GoodNotes vs. Notability vs. OneNote for Productivity
I love taking notes. Before I even had an Ipad, I would write everything down in my notebooks, and I love every second of it. There’s something about keeping track of things and gliding through words that makes me feel most alive.
Then, Ipad’s came around, and this really changed everything. I decided to get one during my senior year of undergrad, and I couldn’t go back to paper note-taking. Being able to download my powerpoints, write on them, highlight them, and storing them on a digital cloud was the perfect thing for me. I didn’t have to print hundreds of papers and have to keep track of my pens and highlighters.
Microsoft OneNote
At the beginning, the only app I was using for my notes and productivity was Microsoft OneNote. I really liked this app because how easy it was to figure out. Another thing I really liked about it was that it was free!
OneNote lets you put your subject in a folder, and within the folder you can have subjects. And within those subjects, you can have your notes. I really love this setup because you can have multiple notes in one subject without making a new subject each time.
The downside to OneNote is that the powerpoint/PDF you download is displayed in a long paper format. For example, if you downloaded a 60 page powerpoint, OneNote will just consider it one long document. I also struggled trying to search my notes. The search options are very sensitive, meaning you’d have to spell the word out exactly in the document you’re trying to find in order for it to show up.
GoodNotes
Listen, I really tried to like GoodNotes, but I just couldn’t. The layout of it is just weird and it was not very user-friendly. In GoodNotes, there are a ton of options for writing and editing, so it’s definitely a step up from OneNote. But, the layout is extremely different than what I’m used to.
Similar to OneNote, there are folders where you can put your pages of notes, but that is kind of it. You have very limited filing options, which makes it really annoying when you want to store multiple documents. The only way to avoid the overwhelming-ness of multiple documents is to make a whole new subject.
Notability
This notes app has to be one of my favorites. Notability is very similar to OneNote, except you get a lot more functionality with it. You’re able to quickly access documents, search notes, and split between notes on Notability. It’s fast, reliable, and convenient.
One thing I don’t like about Notability is that you can only use the three-levels of subject-divider-notes in order to organize the notes. There aren’t any options for nested folders, which makes things really inconvenient sometimes. Also, the Notability on my Mac and Ipad do not function together for some reason, so my notes very rarely show up in real time on my Mac.
If you’re looking for a free option, then OneNote is a good option. If you are willing to put around ~$10 into a notes app, then Notability is a safe option. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them, so it may be a good idea to try them out yourself and see how things go!
Stay sweet,
Ravjot
