Best Note-Taking App for Students: 6 Options That Are Perfect for College
What is the best note-taking app for college students?
Pen and paper are touted as the end, be all when it comes to taking notes in college.
Evidence from research suggests that it isn’t just an old-fashioned sentiment. There’s even a study titled “The Pen is Mightier Than The Keyboard”!
So why reinvent the wheel, right?
Well if there’s anything I’ve learned about life so far, it’s that what’s good for the goose is not always good for the gander.
Thanks to variability everyone is different and so are learning styles.
And honestly, the digital approach has a lot of advantages. Like the convenience of accessing paperless notes and being able to record audio.
Now:
Let’s go over the 6 best note-taking apps for students and what makes them ideal for college courses.
Best Note-Taking Apps for Students 2021
✅ Best Free Note-Taking App WINNER
OneNote
⟶ Available for: iOS | macOS | Android | Windows
Pricing: FREE
Strengths
- Records audio and video
- Transcribes audio into searchable text
- Custom tagging
- Web clipper
- Excellent stylus/pen support
- OCR for handwriting and PDFs
- Annotate imported PDFs and other files
- Syncs across devices and platforms
- Simple, user-friendly interface
Weaknesses
- No reminders
- Lacking integration with other services
- Search function isn’t great
OneNote is a highly flexible app with an impressive amount of features, especially when you take into account that it’s FREE to use.
With all the customization options you have the freedom to take digital notes in a way that works best for you.
Video: How to Use Microsoft OneNote
✅ Best Note-Taking App With Stylus Winner
Notability
⟶ Available for: iOS | macOS
Pricing: $8.99 one time purchase
Strengths
- Highly versatile for handwritten notes
- Auto straight lines
- Annotate imported PDFs and other files
- Voice-over audio recording
- Support for hyperlinks
- Scales screen size for stylus/pen
- Split screen
- Infinite scroll
- OCR support for handwriting and PDFs
- Easy copy & pasting
Weaknesses
- Highlighting tool is lacking
- One page style per notebook
Notability is regularly ranked #1 among college note-taking apps by iPad users. It’s praised for its sleek interface and useful features.
Video: Notability Walkthrough
GoodNotes 5
⟶ Available for: iOS | macOS
Pricing: $7.99 one time purchase
Strengths
- Custom page templates
- Highlighting stands out
- Good file organization and structure
- Wide selection of color and size options for writing
- Able to change page orientation
- Handwriting OCR recognition and search
Weaknesses
- No audio recording
- No support for hyperlinks
- Lacks automatic OCR for PDFs
When it comes to the best note-taking with pen support:
GoodNotes 5 is always neck and neck with Notability. They each have some features that the other doesn’t.
Both are an excellent choice for students who prefer handwriting notes over typing. Which one is better for you will come down to your personal preferences.
Video: GoodNotes 5 Walkthrough
Evernote
⟶ Available for: iOS | Mac | Android | Windows
Pricing: $7.99/month
Strengths
- Web clipper
- One of the best tagging and search functions around
- Integrates with Gmail and Google Drive
- Syncs across devices and platforms
- OCR support for handwriting and PDFs
- Templates
Weaknesses
- Lacking nesting/sub-folders
- Poor stylus/pen support
- Clunky PDF annotation
Evernote is easily the most popular note-taking app available. Ironically, note-taking capabilities aren’t it’s strong suit.
In fact, many users feel that the text editor leaves…something to be desired.
Organization on the other hand is where Evernote excels. It’s great for keeping track of upcoming exams, assignments, and other deadlines.
Because of this, students often use a different app for taking notes and Evernote for storing files.
Video: Evernote Note-Taking in Action
SimpleNote
⟶ Available for: iOS | macOS | Android | Windows | Linux
Pricing: FREE
Strengths
- Clean and simple interface
- Quick syncing across web and mobile apps
- Markdown support
- Note history
- Tagging system
Weaknesses
- Almost too simple
- Lacks rich text editor
- Lacks multiple notebook functionality
- Can’t imbed images, audio files, or add PDF attachments
Do you just want a bare bones, basic note-taking app?
If so, SimpleNote is the app for you! It’s perfect for taking no hassle notes on the fly.
Video: SimpleNote Review
Notion
⟶ Available for: iOS | macOS | Android | Windows
Pricing: FREE for students
Strengths
- Excellent task/project manager
- Very structured
- Nesting toggles
- Combines the functionality of many tools into one
- Page versatility
Weaknesses
- Not able to create handwritten notes
- Poor offline support
- No built-in web clipper
- No OCR
- No audio or video recording
- Data privacy concerns, not suitable for sensitive information
Notion is a newer application that has been gaining in popularity.
It’s an all-in-one productivity app for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases. The main concept behind it is that everything is built with blocks.
While it’s lacking some features that would make it ideal for college note taking, I can see the value in using Notion in conjunction with another app.
Bear in mind that it has a steep learning curve. But once you’re past that, Notion can be a seriously powerful tool.
Video: 3 Methods for Notion Note-Taking
Conclusions on the best note-taking app for college…
In the end, there is no ultimate app that will work best for everyone. Preferences and even your major can play a part is what features you value most.
I recommend trying 2 or 3 of the apps in this list to find your perfect fit.
Have you used any of these apps before? What did you love or hate about it?
Related:
- 9 Science Backed Studying Tips for College
- 7 Study Tips for College Students That Are Crazy Effective
About Charlie
Charlie is the co-founder of College Life Made Easy and author of the book 175+ Things to Do Before You Graduate College. She’s a 2015 graduate who teaches overwhelmed students and parents of students how to confidently navigate the whole college thing. As a former broke college kid, she’s passionate about helping students develop the skills they need in order to thrive (instead of just survive), stress less, and actually enjoy the full college experience.