Goodnotes

What is Goodnotes?

Goodnotes is a handwriting-first note-taking and document workspace built around the tablet and stylus, now extended with an AI layer that searches, summarizes, and converts what you write. It began as an iPad app in 2011 and has grown into a cross-platform workspace covering notebooks, whiteboards, text documents, and PDF annotation. The company positions the current version as the ultimate note-taking experience for professionals who rely on a tablet — a notable shift from its original identity as a student and classroom tool. TechCrunch reports the product now has more than 25 million monthly active users, up from 21 million in 2023, and that the company has been deliberately broadening beyond education toward professional and enterprise buyers.

The distinction worth understanding before you commit is that Goodnotes is not an AI product that happens to take notes. It is a mature handwriting application — one of the most polished on tablet hardware — that has added an AI capability layer over the last few release cycles. Handwriting feel, palm rejection, PDF markup, and organization are the foundation; AI search, summarization, math checking, and meeting transcription sit on top of that foundation and are gated behind paid tiers. If you are evaluating it primarily as an AI assistant, you should read the pricing and limitations sections carefully, because AI usage is metered even on the paid Pro plan. If you are evaluating it as a digital paper replacement with useful AI conveniences attached, the value proposition is considerably more straightforward.

Core Features

• Four content formats in one workspace: Notebooks for daily capture and planning, Whiteboard for freeform brainstorming on an infinite canvas, Text Documents for fast typing and polished output, and PDF Annotation for marking up contracts, briefs, and reports. These are not separate apps but formats inside a single library, so a project can hold handwritten pages, a diagram, and an annotated contract together.
• Handwriting that behaves like paper: The writing engine is the product's oldest and most refined component — rest your hand while writing, scratch out to erase, and convert scribbles to text. Handwriting sensitivity settings are available on iOS, and pen styles, shape recognition, and the lasso tool round out the toolkit.
• AI search across every content type: The AI can search across typed text, handwriting, PDFs, images, and diagrams, indexing text inside handwritten notes so an entire library becomes searchable rather than just the typed portions.
• Handwriting-to-text conversion with spell check: Convert handwriting into clean, editable text with built-in spell check and formatting support, which is the bridge between capture on a tablet and delivery in a document someone else will read.
• Math verification and quiz generation: You can handwrite equations and let AI verify calculations instantly, and generate quizzes or structured outputs directly from existing notes — the clearest remaining thread of the product's education heritage.
• Meeting capture and transcription: Audio recording with transcription turns discussions into searchable text that can be merged with handwritten notes. TechCrunch reports this capability draws on technology from a South Korean startup working on meeting and video summaries that the company acquired in 2024.
• Real-time collaboration and team administration: Multiple people can work in the same notebook, document, or whiteboard simultaneously, with the Teams tier adding SAML SSO, domain control, consolidated billing, and user management for organizations.

Use Cases

1. Annotating documents in professional review workflows: Lawyers marking up briefs, engineers reviewing drawings, and consultants working through reports can import a PDF, annotate it as they would on paper, then search those annotations later. Because markup lives alongside the original file rather than in a separate comment thread, context is preserved when the document is exported or shared.
2. Lecture and study capture: Students record lectures while writing, then use handwriting search to locate a concept weeks later without rereading everything. Generating practice quizzes from existing notes turns passive review into active recall, and the education tier provides an admin console for institutional deployment.
3. Meeting notes that become deliverables: Capture a discussion by hand or by typing while transcription runs, then summarize the result into action items and merge it with your own notes to produce a shareable document. This compresses the gap between the conversation and the follow-up artifact that usually costs the most time.
4. Whiteboard brainstorming and diagramming: Teams sketch on an infinite canvas using handwriting, shapes, and text, then convert the loose output into a mind map or structured diagram. The canvas is collaborative in real time, so distributed participants contribute in whichever input mode suits them.
5. Field and site notes: Professionals working away from a desk — clinicians, inspectors, site engineers — write on a tablet in conditions where a laptop is impractical, then sync to review the same material on a phone or desktop later.
6. Personal planning and journaling: Templates, planners, covers, and stickers support daily planning and journaling workflows, which remains one of the most common individual uses and drives much of the third-party template marketplace.

How to use Goodnotes

1. Download the app for your platform from the official site or your device's app store, and create an account. New users are eligible for a free trial of the paid features.
2. Choose the content format that fits your task — a notebook for ongoing capture, a whiteboard for open-ended thinking, a text document for typed output, or an imported PDF for markup.
3. Set up your writing tools before committing to a long session: pick a pen style and thickness, enable handwriting sensitivity if you are on iOS, and confirm that palm rejection behaves correctly with the way you rest your hand.
4. Capture your material by writing, typing, sketching, or recording audio. If you are in a meeting or lecture, start the recording so transcription can run alongside your handwritten notes.
5. Use AI search to locate material across your library, convert handwriting to text when output needs to be shared, and summarize longer notes or recordings into takeaways.
6. Organize as you go with folders and favorites, then export to PDF or share a link when the work needs to leave the app.

