GoodNotes
Claim this toolCapture, organize, and elevate your ideas with AI-powered digital note-taking.
From $0.99/mo, billed yearly (free plan available) Visit WebsiteThe Bottom Line
- Price
- From $0.99/mo, billed yearly (free plan available). Compare plans
Key facts
- Capture notes using handwriting, typing, drawing, or audio with AI assistance.
- Collaborate in real-time on digital notebooks, whiteboards, and text documents.
- AI features provide summaries, Q&A, content generation, and searchable handwriting.
Pros
- Highly flexible input methods cater to diverse note-taking styles.
- Powerful AI features significantly enhance productivity and understanding.
- Seamless real-time collaboration makes it great for teams and education.
- Comprehensive search functionality, including handwritten content.
- Available across multiple operating systems.
Cons
- Some advanced AI features and cross-platform sync are limited or in beta.
- Certain features like audio transcription and presentation mode are currently iOS-only.
- Free plan has significant limitations on file count and AI usage.
What is GoodNotes?
Ratings Across the Web
GoodNotes holds an aggregate rating of 4.4 out of 5 from 263 reviews across G2, Capterra and Trustpilot, last checked September 17, 2026.
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Preview
Key Features
- Multi-modal input (handwriting, typing, drawing, audio recording)
- Real-time collaboration
- Universal search (including handwritten notes, PDFs, images)
- Digital Notebooks (PDF annotation, handwriting, diagrams)
- Infinite Whiteboard canvas
- Text Documents with flexible editing
- Audio recording with automatic transcription and AI summaries
- AI-powered Q&A for documents
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPricing checked Nov 1, 2026. Source: goodnotes.com/pricing, read Nov 1, 2026
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free |
+4 more Show less
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| Essential | $11.99 / year |
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| AI Pass+ | $9.99 / month |
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|
| Pro | $35.99 / year |
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| Special Edition | $35.99 one-time |
+4 more Show less
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| Teams | $10 / month per user (billed annually) |
+11 more Show less
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| Enterprise | Contact us |
+5 more Show less
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| Education | Free |
+13 more Show less
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Is GoodNotes worth the price?
GoodNotes offers a generous Free tier, but the Essential ($11.99/year) and Pro ($35.99/year) tiers are quite affordable for the features provided.
The AI Pass+ at $9.99/month feels expensive as an add-on, almost matching the annual cost of Essential. This pricing is best for individuals and small teams prioritizing core note-taking with optional AI enhancements.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
AI Pass+ is a significant monthly add-on.
How GoodNotes's pricing compares
GoodNotes starts at $0.99/mo, billed yearly. Its direct competitors are priced on a different basis (per user, or in another currency), so each entry price below is shown with its own unit and currency and is not ranked against the others.
Entry paid plan, monthly price (billing term shown per row), in each tool's own currency. Pricing checked Nov 1, 2026.
GoodNotes by the numbers
Toolradar data: GoodNotes's entry paid plan ($0.99/mo, billed yearly) ranks #2 of 77 (joint) for price among the Note-Taking tools with a verified entry price and no stated unit, where the median is $7.50/mo. As of Nov 2026.
| Metric | GoodNotes | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $0.99/mo, billed yearly | $7.50/mo | #2 of 77 (joint) tools with no stated price unit, verified price |
| Free plan | Yes | 82% have one | n/a |
| Listed as an alternative to | 6 tools | 1 | #46 of 213 (joint) |
| User rating | 4.4/5 (across the web, 263 ratings) | 4.5/5 | #31 of 53 (joint) tools with 20+ reviews |
| Compare-page visits, last 30 days | 40 visits | 40 | #42 of 83 tools with 20+ compare-page visits |
Visitors most often compare GoodNotes with Apple Notes and Microsoft OneNote (last 30 days, Nov 2026).
Listed as an alternative to: #42 on 2026-10-16 to #46 on 2026-11-02 (rank among 213 tools, 1 is best).
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All Note-Taking data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position. Visit counts include visits from every source.
Cite this: Toolradar, “GoodNotes by the numbers”, Nov 2026.
Reviews
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Across 263 verified user reviews on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot
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GoodNotes FAQ
How does GoodNotes help students with their studies?
What kind of user benefits most from GoodNotes' features?
How does GoodNotes compare to Notability for note-taking?
What are the main limitations users might encounter with GoodNotes?
Does GoodNotes include a free tier?
Can teams collaborate on documents within GoodNotes?
How does GoodNotes pricing compare with other Note-Taking tools?
Source: goodnotes.com