GoodNotes vs Notability – True Feature-to-Feature Comparison
GoodNotes and Notability are two of the most popular note-taking apps for iPad users. Students, teachers, office workers, creators, and everyone have tried at least one of them. In 2025, both apps will have changed a lot with new features, AI tools, and better syncing. But the question still stays the same: Which one is better?
This blog explains GoodNotes vs. Notability in easy, local wording, with true information, and in a way that helps Google rank your article.
Overview—What Makes These Apps Famous
GoodNotes is known for its clean notebooks, organized folders, realistic handwriting feel, and strong PDF markup tools. Many students prefer it because it feels like writing on real paper. It’s great for long study notes, exam prep, planners, personal journals, and any work where structure matters.
Notability became famous because it combines handwriting, audio recording, typed notes, and images all in one page. It feels dynamic, fast, and flexible. Many teachers, doctors, and fast note-takers like it because it supports quick note capturing in real time.
GoodNotes—What It Offers
GoodNotes focuses on giving users a smooth writing experience. The pen feels natural, the lines follow your writing very accurately, and the app has a huge collection of paper templates. Whether you need dotted, lined, grid, Cornell, or planner layouts, they’re all available inside.
One of GoodNotes’ biggest strengths is its notebook structure. Each notebook feels like a real book, and users can create multiple subjects and folders. The interface is minimal and clean, making it easy for students to keep their digital notes neat.
GoodNotes also has powerful PDF annotation. Many students upload lecture slides, textbooks, and worksheets and mark everything directly. This feature is one of the most loved reasons people pick GoodNotes.
In recent years, GoodNotes added AI handwriting search, math conversion, and smart study tools. This makes studying faster and more productive.
Notability—How It Works
Notability feels different because it is built around speed and flexibility. While GoodNotes feels like a notebook, Notability feels like an open canvas where you can mix handwriting, audio, text, photos, and highlights anywhere you want.
One of its standout features is audio recording. When you write while recording, the app syncs your notes to the audio timeline. Later, tapping on a word will play exactly what the teacher said at that moment. This is one of the biggest reasons Notability is so popular with college students and medical professionals.
Notability also allows infinite page scrolling. Instead of flipping pages, you keep writing downwards like a continuous sheet. This feels more natural for quick class notes or brainstorming sessions.
The app also supports subjects, dividers, sticker packs, and handwriting tools, but its real identity is “fast note-taking with audio support.”
Writing Experience—Which One Feels Better?
GoodNotes has a more realistic pen feel. The strokes feel smooth and natural, almost like writing on premium notebook paper. The pressure sensitivity is stable, and many users say GoodNotes gives the most “real pen” feeling on an iPad.
Notability also has good handwriting tools, but its stroke engine is slightly different, more digital and bold. It feels quicker but less paper-like. If your priority is writing long, neat notes for exams, GoodNotes is usually better. If your priority is taking fast, active notes in class, Notability feels faster.
Organization—Which App Keeps Notes Cleaner?
GoodNotes wins in organization. It has folders, categories, and notebooks, making everything look clean and structured. You can easily manage multiple subjects like math, science, and English and break them into separate sections.
Notability has subjects and dividers, but the layout is simpler and sometimes feels less organized. It works best for people who want one long-running note instead of strict notebooks.
PDF Import and Annotation
GoodNotes is excellent for heavy PDF users. You can import books, study guides, worksheets, and office documents and annotate smoothly. The writing engine blends perfectly with PDF pages.
Notability also supports PDF, but its tools feel lighter. It is good for fast markup but not as detailed or structured as GoodNotes.
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Multimedia Tools – Audio, Images & More
Notability is the clear winner when it comes to multimedia. Audio recording synced with handwriting is one of its strongest features. It helps users revise with context, especially in long lectures.
GoodNotes does not support audio recording. This alone makes some users choose Notability.
Search & AI Tools
GoodNotes has a stronger AI and search system. It detects handwriting across your notebooks, even messy writing. It can convert handwriting to text with high accuracy.
Notability also has handwriting search and conversion, but GoodNotes’ AI feels more powerful and polished.
Customization & Templates
GoodNotes provides lots of templates. You can create planners, bullet journals, study guides, daily trackers, and more.
Notability has fewer templates but lets you create flexible page layouts using stickers, text boxes, and images easily.
Cloud Sync & Backup
Both apps support iCloud sync. GoodNotes and Notability both work well on iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Sync issues are rare in both. GoodNotes also allows exporting entire notebooks as PDFs easily.
Notability offers auto-backup to Google Drive, Dropbox, and others, giving more flexibility.
Pricing—Which One Is Cheaper?
Both apps used to be one-time purchases but now follow a mix of subscription and free versions.
GoodNotes offers a free tier with limits and a paid full version with premium features.
Notability also offers a free version with basic tools and a subscription for full features, including audio, stickers, themes, and more.
Overall, GoodNotes usually ends up cheaper if you only need writing tools. Notability is worth it if you need audio recording and multimedia.
Which App Should You Choose?
Choose GoodNotes if you prefer:
A real-paper writing feel, organized notebooks, PDF-heavy studying, clean structure, and strong AI search. It’s perfect for students who write long notes or need structured organization.
Choose Notability if you prefer:
Dynamic notes, audio-recorded lectures, mixed media, and fast capture. It is ideal for college classrooms, meetings, and fast-paced environments.
Both apps are excellent. Your choice depends on your style—structured vs flexible, quiet writing vs fast note-taking, textbooks vs audio-based learning.
GoodNotes vs Notability in 2025
GoodNotes remains the best app for handwriting lovers, organized students, planners, and those who want neat, clean notebooks. Notability remains the top choice for fast note-takers, lecture-heavy subjects, and people who rely on audio recordings.
Both apps continue improving every year, and many users even use both for different purposes. In the end, it’s about matching the app with your own workflow.
