Comparison

Goodnotes vs BunkMate

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, brainstorm, and create polished documents with powerful AI tools. Transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and organize notes effortlessly for work or study. Plan your life and journal your thoughts with customizable templates and creative freedom.

Highlights
  • AI-powered transcription and summarization
  • Infinite whiteboard for brainstorming
  • Handwritten and typed note organization
  • Customizable planner and journal templates
  • PDF annotation and document import
  • Study sets with flashcards
  • Presentation mode with laser pointer
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

BunkMate

Manage your class attendance effortlessly with this intuitive tool. Designed by a student, it helps you track your presence, allowing you to attend or skip classes as needed. Reclaim your academic freedom and reduce attendance-related stress.

Highlights
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Attendance tracking
  • Class skipping management
  • Stress reduction for academics
  • Freedom and control over attendance
Features
Read full description

Tired of being constantly berated by that picky teacher who's never satisfied with your attendance in their class? Look no further! BunkMate was born out of a university student's frustration with the same problem. With its clean and intuitive user interface, BunkMate is designed to help you take control of your attendance in a simple and straightforward way. Say goodbye to attendance stress and hello to a carefree academic life. Attend when you want, skip when you need, and let BunkMate handle the rest. Get ready to reclaim your freedom and become the attendance ninja you've always wanted to become!

Screenshots

Goodnotes4 screens
BunkMate4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Goodnotes at 4.7 against BunkMate's 3.3. Goodnotes also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (468K vs 4). BunkMate's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). 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 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and BunkMate sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodnotes has 468K ratings behind it against 4, 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 24% of BunkMate's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Goodnotes ships an update weekly, BunkMate every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Goodnotes versus BunkMate: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGoodnotesBunkMate
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (468K ratings) — better3.3 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews33.8% of reviews — better23.5% of reviews
Number of ratings468K — better4
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#108 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size778 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGoodnotes LimitedKevin Thomas Kuriakose

Customer experience

Goodnotes

All ratings466,714 ratings
Positive93.4%
Neutral1.9%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews6,775 reviews
Positive33.8%
Neutral11.2%
Negative55.0%

BunkMate

All ratings4 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews51 reviews
Positive23.5%
Neutral13.7%
Negative62.7%

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

BunkMate

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Goodnotes

Subscriptions4
  • AI Pass (Monthly)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Essential (Yearly)7 Days trial$11.991 Year
  • Essential (Yearly)1 Year trial2 variants$11.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Goodnotes Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
One-time5
  • Goodnotes 6 Free TrialFree
  • Marketplace Content$1.99
  • Marketplace Content$9.99
Show 2 more
  • Goodnotes 6 One-Time Payment$28.99
  • Special Edition$35.99
1 purchases

BunkMate

One-time1
  • BunkMate Pro$0.99

Questions

Is Goodnotes free?
Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BunkMate free?
BunkMate is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Goodnotes or BunkMate?
Goodnotes is rated higher. Goodnotes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 468K ratings, while BunkMate averages 3.3 from 4 ratings.
Do Goodnotes or BunkMate have ads?
Neither Goodnotes nor BunkMate shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Goodnotes or BunkMate?
Goodnotes ships an update weekly, and BunkMate every 2 months. Most recently, Goodnotes was updated on November 6, 2026 and BunkMate on November 3, 2026.

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