GoodNotes vs Notability: A Detailed Comparison for Note-Taking Excellence

If you use an iPad for taking notes, you’ve probably come across both GoodNotes and Notability. GoodNotes is best for those who want detailed organisation and advanced handwriting features, while Notability is favoured for its streamlined note-taking and audio recording capabilities. Understanding the differences between these apps can save you time and frustration when finding the right tool for your needs.

You don’t have to waste hours installing and testing both applications on your own. This article breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of GoodNotes and Notability, giving you a clear idea of which app is the better fit for your studies or work.

GoodNotes vs Notability: Core Differences

Both GoodNotes and Notability stand out for digital note-taking, but they offer distinct approaches to user interface, platform support, and device compatibility. Key differences can affect your workflow, device use, and how notes fit into your broader digital ecosystem.

User Interface and Experience

GoodNotes presents a notebook-based interface, emulating traditional paper notebooks with digital tabs, covers, and page templates. You move between notebooks using clear tab navigation. Its design emphasises customisation, offering colour choices, templates, and a detailed folder structure.

Notability, in contrast, uses a continuous scrolling note format. You create “subjects” and organise notes under dividers, not separate notebooks. Its interface is minimal and straightforward, making it easy to jump into a note and start writing. The audio recording feature is tightly integrated, letting you annotate while recording and replay notes synced to the audio timeline.

Both apps offer handwriting search, text conversion, and shape recognition, but differ in their layout and file organisation approach. If a visually tidy notebook structure is important to you, GoodNotes offers more customisation. Notability prioritises rapid capture and streamlined organisation, which many users find quicker for workflow.

Supported Platforms

GoodNotes is available on iOS and iPadOS, with a recently expanded web version supporting limited editing features. There is also a macOS app. The web app can be accessed via most browsers, but lacks full feature parity with the iPad version. GoodNotes also offers a Windows version, though it is still in early stages and less feature-complete than on Apple devices.

Notability is exclusive to the Apple ecosystem. It runs on iPadOS, iOS, and macOS. There is no official support for Windows or web platforms. Note syncing works smoothly across Apple devices via iCloud, but users without Apple hardware cannot access their notes elsewhere.

If cross-platform access is crucial, GoodNotes provides more flexibility. For users fully committed to Apple hardware, both apps serve well, but Notability does not support non-Apple platforms.

Device Compatibility

GoodNotes supports the latest iPads with Apple Pencil, as well as iPhones and Macs. The web version increases device range but remains limited in capabilities. GoodNotes can be used with some third-party styluses but works best with Apple Pencil for features like pressure sensitivity.

Notability focuses on iPad and Apple Pencil integration. Features like handwriting, annotation, and audio sync are optimised for iPads, but you can also access and edit notes on iPhones and Macs. Notability does not offer a web version, so you are limited to Apple devices.

You can compare device support below:

*Web and Windows versions of GoodNotes are less feature-rich.

For users with a mix of devices, GoodNotes gives more options. Notability works best if you plan to stay within Apple’s device ecosystem.

Note-Taking Features Comparison

Your choice between GoodNotes and Notability often depends on the note-taking tools, recognition accuracy, multimedia features, and organisation methods each app offers. Both options support a range of uses, but there are clear technical differences in how they manage handwriting, text, media, and structure.

Handwriting Tools

GoodNotes provides a natural handwriting experience with highly responsive digital ink. You can adjust pen thickness, colours, and use highlighter and shape tools. The lasso tool in GoodNotes allows you to move, resize, or change the colour of your handwritten notes easily. Pressure sensitivity is supported if you use devices like the Apple Pencil.

Notability also offers smooth handwriting but places an emphasis on continuous, uninterrupted note-taking with its ‘infinite page’ model. Pens, highlighters, and erasers are customisable. A unique feature is audio recording sync, linking your handwriting to specific parts of a recording. While both apps allow quick switching between tools, GoodNotes tends to provide more custom options for pen styles and shapes.

Text Recognition Capabilities

Both apps use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to convert handwriting into searchable, selectable text. GoodNotes supports OCR in over 15 languages, allowing you to search handwritten notes globally throughout your library. You can even convert specific selections of handwriting into typed text.

Notability’s OCR lets you search handwritten notes and convert handwriting into text, but it covers fewer languages. Its search works within notes, not across the entire library. If you regularly use multiple languages or want robust search features, GoodNotes might be preferable. Both deliver solid accuracy, but GoodNotes leads in cross-note search and language support.

Multimedia Integration

GoodNotes allows you to insert images, PDFs, and diagrams directly into your notes. You can annotate on top of photos or documents, and add web links and simple shapes. However, audio recording is not natively supported in GoodNotes, which is a distinct limitation for those who combine audio with written notes.

Notability stands out for its integrated audio recording. The app links recordings to your notes, letting you tap on handwriting to play back relevant audio. You can insert images, web clips, GIFs, and stickies as well. If you need tight audio-note integration or a broader set of media types, Notability offers clear advantages in this area.

