and documents.

Fun Fact: A unique feature of Evernote is the ability to search for text present in the saved images.

2. Glean the rich note app

Glean is specifically designed to teach students how to take their own notes effectively and help them to improve their ability to learn and retain information, resulting in improved student outcomes.

Glean’s simple administration features are easy to use and make it effortless for institutions to invite, manage, monitor, and support hundreds of students at a time. Students can easily capture audio alongside any slides or handouts and mark what’s important using all the information to hand.

Glean works online, offline, and on mobile devices meaning students can learn any time, any place. Students can become active participants away from the physical classroom, interact with their audio and lectures by adding annotations, and mark audio with ‘important’, ‘task’ or ‘review’ labels so that they know to return to those sections later during independent study.

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3. Microsoft OneNote note taking app

OneNote is one of the powerful and best note taking app and tools provided by Microsoft. The biggest advantage is free and comes along with Microsoft procured a license. It has an amazing feature of taking notes on rules pages through the digital stylus of some smart devices.

You can draw sketches, highlight texts through the stylus. Through OneNote, you can record a video and embed it in the text. You can also embed Excel spreadsheets, Powerpoint, and other Microsoft Office files in the notes.

The tables, images, and text boxes can be positioned wherever needed with ease and comfort. Images and attachments can be dragged and dropped into the notes section. The look and feel of the software resemble that of a notebook and hence can be operated with less effort.

The background can be changed to represent that of a ruled notebook or a textured one. You can also create a specific template for a recurring record of notes. Another interesting feature is you can click a picture of a whiteboard, scan, and upload the image into your text.

OneNote utilizes Microsoft Office’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to search texts from the scanned images. It is considered one of the efficient and best note taking apps for the Windows operating system, though there is a free version for Mac.

Tips: If you possess a laptop running on Windows with Microsoft Office installed, it is advisable to use OneNote as it comes free along with it. It eliminates the need for investing in other note taking software. No doubt it is considered one of the best note taking apps for Windows users.

4. Apple Notes

Apple Notes is one of the best noting taking apps for Mac users. It comes inbuilt along with the operating system. You need not invest in additional plans or license to use Apple Notes. However, it offers 5 GB of storage as part of its Free Plan.

If you need an additional 50 GB of storage then you need to avail yourself of the Paid plans. Apple Notes has some attractive and useful features for both professional and personal use. The greatest advantage is, it comes integrated with the virtual voice assistant of Apple – Siri.

Hence you can either record your notes in the app or ask for Siri’s assistance in doing so. Apple Notes allows you to draw sketches, capture images, record videos and embed the same, attach photos and web pages into your notes, and even sign the documents.

It provides various formatting options for modifying the text as per your requirements. Another important feature of the software is its search capability. It can search texts in images, attachments, and scanned documents.

Note: Apple Notes has a desktop version as well as the iOS app version. The UI is much better, claiming it to be one of the impressive and best note taking apps for Mac and iPhone users.

5. Google Keep – take a note in Keep

For people who are fans of Google, you can use Google Keep. It is one of the most user-friendly and best note taking app, compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems. The UI has a similarity with the Post-It strips we normally use for noting down key To-Dos at our workspaces.

It has a basic digital note taking features like writing texts, drawing images, adding attachments similar to the best note take app and software. It works comparatively well when used with the other Google Suite of products like Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, etc.

Notes written in Google Keep can be named with labels and texts colored and highlighted as per your preferences. The text written in the software can be easily synced across all Google apps and used in documents or emails as needed. The free plan provides 15 GB of storage space, for additional storage you need to purchase the paid plans.

Fun Fact: Google Keep notes can be easily sent out as an email directly from Gmail to your team or friends as and when required, even in real-time mode.

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6. Bear notes Windows and Mac

Bear is one of the elegant and best note taking app especially for Mac and iOS users. It is comparatively new in the market, with an efficient capability to sync up with various Apple devices through the iCloud capability of Apple.

The unique feature of Bear is its Markdown capability wherein its powerful editor keeps on formatting text as you type in the words. It has several advantageous features for the users for a superb writing experience. Through the usage of Hashtag, you can tag each of your notes and then group them later based on it.

This helps in collating and organizing similar and related notes for easy reference and search. You can select from its list of themes for the background. Additionally Bear has archival features for storing old note files without deleting them.

7. Notion note taking

Notion is one of the best note taking app for teams working collaboratively for a program or project. It can be used in companies or firms and also for organizing any events, seminars, conferences too. It has robust search capabilities, user-friendly UI, and efficient organization functionalities.

