Comparison

Goodnotes vs Moleskine Notebooks

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Goodnotes

Capture ideas, enhance productivity, and unlock insights with advanced AI features. This app offers tools for professionals, students, and creatives, including infinite whiteboards, AI-powered transcription and summarization, and customizable digital notebooks.

Highlights
  • AI-powered transcription and summarization
  • Infinite whiteboard canvas
  • Digital notebooks with customizable templates
  • Study Sets for flashcards
  • Presentation mode with laser pointer
  • Real-time collaboration
Features
Read full description

Goodnotes has always been the place to capture your ideas — from quick notes to big plans. Now, it goes further. With powerful AI and new ways to capture information, Goodnotes helps you connect the dots, unlock insights, and turn ideas into action. *Existing Goodnotes 5 users can continue to use Goodnotes 5 indefinitely or upgrade to the new Goodnotes. Either way, your notes are safe!* For professionals: Increase productivity at work ■ Whiteboard + Goodnotes AI: Brainstorm, mind-map, and diagram freely on an infinite canvas that grows with your ideas. Enhanced diagramming tools and real-time collaboration make it easy for teams to workshop & ideate together, while Goodnotes AI helps you capture and organize key takeaways instantly. ■ Goodnotes AI Audio & Meetings: Stay fully present in every conversation while Goodnotes does the work for you. AI-powered transcription and live summarization automatically capture discussions and turns them into clear meeting minutes. After the meeting, merge transcripts with your own handwritten or typed notes to create polished, shareable documents in seconds. ■ Text Documents + AI: Create documents that think with you. Enjoy a superior typing experience with rich inline blocks, build on ideas with external insights, and collaborate seamlessly with teammates. With AI-powered summarization, automated note generation, and transcript support, turn rough notes and meetings into finished content faster than ever. ■ Present your notes, slides, and content directly from Goodnotes when you connect your device via AirPlay or HDMI to an external screen. ■ Use Laser Pointer to guide your audience's attention during your presentation. ■ Export your handwritten and typed notes to email, print, or share them anywhere as PDFs. ■ Send a link to your notebooks to work on the same notes. ■ Import documents by emailing them to your custom Goodnotes email. For students: Ace your exams with ease ■ Record audio notes that are magically synced to your iPhone or iPad exact moment you write: perfect for lectures, seminars, and presentations. ■ Take handwritten notes that stay fully searchable: instantly find any word across every class notebook, even mid-lecture. ■ Study and practice straight from your notes with study Sets: flashcards built on active recall and spaced repetition. ■ Use AI to summarize, shorten, change the tone of your words, and turn messy handwritten or typed student notes into polished, structured study material. For planners and journalers: Let your creativity flow ■ Plan your week, month, or year on your iPhone/ iPad with built-in and importable planner templates, fully customizable to match how you plan. ■ Keep a daily journal alongside your planner. Combine handwriting, typed reflections, photos, and stickers on the same page. ■ Use Goodnotes AI to summarize a week's worth of journal entries on your iPhone or iPad into key themes and takeaways. ■ Customize the size and color of your paper templates to create the planner or journal you want. ■ Add, create, or import stickers, stamps, washi tapes, images, and more on your iPad. Digital notebooks: unlimited notebooks for the price of a single physical one ■ Combine handwriting and typed text on one page, alongside images, stickers, diagrams, and doodles. ■ Create digital notebooks, planners, and journals with customizable paper templates, including Blank Paper, Ruled Paper, Cornell Paper, Checklists, Planners, and more. ■ Navigate long documents with ease. PDF tables of contents are automatically imported, or create custom outlines yourself. ■ Back up all your handwritten and typed notes to Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive, and use iCloud to sync across iPad, iPhone, and Mac — so your notes are always safe. ■ Edit your handwriting by resizing it, changing the text color, or moving it to another spot on the page. Privacy Policy: https://www.goodnotes.com/privacy-policy Terms and Conditions: https://www.goodnotes.com/terms-and-conditions

About

Moleskine Notebooks

Capture handwritten notes and sketches on paper and instantly convert them to digital text and vector art. Seamlessly export your work to various file formats for easy sharing and integration into presentations. Best of both worlds for productivity and creativity.

Highlights
  • Handwritten notes to text conversion
  • Export notes as Word, RTF, TXT
  • Draw diagrams and import to presentations
  • Export sketches as vector art
  • Syncs with Moleskine Smart Pen and Notebooks
  • Offline note-taking with automatic sync
Features
Read full description