Organisation Options

In GoodNotes, you organise notes using notebooks, folders, and nested folders. A custom template and cover gallery helps you create tailored notebooks for different subjects. You can favourite notes or pages for quick access, and the search extends across all notebooks.

Notability uses dividers and subjects to classify notes. You can colour-code, custom name sections, and quickly move notes between subjects. However, there is no option for multiple folder nesting. GoodNotes is more suitable if you need extensive hierarchy, while Notability’s streamlined approach serves simpler categorisation needs. Both apps allow you to back up and sync notes via cloud services like iCloud and Google Drive.

Annotation and Collaboration

GoodNotes and Notability both offer features for annotating PDFs and sharing work with others. The quality of annotation tools and available collaboration options can significantly impact your note-taking or document review experience.

PDF Annotation Tools

You can annotate PDFs in both GoodNotes and Notability using handwriting, highlight, and shape tools. In GoodNotes, you get a range of pen types, adjustable thickness, custom colours, and a lasso tool for easy movement of annotations. The app allows you to add images, text boxes, and even custom elements like stickers directly onto your PDF.

Notability also offers handwriting and text tools but stands out with its integrated audio recording feature. You can record audio while annotating, and your notes sync with the timing, making it effective for lectures or meetings. Hyperlink support in Notability helps you quickly jump between pages or sections in long documents.

Collaboration Features

GoodNotes supports real-time collaborative editing, allowing you to invite others to work on the same document. You can share a link, and collaborators can see changes live, which is useful for group projects or shared study sessions. You also get options for exporting annotated PDFs for external sharing.

Notability focuses more on sharing finished notes. While you can share notebooks or export annotated PDFs, live editing and real-time collaboration are not supported. Instead, you can share recordings and notes with others via email or cloud storage. This option works well if you primarily need to distribute information without real-time input from others.

Key differences:

• GoodNotes: Real-time collaboration, shareable links, editable PDFs.
• Notability: Export and share, no live co-editing, audio note sharing.

Exporting, Syncing, and Backup

When comparing GoodNotes and Notability, it is important to look at how each app manages exporting notes, syncing across devices, and protecting your data with backups. Each platform offers different formats, cloud support, and backup tools that affect your workflow and data security.

Export Formats

GoodNotes gives you several options for exporting your notes. You can export documents as PDF, image files, or the native GoodNotes format. This makes it easy to collaborate or share with users of other apps. You can also choose whether to export an entire notebook or just selected pages.

Notability also supports exporting notes as PDF, RTF, and Notability’s own format. Audio recordings, however, export as a separate M4A audio file paired with a PDF of your notes. Both apps let you send notes by email, save them to Files, or share them with cloud storage apps.

• GoodNotes export formats: PDF, image, GoodNotes file (.goodnotes).
• Notability export formats: PDF, RTF, Notability file, M4A (audio).
• Notability’s PDF export can also include audio links if using cloud backup.

Both apps allow batch exports and have options for adjusting quality and including embedded media.

Cloud Syncing

GoodNotes syncs through iCloud, which enables real-time updates across your Apple devices. If you annotate a note on your iPad, you will see changes on your iPhone or Mac within seconds, provided you are connected to iCloud.

Notability also relies on iCloud for device syncing. Your notes stay up to date across iOS and macOS, and can be accessed instantly. Both apps require iCloud to be enabled. There is no official support for other services like Google Drive or Dropbox for direct syncing between devices.

If you use multiple devices, the syncing experience is reliable with both apps as long as iCloud is active. You cannot use Android devices or Windows PCs for seamless sync.

Data Backup

GoodNotes provides automatic iCloud backup, but goes further by allowing manual or scheduled backups to third-party services. You can set up automatic backups to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive. Backups are saved as either PDF or GoodNotes files, enabling recovery or migration if needed.

Notability also offers a similar backup approach. You can enable automatic cloud backups to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, choosing the exported format and backup frequency. This is useful for extra redundancy, especially if you want access outside Apple platforms.

Regular backups are recommended even if you use iCloud sync. Both apps make it easy to restore lost files or transfer notes when switching devices. Backup management and settings are found within the respective app settings menus.

Customisation and Templates

Both Goodnotes and Notability offer a range of options for tailoring your notes, but they approach customisation in distinct ways. You will find differences in how each app provides templates and lets you personalise your notebooks.

Template Variety

Goodnotes provides an extensive selection of built-in templates. These include lined, squared, dotted, and plain pages, as well as planners, checklists and music paper. Templates are grouped by size and orientation, letting you match the format to your device or preference.

Notability also includes templates, but the selection is more limited. You get standard options such as lined and grid paper, and a handful of planners. Some templates are behind a subscription, while Goodnotes makes most built-in templates available to all users.

If you require more variety, Goodnotes allows you to import third-party templates in PDF format. Notability supports template import too, but compatibility and formatting may vary. The table below highlights these differences:

Custom Covers and Paper

Goodnotes lets you create custom notebook covers and paper. You can import images for covers or add personalised backgrounds to your paper templates. Customisation applies per notebook, giving you the ability to mix different page styles within a single file.

