All software tested by the journalist, Skyla K. Rhodes, and the rest of the LSS Lion’s Den Team. She is not by any means affiliated or endorsed by any of these companies, just a happy user!
Do you carry eleven different notebooks around with you? Is it a pain to have to cycle through pages and pages of notes just to find that one thing you needed?
Well, worry no longer. We will cover some of the top writing apps–word processors and note-taking apps alike–and discuss how they can be extraordinarily beneficial.
We will begin it all with GoodNotes. Yes, truly GoodNotes creates good notes. (Pun intended) GoodNotes is a powerful note-taking app that is available on iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and the Web. It excels at organizing notes into digital notebooks and handwriting recognition. You can use it for anything from creating and using digital planners to annotating PDFs to taking notes. Goodnotes offers both a free and paid version. The free version comes with up to three notebooks and lacks other premium features, such as sharing documents with others, importing files larger than 5MB, and additional digital stationery. The paid version is $35.99 for a one-time purchase (Apple devices only) or $11.99 for one year. Emma Clare, our Editor in Chief, also loves it for math as its equation editor allows her to complete problems more quickly.
Goodnotes is rated 4.8 on the App Store and 3.7 on Google Play.
Emma Clare also notes that “an Apple Pencil and Goodnotes is the best combination.” Notability is another top choice for note-taking. Users should choose Notability if they are looking for more advanced audio recording features, unlimited vertical scrolling for a page-free experience, and a smaller PDF exportation size for less storage usage. However, Goodnotes is preferred over Notability if you are looking
for more aesthetically pleasing organization, cross-platform access, and a hassle-free tabbed interface, or if you’re simply an Android user.
Notability is rated 4.7 on the App Store.
Word processing software can also be used as a note-taker, though without advanced handwriting features. However, we generally prefer word processing software for writing novels, articles, papers, etc, and note-taking apps for… their namesake. Note-taking.
Google Docs. Google Docs is the platform that the author is using to write this article. It is extremely user-friendly and offers options for everything, including a Pageless format. However, the real thing that sets Google Docs apart from other word processors is its live, real-time collaboration and integration with Google. It allows users to edit everything simultaneously with instant updates.
Google Docs is rated 4.8 on the App Store and 4.2 on Google Play.
Microsoft Word boasts more advanced formatting and better offline functionality than Google Docs; however, its collaboration features are not as advanced. Microsoft Word is also locked behind a subscription to Microsoft 365 if you would like to use it on the app.
Microsoft Word is rated 4.7 on the App Store and 4.8 on Google Play.
Yet another option is Obsidian, which is often noted as an alternative to Notion. Obsidian can be more beneficial because of its extensive extension system, offline access, and custom fonts for more personalization. As Cayden, one of the LSS Lion’s Den members, states, “I enjoy creating custom fonts so I’m more motivated to write.” However, Word and Google Docs have better collaboration, richer formatting, and standard document features. Aforementioned custom fonts can be created with Calligraphr.
Citations are also a key factor in your writing. Zotero and CitationMachine are both “cited” by an anonymous source as excellent to use. Zotero is an open source citation in an extension format, while CitationMachine is easier and more thorough, but has ads.
In conclusion, while there are many note-taking apps and word processors out there, they are not all created alike. GoodNotes stands out for its excellent note organization and handwriting recognition, which may be more appealing for those looking to have an aesthetic workspace. Notability, with its advanced audio features and smaller PDF exports, can be more suitable for those needing to record lectures. Google Docs excels in real-time collaboration and user-friendliness, which is ideal for collaboration-based projects, whereas Microsoft Word provides better offline functionality and formatting, despite the subscription. Obsidian offers strong customization functionalities, but lacks the more standard document options that Microsoft Word and Google Docs have.
Overall, the best choice depends on your needs. Do you prioritize collaboration? Handwriting features? Offline work? Regardless of your answers, there is something out there for you.