Notes App reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 239 Reddit reviews across 37 subreddits and 59 posts to rank the best Notes App brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/macapps, r/androidapps, r/GalaxyTab, r/ipad, r/AndroidQuestions. Top-rated brands include Obsidian (4.5/5), OneNote (4.2/5), GoodNotes (4.0/5).
Stats
Reviews239
Subreddits37
Posts59
Brands95
Products27
239 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Obsidian
4.5
(15)
"Best app since the invention of the browser."
"Obsidian. Love the offline first mentality."
"Google keep and obsidion/joplin is all you need tbh"
"I would recommend Obsidian. It's free and highly customizable."
"I highly recommend Obsidian."
"Obsidian"
"Obsidian or Logseq."
"I use Obsidian."
"Obsidian for things I want to keep long term."
"Obsidian"
#2
OneNote
4.2
(14)
"OneNote has by far the most features and comparability with surface devices."
"OneNote? Super customizable."
"Onenote for note taking"
"MS OneNote for me is the best note taking app with drawing features."
"OneNote it is, ty."
"I also use OneNote across multiple devices and platforms."
"OneNote"
"Probably OneNote."
"OneNote"
"OneNote. One of few Microsoft products that I really love."
#3
GoodNotes
4.0
(13)
"I would pick Goodnotes 6 if you have the money for the $30 life time purchase, I think it’s very much worth it if you use goodnotes 6 consistently which you will as a uni student"
"Good notes 100% I love the iPad app and they have a desktop version too (not so good for editing notes but good enough to view)"
"One last option which is really not bad is GoodNote."
"Goodnotes."
"I used goodnotes this year and loved it."
"I use GoodNotes 6 on my iPad Mini where you can make notebooks... and it's been working great for my note-need."
"There's GoodNotes for Samsung! You could check that out if you are already familiar with it."
"I use goodnotes cus it also has the option to make flashcards like u do on quizlet"
"It isn't free but i use GoodNotes for school."
"Goodnotes"
#4
Apple
3.9
(12)
"Apple Notes. It really is awesome."
"For personal use, I use Apple Notes."
"I teach college courses and find Apple Notes meets my needs."
"I would start with Apple Notes."
"Apple notes is fast, local, free."
"I would start with apple notes."
"Recommend you start with Notes app on iPad."
"Apple Notes is great."
"I use...Notes app for anything I need quick search using spotlight."
"The apple notes app."
#5
Google Keep
4.0
(10)
"Did you try Google Keep? It's my #1 app for notes."
"I use Google Keep. Love it."
"Plus it is so easy to open it on a PC when we want to add something. It also has shared notes if needed."
"Big Google Keep fan, the cloud sync is convenient and it does what it needs to."
"I use Google Keep and I'm happy with it. I recommend it to you."
"Google Keep, but Samsung Notes is by far the most complete one"
"Was about to mention Google Keep as well."
"Google keeps is pretty good."
"My tip try google keep. 👌"
"Google Keep - has lesser features/some bugs"
#6
Microsoft
4.3
(9)
"I say try OneNote. I think you will like it."
"Just use one note, it's free."
"Still on OneNote. Been using it for nearly 20yrs at this point."
"Microsoft OneNote is one of the best professional note taking apps. Fully featured. Cross platform."
"I use OneNote but that’s because I switch between iPad and pc routinely."
"Am i the only one who uses microsoft one note lol"
"OneNote, Penly, Kilonotes, Notein, Notion, Samsung Notes."
"Otherwise you have to use OneNote or Google keep."
"OneNote is the best I can't find. But I dislike it."
#7
Notability
4.3
(8)
"Notability."
"I take all my notes on notability! I believe it’s better than the rest"
"Notability is literally goated, worth every penny"
"I like notability"
"I am using Premium version of Notability."
"In my opinion is can go with notability."
"Notability, Goodnotes, PDF Expert and Evernote are what I have come across."
"GoodNotes is not as good as Notability."