Tips & Best Practices

• Verify your device is a good fit before buying an annual plan. The company states that on older or entry-level devices, like tablets 4 GB RAM or less or basic Chromebooks, performance and functionality may be limited. Test a large PDF and a long handwritten notebook during the trial window rather than after you have paid.
• Treat AI as metered, not unlimited. Plan which tasks genuinely need AI — summarizing a long meeting is worth a credit, checking a single arithmetic line usually is not. Users who rely heavily on AI should price the separate AI pass into their decision rather than assuming Pro covers everything.
• Build a folder structure early. The most common complaint from long-term users is that migrating a large notebook library to another app becomes impractical over time. A consistent structure keeps your own library navigable and makes an eventual export far less painful.
• Convert handwriting to text at the point of sharing, not at the point of capture. Writing by hand is faster for thinking; converted text is better for delivery. Doing the conversion only when output leaves the app preserves the speed advantage of handwriting.
• Confirm language support before depending on AI in a non-English workflow. Goodnotes AI works best in English and supports a defined list of additional languages, so quality is not uniform across locales.
• Keep an export habit. Periodically exporting key notebooks to PDF gives you a portable copy that does not depend on the app's sync layer or your subscription status remaining active.

Who is Goodnotes for?

• Tablet-first professionals: Consultants, lawyers, engineers, and clinicians who work primarily from a tablet with a stylus and need document markup as much as blank-page capture.
• Students and educators: The product's historical core audience, served by lecture capture, quiz generation, templates, and an education tier with institutional admin tooling.
• Teams needing shared visual workspaces: Groups that brainstorm on whiteboards and want the output to stay linked to project documentation rather than living in screenshots.
• Meeting-heavy knowledge workers: People whose main bottleneck is turning conversations into written follow-ups, who benefit most from transcription plus summarization.
• People who think better by hand: Users who find typing constrains their thinking and want handwriting without losing searchability.
• Organizations with compliance requirements: Enterprise buyers needing SSO, domain control, admin permissions, and governance over how AI features are used by staff.

Platforms

• iPadOS and iOS: The flagship platform where the product originated and where the writing experience is most refined. Handwriting sensitivity settings are noted as iOS-only.
• macOS: A desktop client for reviewing and editing material captured on tablet.
• Windows: A desktop client, though third-party reviews flag stability complaints on Windows specifically.
• Android and Chromebooks: Available including on Samsung's Galaxy Store, with the app awarded Google Play Best of 2025 for Best App for Large Screens. Note the substantial quality gap discussed under limitations.
• Web: Browser access for situations where installing a client is not practical.
• Cross-device sync: You can access your notes seamlessly across Android, Chromebooks, Windows and Web, though sync is a paid-tier capability and the one-time purchase option excludes it.

Pricing & Plans

Goodnotes offers a permanently free tier that includes basic notes, 3 notebooks, limited sharing, and 100MB of storage, with audio recording capped at 20 minutes and the Q&A and Math AI features limited to a small monthly allowance. This is enough to evaluate the writing experience but not enough for sustained work, and new users can start a free trial of the paid features to test what is gated.

Paid tiers are annual. Essentials costs $11.99 per year and unlocks unlimited notebooks, full sharing, expanded storage, unlimited audio recording, and basic AI. Pro adds drive integrations, private link sharing, real-time collaboration, cross-device sync, and broader AI capabilities. Teams is priced per seat and adds SAML SSO, domain control, consolidated billing, and user administration, while Enterprise is quote-based and adds privacy and security request handling, AI permissions, Microsoft Intune SDK support, and dedicated account management. Two pricing details deserve attention before committing: AI capacity is metered even on paid plans, with a separate AI Pass+ at $9.99 per month available for unlimited AI usage; and a one-time purchase option for Apple devices still exists, but it comes without cloud sync or cross-platform support, so it is a genuinely different product experience rather than a cheaper route to the same thing.

Alternatives

• Notability: The closest direct competitor on iPad, with a similar handwriting and audio recording focus. It is frequently named by users who leave Goodnotes over interface changes.
• Microsoft OneNote: Free and deeply integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, with a more flexible page canvas but a less refined handwriting feel on tablet hardware.
• Apple Notes: Bundled at no cost on Apple devices and increasingly capable for handwriting and scanning, sufficient for users whose needs are light.
• Notion: A structured knowledge and database workspace rather than a handwriting tool. A better fit when the primary need is organizing typed team knowledge, not writing by hand.
• Obsidian: A local-first, plain-text knowledge base for users who prioritize data portability and linking over stylus input.

Limitations & Considerations

The most concrete limitation is the gap between platforms. On the App Store the app holds 4.7 stars across more than 442,000 ratings, while on Google Play it shows 3.3 stars across roughly 34,100 reviews — a striking divergence for the same product, with visible Android reviews citing missing full library sync, lag, and free-tier restrictions behaving unexpectedly. If you intend to use Goodnotes primarily on Android, the iOS reputation is not a reliable guide to what you will experience. The company itself notes that performance and functionality may be limited on lower-specification tablets and basic Chromebooks.