Compatible with Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems, Notion offers both free and paid plans. The note is referred to like a page in the app and the text written is considered as blocks in a page. You can maintain a To-Do list, embed audio and video files, add images and files as attachments. Under the free plan, it allows the usage of a maximum of 1000 blocks.

Tip: It is advisable to use Notion if you are working with a team and need to take elaborate notes on the tasks assigned to each team member. It is an efficient online note taking tool for project and program managers, allowing them to share the content as and when needed through a shared online workspace.

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4 best note taking app for iPad

Are you looking for the best note taking apps available on iOS? In this section, we’ll share with you the best note taking app for iPad. Once you get familiar, these apps will give you the benefits of writing by hand without giving up on the convenience of digital applications.

1. Goodnotes – Best iPad note taking app

Goodnotes is one of the best note taking app for iPad. It provides the option to switch from typing to writing based on your preference and convenience. Goodnotes also lets you adjust the sensitivity and palm recognition of the pen to match your handwriting style.

2. Penultimate – Best notes app for iPad

Penultimate is a free application developed by Evernote and is designed to be the go-to app for Evernote users. This is one of the best note taking app for iPad as it provides a variety of layouts and the ability to search through your handwritten notes.

3. Notability – Collaborative note taking

Notability has made the experience of sketching and drawing in a digital application extremely delightful. It has to be one of the best note taking app for iPad we have seen. Notability does an excellent job of emulating the handwritten experience, while also allowing resizing and moving the drawings.

4. Noteshelf – Best free note taking app for iPad

Noteshelf is amongst the best note taking app for iPad. It has the unique ability to recognize handwriting in 65 different languages. Noteshelf also allows you to record video notes along with the text notes. It also lets you export your notes to iCloud, DropBox, Evernote, etc.

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3 best note taking app for Mac

Although Apple has provided its own Notes app with the device, it supports only basic functionalities. There are other note taking applications available to be used on macOS. To take advantage of the best note taking app for Mac, you should explore the apps listed below,

1. Apple Notes – Notebook app for Mac

We cannot begin talking about the best note taking app for Mac without discussing Apple notes. This application comes for free along with the iOS/ macOS devices and lets you take notes either by typing or writing. The notes are automatically backed up to iCloud.

2. Memo – Sticky note app for Mac

The memo is a simple and elegant app for quickly jotting down notes on your macOS and iOS. Memos work like sticky notes on your computer screen. It is one of the best note taking app for Mac. Use different colors for sticky notes to visually set them apart.

3. Whink – note taking app for Mac

The Whink is one of the most affordable and best note taking app for Mac to multitask, meaning you can take notes while reading a document. The Whink makes writing as simple as writing on a paper. It even allows adding photos, diagrams, and different geometric shapes.

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Best notebook app for windows

Looking for a note taking tool that helps you jot down your thoughts and ideas in seconds? A good note taking app is indispensable in current times and helps you stay organized. If you are working on a Windows OS, consider one of these notebook app for Windows,

1. OneNote – Good notes for windows

OneNote is one of the best notebook app for Windows for students. It comes into two different variants available on both Windows and macOS. OneNote is organized as a digital three-ring binder with a notebook, sections, and pages. It also lets you sync your notes to the cloud.

2. Evernote – Zoho notebook windows

Evernote is a free notebook app for Windows that works as an all-in-one digital filing cabinet. It is perfect for someone who has just started taking notes. There are both free and premium paid plans available. The Premium features are enough to let you manage your entire life.

3. Windows 10 Sticky Notes – Best sticky note app for windows 10

If you are a Windows 10 user, you probably wouldn’t have to download the sticky notes app separately. This notebook app for Windows is available free of cost and gives you a few cool features to play around with.

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Two best note taking app with stylus

If you are a Windows user who loves to work with a stylus, we have found out the best note taking apps that you can use. These would help you stay organized. Let us look into the best note taking app with stylus window,

1. Plumbago – best note taking app with stylus windows

Plumbago is the best note taking app with stylus window. It is the latest in-house app for Windows 10. The app has been specially designed for people who love to write and draw. Using a stylus on a surface tablet gives the smoothest experience.

2. SimpleNote – best note taking app with stylus android

SimpleNote is the best note taking app with stylus window that provides the simplest way to keep notes. Sometimes, the best note taking apps might get confusing due to a large number of features. SimpleNote lets you stay organized, helps you collaborate, search for information, etc.

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Best note taking app for Surface

Are you a Surface user? Look into the following best note taking apps to get the maximum productivity out of your Surface devices. The ideal app for you would be based on your use case. We have curated a list of the best note taking app for Surface,

1. Notion – Best note taking app for surface Pro 4

Notion provides free access to the best note taking apps features indefinitely. It provides an all-in-one workplace for your notes, tasks, wikis, etc. It is one of the best note taking app for Surface as it provides flexibility and power. The notion is worth a try.

