Goodnotes

Review of Goodnotes Software: system overview, features, price and cost information. Get free demos and compare to similar programs.

Overview

About Goodnotes

Goodnotes is a cloud-based and on-premise note-taking application that offers a fluid and natural handwriting experience on digital paper. It integrates the ease of handwriting with the effectiveness of digital tools and advanced artificial intelligence (AI) functionality to enhance productivity, organization, planning and collaborative work. The software provides a smooth and responsive handwriting experience that replicates the feel of a pen on paper. It allows users to import PDFs and images for annotation, highlighting and markup within documents. Goodnotes' sharing and collaboration features allow users to work together in real time, sharing documents across multiple devices. The platform offers advanced spell-check and word prediction tools to enhance productivity by offering real-time spell-checking and intelligent word prediction based on the user's writing style. Moreover, its shape recognition functionality helps create precise shapes and diagrams that cater to visualization needs. Users can also record meetings and important discussions directly within their notes using the voice recording capability. Additional functionalities include device synchronization, remote acc...

Goodnotes Screenshots

Goodnotes Features

Features of Goodnotes
Access Controls/Permissions
Archiving & Retention
Collaboration Tools
Compliance Tracking
Document Classification
Document Editing
Document Generation
Electronic Signature
File Conversion
File Sharing

Goodnotes Integrations

Google Drive logo
Google Drive

Customer Reviews

See why people love Goodnotes

5 Star
70%
4 Star
20%
3 Star
10%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Alyssa D.

Alyssa D.

Verified User

Mental Health Care · Self-Employed

Used weekly for less than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Versatile Professional Tool

Despite the general learning curve, GoodNotes has proven itself to be a useful and versatile tool for professionals who require some way to keep notes and documents digitally organized.

What they liked
  • I enjoyed the ease of use and implementation while taking client notes during sessions
  • The ability to create separate notebooks for different aspects was critical for organization
  • As a professional, GoodNotes exhibited great versatility during meetings as well
Room for improvement
  • Difficulty in transcribing from script to typed notes
  • Additionally, as a beginner, the learning curve for accessing different features was more challenging than expected

Lauren F.

Verified User

E-Learning · 5001-10000 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Goodnotes- very effective

I am satisfied with goodnotes. I feel it helps me organize what I need, especially between many devices. Most importantly, I wish that manual sync or sync options are available, as it is slow among devices or is not triggered when the app is opened, despite apps being updated on all devices.

What they liked
  • Ability to synch among devices, custom imports of stickers/files, custom colors, folders to organize documents
  • Great for note taking/organizing
Room for improvement
  • I would like to have a layering tool for stickers/drawings to format pictures or stickers behind text
  • I would like to have improvements in speed of syncing or ability to manually sync when devices are updated yet still are not recognizing each other
  • I would like to organize folder colors, as in google drive, for better organizing
Switched From

Syncing, better organizing among documents, better writing/stickers/photo imports

Freyxa M.

Verified User

Mental Health Care · 201-500 employees

Used weekly for less than 12 months
Dec 22, 2025

So-so experience

Is excellent for people who prefer handwritten notes and to plan on, however, each platform specific for Apple in black collaborative and centralized features needed in any professional environment. For android is not that efficient.

What they liked

Excellent for stylus users, especially on tablets and it’s really useful for Mark now training contact or even for a students

Room for improvement

No idea for sharing or collaborating on materials across ATM, is not built in with task tracking or content, distribution tools

Garnet C.

Verified User

Marketing and Advertising · 2-10 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Wonderful App for Documentation and Signing off Documents

Positive and a good solution to faxing, scanning documents or needing a pdf program to signing any documents that get digitally returned. I liked the ability to change colours on ink, and the customization of pen type for different spacings,

What they liked
  • Ability to create digital notebooks, great for keeping your subjects separated and easy to access
  • My favourite feature was the ability to use a stylus pen to fill out documents with handwritten signatures, and be able to export and email your documents easily
  • Personally I used this program on a ipad 8th gen and it worked seamlessly
  • People in sales roles could find this application useful for digital note keeping
Room for improvement

I didnt find a whole lot wrong with Goodnotes, the only complaint being very minor, was manually attempting to blow up small print to get a signature on a contract line was a bit tough to do for inexperienced users, aside from that, not much wrong at all

Madison M.

Verified User

Hospital & Health Care · 11-50 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years
Dec 22, 2025

Goodnotes is the Best!

Overall, I recommend Goodnotes to everyone who could benefit from a tool such as this software. I know there are other competitors but I feel Goodnotes is just the best for students and professionals, especially in my field.

What they liked
  • Goodnotes is a convenient tool to use to keep documents in one place and annotate them
  • I use the software on my iPad as a student and it has been the most helpful tool in my undergraduate education
Room for improvement
  • I do wish it was possible to use the annotation feature without an Apple Pencil, but with the Apple Pencil the application is amazing
  • I love being able to edit pdfs on the software and organize all of my documents for personal/academic/professional use

Verified Professional

Education Management · Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 2 years
May 28, 2026

Goodnotes for your excellent workflow

Education Management

What they liked
  • It is so easy to use on my iPhone and iPad, and the results are always excellent
  • A game changer for me
Room for improvement
  • My workflow is sometimes very slow
  • Goodnotes wants to help me with that but sometimes I feel a little bit pressure
  • But that is only me

Kayelee A.

Verified User

Education Management · 5001-10000 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years
May 28, 2026

Great tool

Great. I'm grateful for its affordability and diverse capacities for work.

What they liked
  • I LOVE the ease with which I am able to transfer anything I need onto Goodnotes to edit
  • I also like the organization style and the sustainability
Room for improvement

I don't like that I have to re-buy the software any time I get something new, especially if it was on a work ipad or something of the sort

Irlane B.

Irlane B.

Verified User

Paper & Forest Products · 51-200 employees

Used weekly for less than 2 years
May 28, 2026

A simple and powerful note-taking app!

My overall experience has been great! The app is super intuitive, making it easy to edit and manage notes effortlessly. Being able to turn notes into PDFs or keep them as they are gives me a lot of flexibility. It’s definitely a tool that makes my daily life more productive

What they liked
  • It's really easy to use and incredibly helpful
  • It makes my life so much more agile because I can quickly edit things and choose whether to convert them into PDFs or not
  • It's a really great app, and I enjoy using it a lot
Room for improvement

There’s not much to dislike, but I wish it had even more customization options to make organizing notes even easier

Kim R.

Verified User

Medical Practice · Self-Employed

Used daily for less than 12 months
May 28, 2026

A Game-Changer App!

A wonderful app! I use it frequently, especially in my personal life. I have folders for health, exercise routines, financial data, recipes, etc. Whenever I am sent something important and it's downloadable, it's going into Goodnotes.

What they liked

It is a convenient place for downloading all sorts of files, and later organizing them into folders

Room for improvement
  • I don't like that I cannot get it on all my PC's and desktops
  • It would be more useful to me if it were not just on my mobile devices and iPads

Joelle R.

Verified User

Transportation/ Trucking/ Railroad · 2-10 employees

Used weekly for less than 12 months
May 28, 2026

Great for avid writers and journalers

Overall I am pleased with Goodnotes. It is very simple, which is nice. But with it's simplicity, it does make one question the value/cost.

What they liked

I loved accessing goodnotes from my Ipad, and using my apple pen to take note and journal, etc

Room for improvement
  • The cost was higher than I would like to pay monthly
  • I pay similar fees for certain streaming services, which offer more than this app

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