Notability allows you to choose different covers and paper backgrounds, but options are less flexible. Custom covers are limited to what’s provided, with fewer ways to import entirely new designs. While you can set the paper style per note, changing covers or adding new designs requires extra steps or isn’t supported directly.

For highly tailored notebooks, Goodnotes provides more flexibility in both covers and paper. This makes it suited if you want distinctive looks or need to match branding or creative layouts in your note-taking routine.

Pricing and Subscription Options

GoodNotes and Notability differ in how you pay for them, and what you get depends on the plan you choose. Each app approaches free trials and one-off purchases in a way that impacts your ongoing costs and feature access.

One-Off Purchase vs Subscription

GoodNotes offers both a one-off purchase option and a subscription. You can buy GoodNotes with a single payment for lifetime access to core features. There’s also a premium subscription, which adds advanced features such as handwriting search and unlimited notebooks.

Notability relies mainly on a subscription model. You can download the app for free and use basic features, but many key tools—including audio recording, handwriting recognition, and import/export functions—require a paid subscription called Notability Plus.

The biggest difference is that GoodNotes lets you pay once for main features, while Notability typically asks for an annual fee for full functionality. If you plan to use premium tools, your long-term costs may be lower with GoodNotes.

Free Trial Availability

GoodNotes provides a free version with limited notebooks and features. You can upgrade by paying once or subscribing for more advanced tools. The free version is fully usable for trying note-taking and the main writing functions, but larger document libraries and certain features are restricted.

Notability offers a free download with limited access to its features. Notability Plus, the paid tier, unlocks premium tools. There is a time-limited free trial for this Plus subscription, during which you have access to all paid features. Once the trial ends, you revert to basic functionality unless you subscribe.

If you want to assess premium tools before buying or subscribing, Notability’s trial gives you a short period with no restrictions. GoodNotes, in contrast, gives you core tools indefinitely, but you must upgrade for full access when you hit its limits.

Performance and Stability

When comparing GoodNotes and Notability, speed and responsiveness are noticeable factors. Both apps are designed for smooth navigation across notebooks and documents.

You may discover that GoodNotes generally loads large documents quickly and handles multiple tabs without significant lag. Scrolling and page-turning actions feel fluid on most modern iPads.

Notability also offers reliable speed, with audio recording and note-syncing running smoothly in the background. Users rarely encounter slowdowns, even when working with multimedia-laden notes.

Here’s a quick comparison:

You can expect stability throughout regular usage. Updates for both apps address bugs and compatibility issues frequently.

Some users report occasional performance drops in GoodNotes with extremely large or complex PDFs. Notability’s stability can slightly decrease with extended audio sessions, but both recover quickly after a restart.

Neither app consumes excessive battery or causes iPad overheating under normal use. Frequent app updates further ensure performance remains consistent.

Accessibility Features

GoodNotes and Notability both include several accessibility features to make note-taking easier for all users.

GoodNotes supports VoiceOver for screen reading. You can use keyboard shortcuts and adjust text size for better visibility. The app also includes support for the iOS Dynamic Type feature, allowing the interface text to scale with your device settings.

Notability provides VoiceOver compatibility as well, letting you navigate and interact through audio prompts. Magnification gestures are supported, and you can use high-contrast colours for easier viewing. Handwriting and text can be converted to digital form, which helps if you rely on screen readers.

You may find Notability more flexible if you want high-contrast modes or enhanced handwriting conversion. If text scaling with device settings is essential, GoodNotes could suit you best.

Both apps let you use external keyboards, and they aim to support users with different needs. Accessibility settings can be adjusted within your device system settings to further improve your experience.

User Support and Updates

Both GoodNotes and Notability provide user support through help centres, FAQ pages, and email contact forms. You can also access tutorial resources and community forums for peer assistance. Neither app currently offers live chat or phone support.

GoodNotes has a dedicated help website with searchable articles. It also provides regular updates that can include new features, bug fixes, and improvements. Updates are pushed out through the App Store, so you receive them automatically.

Notability offers a similar online help centre and email support. The Notability team maintains a public changelog, so you can track recent updates and feature changes. Updates are consistent but sometimes focus more on stability than adding new functions.

Below is a comparison table for quick reference:

Feedback channels are available in both apps, so you can submit feature requests or bug reports directly to the developers. Both teams are active but typically respond via email rather than instant messaging.

Conclusion

When deciding between GoodNotes and Notability, you should consider your needs and workflow preferences. Both apps offer robust handwriting tools and organise notes efficiently.

Key differences to consider:

• Handwriting experience: Both are responsive, but some users prefer GoodNotes for custom pen tools.
• Audio recording: Notability excels if you need integrated audio notes.
• Organisation: GoodNotes supports nested folders while Notability uses dividers and subjects.

You may value GoodNotes if customisation and a wide selection of templates are important. Notability may suit you if you use audio recording frequently or want simple, distraction-free note-taking.

Both apps support cloud sync and handwriting search, so either will handle essential note tasks well. Your choice depends on which unique features match your style. You can try the free versions of each to find which feels more comfortable for your workflow.