2. Drawboard Pro – Surface Pro note taking apps

Drawboard Pro is the best note taking app for Surface if you wish to take control of your PDFs. It lets you merge multiple PDFs. If you often work with PDFs in your professional life, then Drawboard Pro is the best note taking app for you.

3. Evernote student

Evernote provides cross-platform note taking. It is equally great for processing hand-written notes and clipping web articles. A paid subscription to Evernote will let you handle anything that your professor expects out of you. This multipurpose app is the best note taking app for Surface users.

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3 best online notepad applications

Note taking is crucial to help us keep the different information and ideas organized on a regular basis. There are multiple websites available that come with a free online notepad that you can use on the go. Look at some of the best online notepad application options,

1. Hypernotes – Writing pad apps

Hypernotes is an online app with offline access on all major platforms. It is one of the best online notepad applications for personal research, shared wikis, shared documentation, writing projects, etc. Hypernotes is a collaboration-forward best note taking app that offers bi-directional linking, semantic knowledge graphs, and more.

2. Applications like Evernote

Evernote is one of the best note taking app in terms of features and usability. The sign-up process is pretty simple and once you are registered you can immediately get started on the website by clicking on a new note tab. It is amongst the best online notepad app.

3. ClickUp Notepad – A work notes app

ClickUp users are required to register online and download the chrome extension. There are tons of redeeming features on this website that makes it the best online notepad application. ClickUp also consists of numerous tutorials to help you get familiar with the app faster.

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3 best handwriting app Android phones

The best note taking apps on Android allows you to take notes quickly and at your own convenience. Handwriting app allows users to take hassle-free notes without worrying about the annoying auto-correct feature. Here is the best handwriting app Android can support,

1. Memo – Digital note-takers

The memo is a simple note taking app that allows you to take the information down using your fingers or a stylus. The app offers three different pen types to provide a natural writing experience. The tip of the pen can be adjusted. This is amongst the best handwriting app Android offers.

2. Squid – Quick note app

Squid lets you create handwritten notes on different paper templates. It is also a great platform to fill out forms of all kinds. Squid is the best handwriting app Android supports with a press-sensitive setup to handle your handwriting. Squid is the best note taking app available for free.

3. EverNote app Android

Evernote is an extremely popular and the best note taking app available. It lets you take both handwritten and typed notes. Evernote is undoubtedly the best handwriting app Android supports as it makes use of a variety of media such as sketches, photos, videos, PDFs, web clippings, etc.

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Apple notes for Windows

Windows users cannot access most of the services and apps from the Apple ecosystem. However, there are a few workarounds that will help Windows users to access Apple notes. Use the web to access apple notes for windows. Sign in on iCloud and open the Notes app.

Comparing some of the trending note taking apps

With the best note taking app and software, you can effectively enhance your notes capturing capabilities utilizing them. These note taking apps not only assist you in organizing and maintaining the notes but also provide you several user-friendly features to sync up with different smart devices. Here are comparison among major note taking apps,

1. SimpleNote OneNote comparison

Now that we have learned about the best note taking apps, let us look into the Simplenote Onenote comparison. Both of them are some of the best note taking apps ever made. OneNote app allows simple note management by allowing the creation of separate notebooks and sections whereas the SimpleNote app is slightly restrictive in this area.

2. Comparison – SimpleNote EverNote

SimpleNote EverNote comparison helps us look into the features of the best note taking apps available. SimpleNote, as the name suggests focuses on simplicity and ease of use. However, Evernote provides more options making the user interface slightly complicated and less accessible. Pick one based on your preference.

3. Comparison – Google Keep OneNote

OneNote is a note taking service from Microsoft whereas the Google Keep app is offered by Google. Let us see the Google Keep Onenote comparison. Both of them are the best note taking apps, with brilliant features. Google keep is easier to set up and use as compared to OneNote.

4. Comparing Google Keep vs Evernote vs Onenote

Are you confused about which app to use amongst the best note taking apps available? This Google Keep vs EverNote vs OneNote comparison would help you make a choice. EverNote and OneNote both offer desktop versions as well whereas Google Keep is limited to mobile and web.

5. Comparing Any Do vs Wunderlist

Any Do vs Wunderlist is not an easy comparison to make as both are the best note taking apps. Wunderlist boasts of an easy-to-use and faster UI that helps it easier to find different features. Any Do provide a crisp and minimalist UI with added features.