#8
Upnote
4.0
(8)
"Try Upnote. Great UI, very capable and versatile."
"My winner was and remains UpNote."
"Simple and choice for one time paiement, sync really well"
"UpNote"
"Upnote"
"Upnote."
"Check Upnote. Has a Linux app."
"Check out [UpNote](https://getUpNote.com)."
#9
Bear
4.6
(7)
"Bear."
"Bear is still the best one"
"Bear notes, Drafts."
"If you enjoy Apple Notes, you should try the Bear Note taking app, it’s mint."
"I like Bear."
"Bear."
"Bear."
#10
Notion
4.4
(7)
"Based on your use case the better app is Notion."
"Try Notion. It's a lot more than just a note taking app."
"I would suggest using Notion, you can find free & paid templates here: notionplates.com"
"Notion with Cron (Cron Calendar app)"
"I settled on Notion as my favorite."
"Notion!!!!!"
"I suffer through with Notion. It's free and multiplatform."
#11
4.1
(7)
"Google keep is fantastic for quick notes. It's very easy to add voice recordings and quick photos and is also cross platform"
"Google keep. Also has a web interface for using from a computer."
"I like being able to include images and share with iOS devices natively."
"I like google keep myself, just used to it."
"I use Google Keep. I can either access the notes in a browser on the Mac or sync with Apple's Notes desktop OS app."
"Google Keep works fine for my family."
"Google keep"
#12
Apple Notes
3.9
(7)
"I went with apple notes."
"If you're on a Mac, use Apple Note, it's fine."
"Apple Notes is the sweet spot."
"Apple notes should serve your purpose just fine."
"Apple Notes only gets better and better over time."
"I use apple notes for 'fleeting notes'."
"I used Apple notes when first starting my ZK."
#13
Joplin
4.2
(5)
"I recommend Joplin. Awesome app, works both on desktop and mobile."
"I use Joplin but haven’t tried the other ones"
"Joplin, you can use it with ur own cloud, even WebDAV is supported."
"[Joplin](https://joplinapp.org/)"
"Joplin: even nicer, there is encryption."
#14
Standard Notes
5.0
(4)
"Standard Notes is amazing. Exactly the user experience you would want."
"Standard Notes, Joplin, Cryptee, Skiff."
"Standard notes is best, I use standard notes and its really intuitive and works perfectly."
"Standard notes."
#15
Drafts
4.8
(4)
"I use “Drafts” to quickly jot down ideas"
"Drafts for quick notes or editing; Bear for more complex, long-term note keeping."
"Bear notes, Drafts."
"I really like Drafts and use it as my primary point of text capture."
#16
Notein
4.3
(4)
"Notein is the best."
"Notein is pretty good."
"Using notein. It's best for me."
"1- Notein (one time payment,cloudsync, just android)"
#17
Noteful
4.0
(4)
"I use Noteful."
"The editor prefers Noteful."
"I saw that's also a good and cheap option."
"Best free is hard to say."
#18
Nebo
4.0
(4)
"3- Nebo (one time payment,cloudsync, crossplatform)"
"Nebo is a very good and yet minimalist handwritten note taking app."
"Nebo is a good note taking app"
"Nebo. Good core featureset and truly impressive handwriting to text."
#19
AnyType
3.8
(4)
"Anytype. Heheh."
"Anytype."
"Anytype.io."
"Notion-like, but less mature development."
#20
Logseq
4.3
(3)
"I like logseq"
"Logseq All day everyday."
"Logseq is my go to."
#21
Samsung Notes
3.7
(3)
"I've only been using samsung notes and noteshelf. They both work well for me."
"I use samsung notes for handwriting, drawing quick diagrams and for keeping quick notes I know I won't need in any other device, and for more structured notes that I'll need to be able to check in other devices I use notion.so."
"I used Samsung Notes back in the days."
#22
Notewise
4.5
(2)
"Notewise is an excellent tool for organizing notes and ideas."