Stability is a recurring theme in independent reviews. On Trustpilot the company holds 4.1 across 145 reviews, where the summary of recent feedback praises the support team but also records performance issues, annoying bugs, and unexpected crashes, particularly on Windows devices and tablets. That split — well-regarded support alongside contested application stability — is worth weighing, since responsive support does not compensate for an app that crashes mid-lecture.

The October 2025 redesign generated significant public pushback. Coverage aggregating discussion on Reddit and X described users calling for the return of the simpler Goodnotes 6 interface, with complaints about arrow and lasso tool bugs, a floating toolbar consuming canvas space, and frequently used controls being moved into dropdown menus. These reports reflect themes recurring in community discussion rather than measured statistics, but the volume was substantial enough to draw press attention, and it illustrates a real risk: your daily workflow can change without your consent on a tool you have built years of material inside.

On AI specifically, expectations should be calibrated. There is a limit to how much AI users can use, even on the Pro plan, with unlimited access requiring the separate AI pass. Goodnotes AI works best in English, with a defined list of other supported languages, so non-English users should validate quality in their own language during the trial. Finally, note the tradeoff in the surviving one-time purchase: it is Apple-only and arrives without cloud sync or cross-platform support, which makes it unsuitable for anyone working across devices.

On privacy, the company's stated position is that your data is kept private and you control how it is used, with enterprise plans including additional controls. Independently, the Google Play data safety disclosure indicates the app may share personal information and app activity with third parties, states that data is encrypted in transit, and confirms users can request deletion — worth reading directly if you handle regulated or client-confidential material.

FAQ

Q1. Is Goodnotes an AI tool or a note-taking app?

It is a note-taking and document application with an AI layer added on top. The handwriting engine, PDF annotation, and organization features are the mature core built up since 2011; AI search, summarization, math checking, and transcription are newer additions gated behind paid tiers. The App Store listing name now includes AI, and the company maintains a dedicated AI section of its site, so the AI capabilities are real and actively developed — but they are an extension of a handwriting product, not the foundation of it.

Q2. Is there a free version, and what does it actually include?

Yes, there is a permanently free tier with basic notes, 3 notebooks, limited sharing, and 100MB of storage. Audio recording is capped at 20 minutes and AI features like Q&A and Math have a small monthly allowance. It is suitable for trying the writing experience, but the notebook cap and storage limit make it impractical for sustained use. A free trial of the paid features is available to new users.

Q3. Can I still buy Goodnotes once instead of subscribing?

A one-time purchase option for Apple devices still exists, but it comes without cloud sync or cross-platform support. That means notes stay on the Apple device where you created them rather than syncing to Windows, Android, or the web. If working across devices matters to you, the one-time option is not a substitute for a subscription.

Q4. How good is the Android version compared with iPad?

Considerably weaker by user rating. The Android listing shows 3.3 stars across roughly 34,100 reviews against 4.7 stars on the App Store, with Android reviewers citing missing full library sync and performance problems. The Android app did win a Google Play award for large-screen design, so the interface is well regarded, but reliability feedback lags the iOS version. Test thoroughly on your own Android device before paying annually.

Q5. Does the AI work in languages other than English?

Goodnotes AI works best in English and additionally supports a defined list of languages including Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Dutch, Thai, and Turkish. Audio transcription on the Pro and AI Pass tiers covers a much wider set of languages. Quality is not uniform across locales, so validate with your own material during the trial.

Q6. Is my handwriting and note data used to train the AI?

The company's published answer is no — it states that your data is kept private and you control how it is used, with enterprise plans including additional privacy controls and governance features. Separately, the Google Play data safety section discloses that the app may share personal information and app activity with third parties and that data is encrypted in transit, with deletion requests supported. If you handle confidential material, read both the privacy policy and the data safety disclosure directly.

Q7. Are the AI features unlimited on paid plans?

No. AI usage is metered, and there is a limit to how much AI users can use, even on the Pro plan. An AI Pass+ at $9.99 per month is sold separately for unlimited AI access. If your workflow depends on constant summarization or transcription, factor that add-on into your total cost rather than assuming the Pro subscription covers it.

Q8. What happened with the interface redesign, and does it affect new users?

An October 2025 update introduced a revamped interface alongside new AI features, and it drew substantial public criticism, with users calling for the return of the simpler Goodnotes 6 interface and reporting tool bugs and rearranged controls. New users without muscle memory from earlier versions are less affected, since the complaints centre on disruption to established workflows. The episode is still worth knowing about as an indicator of how much the interface can change between releases.

Q9. Can teams use Goodnotes with single sign-on and central administration?

Yes. The Teams tier is priced per seat and includes SAML SSO, domain control, consolidated billing, and user and admin management. The Enterprise tier adds AI permission controls, prioritized security request handling, Microsoft Intune App SDK support, and dedicated account support, which is the relevant path for organizations with compliance or device-management requirements.

Q10. Which devices and platforms does Goodnotes support?

Clients are available for iOS and iPadOS, macOS, Windows, Android including Chromebooks, and the web. Cross-device sync is a paid capability. The tablet-plus-stylus experience is the product's centre of gravity, and the company notes that performance may be limited on tablets with 4 GB of RAM or less and on basic Chromebooks.