From paper to digital, the timeless pleasure of handwriting meets the limitless power of technology to evolve, expand, and reinvent your ideas. Every thought lives on paper, every idea grows beyond its boundaries. With Moleskine Notebooks (formerly Moleskine Notes), your creativity moves seamlessly between the physical world and the digital one. Designed for those who love to write, sketch, and create by hand, while also wanting to revisit, transform, and enhance their work on digital devices. Write on paper, watch it on screen. Place your smart notebook beneath your iPad: as your pen flows on paper, Moleskine Notebook captures every word, every line, every draft in real time. Instantly see your work come to life on your device, ready to explore, edit, or share. From your hand, beyond the page. With Moleskine Notebooks you can: - Turn handwritten notes into editable digital text. - Transform sketches and drawings into images for your digital projects. - Enrich your notes with the Apple Pencil or use the power of Artificial Intelligence to improve, organize, and reinterpret your creations. Rediscover the joy of freehand writing, empowered by digital technology. Moleskine Notebook is more than an app: it is the keyboard for creative minds. It accompanies you on a journey between inspiration and innovation, while preserving the beauty of handwriting. Moleskine Notebooks. Write the future, starting from paper. Terms of Service: https://www.moleskineeveryday.com/terms

Screenshots

Goodnotes4 screens
Moleskine Notebooks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Goodnotes at 4.7 against Moleskine Notebooks's 4.2. Goodnotes also leads on ratings volume (455K vs 712) and review sentiment (34% vs 15%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Goodnotes sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Moleskine Notebooks sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Goodnotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodnotes has 455K ratings behind it against 712, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Goodnotes's written reviews are positive against 15% of Moleskine Notebooks's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Goodnotes ships an update weekly, Moleskine Notebooks fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Goodnotes versus Moleskine Notebooks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodnotesMoleskine Notebooks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (455K ratings) — better4.2 (712 ratings)
Positive reviews33.6% of reviews — better14.7% of reviews
Number of ratings455K — better712
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#90 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size794 MB177 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGoodnotes LimitedMoleskine Srl

Customer experience

Goodnotes

All ratings454,853 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews6,458 reviews
Positive33.6%
Neutral11.3%
Negative55.0%

Moleskine Notebooks

All ratings712 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral5.1%
Negative17.1%
Written reviews421 reviews
Positive14.7%
Neutral9.0%
Negative76.2%

User reviews

Goodnotes

From 455K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent note-taking experience
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 🚀 Smooth writing with Apple Pencil
  • 📁 Powerful organization with folders and notebooks
  • 🖼️ Ability to annotate PDFs and documents

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitches and crashes
  • 🔍 Syncing and iCloud issues
  • 🔍 Lack of flexibility with text input
  • 🔍 Limited eraser and highlighting options
  • 🔍 Subpar performance on Mac app

Moleskine Notebooks

From 712 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless handwriting-to-digital conversion
  • 🔒 Secure data storage and sync
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • 💡 Innovative integration of physical and digital note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and app instability
  • 🔌 Unreliable pen-to-app connectivity and sync
  • 🤔 Inconsistent performance across devices
  • ⏱️ Slow and laggy app experience

Bugs and requests

Goodnotes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Text box issues - unable to edit, resize, or move properly
  • Handwriting recognition problems, especially with cursive
  • Unreliable scrolling and page navigation
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the zoom feature

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add bullet point and formatting options for typed text
  • Implement a full-screen writing mode
  • Improve the straight line and shape tools
  • Integrate audio recording and synchronization
  • Allow more customization of the toolbar and interface

Moleskine Notebooks

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Unable to log in to Moleskine account
  • Google Drive integration and backup issues
  • Incorrect page/date display in planner
  • Partial or missing note transcription

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved calendar integration and event management
  • Ability to rearrange and organize notebook pages
  • Better handwriting recognition and text editing tools
  • Seamless migration from previous app versions

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Goodnotes

Subscriptions5
  • AI Pass (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Goodnotes 6 (1 Year)1 Year trial$9.991 Year
  • Essential (Yearly)7 Days trial$11.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Essential (Yearly)1 Year trial2 variants$11.991 Year
  • Goodnotes Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
One-time11
  • Bunny Oasis StickersFree
  • Medicine-Academia Sticker SheeFree
  • Goodnotes 6 Free TrialFree
Show 8 more
  • Marketplace Content$1.99
  • Marketplace Content$6.99
  • Marketplace Content$8.99
  • GoodNotes 5 Unlock$9.99
  • Marketplace Content$9.99
  • Marketplace Content$10.99
  • Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment$28.99
  • Special Edition$35.99
2 purchases

Moleskine Notebooks

Subscriptions2
  • Bundle + AI - Monthly Plan$9.991 Month
  • Bundle + AI - Annual Plan3 Days trial$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Goodnotes free?
Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Moleskine Notebooks free?
Moleskine Notebooks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Goodnotes or Moleskine Notebooks?
Goodnotes is rated higher. Goodnotes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 455K ratings, while Moleskine Notebooks averages 4.2 from 712 ratings.
Do Goodnotes or Moleskine Notebooks have ads?
Neither Goodnotes nor Moleskine Notebooks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Goodnotes or Moleskine Notebooks?
Goodnotes ships an update weekly, and Moleskine Notebooks fortnightly. Most recently, Goodnotes was updated on September 25, 2026 and Moleskine Notebooks on September 24, 2026.

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