"2- Notewise (subsciption for cloudsync and web access or one time payment without cloudsync and web access, just android)"
#23
Flexcil
4.5
(2)
"Flexcil. Gesture+PDF editing = amazing."
"Best free is hard to say."
#24
Devonthink
4.5
(2)
"Devonthink is excellent for research material and long-term storage."
"I reccomend DEVONthink 3 for notes management"
#25
Notesnook
4.0
(2)
"Notesnook - i really like it. It's open source, privat and free."
"Main note taking tool."
#26
Simple Notes
4.0
(2)
"Been using it for years."
"Theres a few connected (made by the same dev) apps on F-droid claled "Simple Notes" or "Simple gallery" he has handful of these apps."
#27
Noteshelf
4.0
(2)
"Try Noteshelf, Flexcil and Notewise."
"Noteshelf has been good to me."
#28
SimpleNote
4.0
(2)
"It has the option of password protection and syncs across multiple devices."
"Simplenote has a good interface and is nice."
#29
Heptabase
4.0
(2)
"Heptabase is exactly what you describe. The only con is that it’s a paid app, but totally worth it"
"Heptabase."
#30
Amplenote
4.0
(2)
"Check out Amplenote. The two-way calendar sync is a paid feature, but it's pretty cheap."
"Amplenote has very robust tags and has a great workflow."
#31
Evernote
4.0
(2)
"My whole life is in Evernote."
"Evernote"
#32
Workflowy
3.5
(2)
"I have yet to find anything as good as Workflowy."
"If you can get used to the infinite-outline style and its quirks."
#33
Agenda
3.0
(2)
"Otherwise you also have the Agenda application which is a large notebook with reminders etc. very useful too"
"Agenda came close, but has terrible search and organization."
#34
Gluey
5.0
(1)
"Airtable for notes was the concept behind Gluey.app. Check it out."
#35
Inkodo
5.0
(1)
"Inkodo is a great Windows app for writing with a bunch of cool features."
#36
ClickUp
5.0
(1)
"Free version of ClickUp is very useful and efficient."
#37
ZetaDev
5.0
(1)
"A markdown app inspired by Google Keep that you might like."
#38
Signal
5.0
(1)
"I use signal's note to self function for this. It is nice because I can reply to a message and add commentary to the thought."
#39
Monster
5.0
(1)
"I've built and use MonsterWriter for my notes and scientific writings."
#40
f-droid
5.0
(1)
"I use Markor from f-droid."
#41
Raycast
5.0
(1)
"Drafts with a Raycast extension allow for quick note-taking, enhancing productivity."
#42
Orgzly
5.0
(1)
"Sounds like you need Orgzly (there are two repos on Github, one older, one a newer fork)"
#43
ColorNote
5.0
(1)
"ColorNote is a great note-taking app that is easy to use."
#44
Scrbl
5.0
(1)
"Just found Scrbl and am using that."
#45
SimpleNotes
5.0
(1)
"I use SimpleNotes to sync notes between my Apple and windows products."
#46
Jnotes
5.0
(1)
"By far Jnotes is THE BEST ONE"
#47
Touch Notes
5.0
(1)
"Touch notes has been the best for me. Lots of features on the free base version."
#48
MindNode
5.0
(1)
"MindNode is the best app I’ve found to help organize my thoughts and strategize."
#49
QuillPad
5.0
(1)
"It's very complete and can be integrated with Nexcloud."
#50
Journal It!
5.0
(1)
"I love that it combines your calendar, tracking, habits, notes, and journaling all in one place."
#51
Notepin
5.0
(1)
"It allows you to pin notes in your notifications menu."
#52
Braindump
5.0
(1)
"I started to create my own note taking app which I use on a daily basis right now for pretty much everything."
#53
Hookmark
5.0
(1)
"Hookmark is useful for automation and easy filing."
#54
Hazel
5.0
(1)
"Hazel helps with automation and organization."
#55
Tag Manager
5.0
(1)
"Tag Manager is essential for managing tags efficiently."
