5 Best Note Taking Apps

In today’s digital world, we barely find a person who uses a manual diary for taking notes. Since every other utility is available online, that is why we prefer to have a note-taking app for us so that we can keep our notes organized online. A good note taking app can be used for the following purposes:

  • For making lists such as grocery lists, to do lists, etc.
  • For keeping reminders.
  • For recording the minutes of a meeting.

These are just a few purposes of note taking in my opinion because every individual can have numerous purposes of taking notes. Whatever is the reason behind note taking, notes keep you organized. You can quickly recall the important events simply by looking at your notes taken at that event. Nowadays, note taking is very common among students. They believe that they cannot note everything down by hand in a 45 minutes lecture so they just note down the important points in a note taking app.

Now the question arises that which note taking app should you use in order to stay organized. Well, you can first narrow down the choices simply by having a look at your operating system because different note-taking apps are available for different operating systems. After doing that, you can give a read to our list of Best 5 Note Taking Apps.

1. Microsoft OneNote


OneNote is a note-taking app designed by Microsoft for the operating systems including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. Earlier we used to consider the note-taking apps as static apps but today’s note taking apps such as OneNote, has become so versatile that they offer you all the latest features. OneNote allows you to create digital notes as well as you can use a pen to write your notes. The Lasso Tool of this app has the capability of converting these hand-written notes to digital format.

You can insert tables into your notes. You can easily hyperlink your text within a note. The Text Search feature of this app lets you search for whatever you want. You have the freedom of customizing the appearance of your application by changing its color as well as keeping nicknames for your notebooks. OneNote has the ability to keep a track of your Version History. This helps you in finding and accessing any previous version of your notes.

OneNote

OneNote even allows you to print a note separately or an entire notebook at once. You can easily preview your created notes. You are provided with the ability to view your notes in multiple windows and you can also navigate between various notes. The two most helpful features of this application are Tell Me and Password Protection. The Tell Me feature is there to help you whenever you get stuck somewhere or do not know how to use a feature of OneNote whereas, through the Password Protection feature, you can secure any of your private notes. Moreover, there is good news for all the users who wish to use this note-taking app and that is OneNote is absolutely free to download and use.

2. Evernote


Evernote is a famous note-taking app for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS that lets you organize your notes in a highly standardized manner. Your notes are even available to be viewed offline, therefore, you do not need to worry if you lose your Internet connection. Evernote enables you to upload up to 10 GB of notes monthly which is why you can freely create as many notes as you want. Moreover, the size of a single note can also be as large as 200 MB which means that you can even upload photos in your notes.

The Scanning feature of this application helps you in scanning the cards and documents and then saving them as notes. You can even create proper presentations by joining multiple notes with the help of Evernote Presentation Mode. This app offers you with a Chat Support feature which means that if you ever run into an issue, you can simply contact the Evernote Support Team. This app has the ability to recognize the text within an image. You can conveniently search for any item through this app as well as keep a track of the different versions of your notes through the Note History feature.

Evernote

As far as the pricing of this note taking app is concerned, it offers us the following three plans:

  • Evernote Basic- This plan is free of cost.
  • Evernote Premium- This plan costs $7.99 per month.
  • Evernote Business- Evernote charges $14.99 per user per month for this plan.
Evernote Pricing

3. Simplenote


Simplenote is a free note-taking app for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS as well as Linux operating system. This app has the capability of synchronizing your notes across all your devices without even having the need to do any extra configurations. The Tagging feature of this application makes it all the more easier for you to search your notes. You can even share your notes with your colleagues or publish them on the web.

Simplenote

This application provides full support for the Markdown Format. You can write, preview and publish your notes in this format. The Go Back in Time feature of Simplenote keeps a track of your notes versions. You can access any version at any time with the help of this feature. If you are fascinated by all these simple and handy features of this app, then download Simplenote right away because it is absolutely free.

4. Google Keep


Google Keep is a note-taking app by Google which is specially designed for the Android and iOS platforms. You can create simple text notes as well as add photos or audios to your notes. You can easily label and tag your notes in order to have convenient accessibility. You can even customize your notes with the help of the Color Coding feature. You can set reminders so that you do not forget about any important events. Google Keep also has the ability to extract text from your photos.

Google Keep

You can even export your notes to Google Doc. Google Keep provides you with some of the most useful shortcuts for accessing this application. You have the independence of sharing and sending your notes. This app can also work offline which means that you will only need an Internet connection for synchronizing your notes across multiple devices. Last but not least, the good thing about Google Keep is that it is also free of cost.

5. Dropbox Paper


Dropbox Paper facilitates you by providing you with a web application as well as Android and iOS apps. It is a well-known note-taking app by Dropbox that enables you to create and edit notes in real time. All you need to do is to have a Dropbox account in order to take the advantages of this wonderful app. This application also supports other design tools such as Figma and InVision etc. so that you can conveniently use these tools while staying within Dropbox Paper.

You can preview Sketch Files with the help of this application. The Doc Preview feature of Dropbox Paper lets you find your notes very easily. If you want to use Dropbox Paper for your business projects, then you can simply give the access of your notes created in Dropbox Paper to all of your teammates so that all of you can stay on the same page. This app also provides you with built-in templates in order to save your time for setting the layout of your notes.

Dropbox Paper

The Track Moving Pieces feature of this app enables you to keep a track of the activities of every individual who has access to your notes. It means that you can actually see the edits made by every team member. The only shortcoming of this application is that you need to stay online in order to access your notes on Dropbox Paper. The good thing about Dropbox Paper is that if you have a Dropbox account, then you can use this app without any hidden charges.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ayesha Sajid


Ayesha is a software developer by profession and is currently working as a lead developer with Code5. Programming Skills: Asp.net, C#, C/C++, Java, Golang, Android, UML, SQL and Html.