GoodNotes Review: Is It The Right Note Taking Software For Your Team?

GoodNotes works best for users who write by hand on tablets and need handwriting-to-text conversion. Before shortlisting, verify that the app supports your specific tablet model and stylus—compatibility varies between iPad, Android, and Windows devices.

The handwriting recognition performs well for cursive and print, but check a demo with your actual writing style, as recognition accuracy depends on consistency and pressure sensitivity of your device. File organization relies on a folder-based system without advanced tagging or full-text search across all notes.

If you need to retrieve notes by keyword across thousands of pages, test this workflow in a trial first. GoodNotes also lacks real-time collaboration—multiple users cannot edit the same note simultaneously.

For team-based note-taking, you'll need to export and share files manually or use a separate collaboration tool. Pricing is a one-time purchase on iOS and Android, but a subscription on Mac and Windows.

Confirm which devices you plan to use before buying, as costs differ by platform. Integration with other apps is limited to basic export formats (PDF, image); if you rely on syncing with Notion, OneNote, or Evernote, GoodNotes does not offer direct two-way sync.

Check whether your existing note library can be imported in a format GoodNotes accepts.