#56
Quiver
5.0
(1)
"I like Quiver for development related notes."
#57
Bare Bones Software
5.0
(1)
"I really love [BBEdit](https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/). Lightweight and bulletproof."
#58
Typora
5.0
(1)
"Typora - https://typora.io/"
#59
Crypt.ee
4.0
(1)
"Try out Crypt.ee first as a Google Docs/Notes alternative."
#60
Penly
4.0
(1)
"For the android tablet I'd recommend Penly."
#61
Kanbanflow
4.0
(1)
"Kanbanflow would meet all of your criteria."
#62
Agenda Notes
4.0
(1)
"Combo of Notion & Cron could be good here. Agenda Notes flips it on its head for handling notes and calendar in one."
#63
Xodo
4.0
(1)
"I use Xodo for PDF markups and doc review."
#64
Ink&Paper
4.0
(1)
"The ability of creating layers is superior for creating my sheets that I am allowed to take with me in my exams."
#65
Zoho
4.0
(1)
"Zoho Notebook is cross-platform and offers features that Google Keep does not."
#66
Xiaomi
4.0
(1)
"The stock Notes app that comes with Xiaomi phones running MIUI may suffice."
#67
Huion
4.0
(1)
"The Huion H640P works well for digital signing and is recommended for students."
#68
NoteShelf
4.0
(1)
"NoteShelf 3 imo is a better GN and has bulleted templates for easy list making."
#69
Mymind.com
4.0
(1)
"Mymind.com comes very close for creative types."
#70
Coda
4.0
(1)
"Looks like a Notion/Confluence hybrid, and has a generous free plan."
#71
PenLoop
4.0
(1)
"More about it in this post."
#72
Notepad
4.0
(1)
"Notepad is simple and effective for quick notes."
#73
Xournal++
4.0
(1)
"Interesting alternative for note taking."
#74
Affine Pro
4.0
(1)
"Affine Pro leans towards keeping your data private."
#75
xTiles
4.0
(1)
"It is easier and more visual than Notion, but it has lots of features."
#76
Capacities.io
4.0
(1)
"I personally use Capacities.io, but you will want a lot of rich-text options."
#77
XP-Pen
4.0
(1)
"XP-Pen is also a good brand for drawing tablets."
#78
Stashpad
4.0
(1)
"Interesting way to write down short thoughts really fast."
#79
Obsidian.md
4.0
(1)
"A lot of my colleagues use this daily as they can generate knowledge graphs."
#80
VoodooPad
4.0
(1)
"I switched to VoodooPad when Evernote got hacked."
#81
ConniePad
4.0
(1)
"Simple and easy to format notes."
#82
Nisus
4.0
(1)
"You might find Nisus Writer worth a look."
#83
Notenik
4.0
(1)
"Notenik"
#84
Craft
4.0
(1)
"I like craft personally"
#85
AFFiNE
4.0
(1)
"AFFiNE. That’s like their whole thing."
#86
Ulysses
4.0
(1)
"Ulysses is my go-to for writing drafts."
#87
Visual Studio Code
3.0
(1)
"Foam is good but complicated."
#88
AppFlowy
3.0
(1)
"Also Notion-like, $10/user/mo past 2 people."
#89
Org Mode
3.0
(1)
"Org Mode is the most flexible but hardest to set up."
#90
OnePlus
1.5
(2)
"Cannot sync from one OnePlus device to another."
"OnePlus does not have Samsung Notes."
#91
Boox
2.0
(1)
"Boox note apps kind of suck for drawing and if you put too much on a page even if it's just writing, there's a small load time each time you go to the page. They need a dedicated sketch app tbh."
#92
SiYuan
2.0
(1)
"FOSS-based Notion±Obsidian style — can't find info about collaboration."
#93
Miro
2.0
(1)
"Miro also doesn't work well on the Surface."
#94
BBEdit
2.0
(1)
"BBEdit lets you take notes in Markdown."
#95
Google Docs
1.0
(1)
"I immediately regretted using Google Docs."
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