Goodnotes vs Notewise
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
Notewise
This app offers a versatile digital canvas for note-taking, PDF annotation, and sketching. It leverages AI to summarize content, generate quizzes, and transcribe audio. Designed for students, professionals, and creators, it provides tools for organization, collaboration, and enhanced productivity.
- AI-powered note summarization and quizzing
- Handwritten notes and PDF annotation
- Audio recording with synced transcripts
- OCR for searchable handwriting
- Real-time collaboration
- Infinite freeform canvas
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Apple Design Awards Nominee, 6M+ users worldwide. Notewise is the future of note-taking on iPhone and iPad. Whether you’re recording meetings, sketching diagrams, annotating PDFs, or writing ideas, Notewise gives you a personalized workspace that feels like your second brain — supercharged by AI. With Notewise, you don’t just take notes. You create good notes — searchable, personalized, and interactive. Write Your First AI Note Meet your first AI Note, shaped by your context across audio, text, handwriting and docs. • Capture Anything: Start with audio, text, handwriting, docs or images. • Note: A living AI note that writes itself from everything you capture. • AI Chat: Chat with the note you're in or across every note and the web. • Search: Find details in handwriting, text, audio, files and even images. With Notewise, you always start with what matters. Personalization That Feels Like Magic Designed to take good notes for iPhone and iPad note-takers • Multiple sources, one note: Capture in any order your thoughts arrive, it stays together. • Auto-updates: Your Note grows every time new information arrives. • Suggest changes: Approve changes before your Note is edited. • Custom Tabs: Every note, your format. Choose from 20+ templates or create one. • Profile Building: Define your preferences, get customized notes. Whether you want class notes in Cornell format or meeting notes as action items, it just works. Canvas Tools Built for Power Users Use the full toolbox to create your own system of thinking and learning: Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Lasso, Tape, Shape, Textbox, Image, Audio Recorder, Table, Zoombox, Ruler, Laser Pointer, Sticky Notes, Creative Brushes, Stickers, Background Removal, Videos Create good notes freely. Every tool is fast, fluid, and purpose-built. Stay Present in Every Meeting • Record meetings, coffee chats, classes and voice memos. • Notewise transcribes every recording. Available across 20+ languages. • Each meeting builds on the last. Yesterday's meetings informs today's decisions. • Chat with all your meetings at once. Bring context across files and texts as well. Leave Lectures with Confidence • One note for school: record lectures, annotate slides, take class notes, draw diagrams. • View class notes in Cornell or Outline format, or create one of your own. • Generate podcasts for audio visual learning and test your knowledge with quizzes. • Chat with everything you save: textbooks, notes, recordings, whiteboard images. Annotate, Edit, Chat • Upload PDFs, docs, slides, textbooks and more. • Bring PDF knowledge in the same place as recordings, typed notes and handwriting. • Chat with your files, ask questions within and beyond them. Privacy-First by Design We’re a small, independent team. We don’t sell your data. We don’t show ads. Your notes are encrypted, secure, and under your control. Try For Free • Start with 10 free canvas notes, upload slides and docs • Experience AI powered thinking. Start with a 7 day free trial of Notewise 4.0 • Use core features for free—forever Always Getting Better Canvas updates, recent additions include: • Customized Toolbar: Keep tools you like, hide the ones you don't use • Connector: Link any two elements to connect ideas, draw diagrams and map workflows • Font Selection: Choose from 2000+ Google Fonts And we're just getting started. Take Good Notes Only Notewise is built for professionals, students and knowledge workers around the world. Whether you’re working on your next start-up idea, making decisions in a meeting or simply taking class notes, design your own productivity system in Notewise, a notes app that thinks as human, works like AI. — Build your notes your way with a tool that respects your privacy. Download Notewise for free today and experience the future of note-taking: contextual, personal, powerful. Privacy Policy: https://www.notewise.dev/privacy-policy Terms & Conditions: https://www.notewise.dev/terms-conditions
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Goodnotes at 455K against Notewise's 271. Goodnotes also leads on chart position (#92 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). Notewise's advantage is review sentiment (55% vs 34%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Goodnotes sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Notewise sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Goodnotes against 4.6 for Notewise. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Goodnotes has 455K ratings behind it against 271, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 34% of Goodnotes's written reviews are positive against 55% of Notewise's.
Goodnotes ships an update weekly, Notewise every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Goodnotes | Notewise |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (455K ratings) — better | 4.6 (271 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.6% of reviews | 54.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 455K — better | 271 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #92 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 794 MB | 427 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Goodnotes Limited | ZIIKR |
Customer experience
Goodnotes
Notewise
User reviews
Goodnotes
From 455K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Notewise
From 271 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly interface
- 🔄 Excellent cross-platform synchronization (Android, iOS, Mac, PC)
- ✨ Comprehensive feature set with tables, shapes, and drawing tools
- 🎨 High-quality dark mode implementation
- 📱 Works seamlessly across multiple devices
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes after updates
- 🐛 Handwriting and annotations disappearing randomly
- 🐛 Lasso selection tool includes unwanted background
- 🐛 App freezes and lags when highlighting large areas
- 🐛 Text input fields not functioning properly
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
Notewise
Reported bugs
18 issues- App crashes on every update
- Handwritten content randomly disappears
- Annotations vanishing intermittently
- Lasso selection tool malfunctions
- Text input fields not responding
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- App freezes when highlighting large areas with markers
- Handwriting input not registering
- Palm rejection issues causing unwanted marks
- Shape recognition failures
- Scribble-to-erase function unreliable
- PDF export causing app crashes
- Notes auto-deleting or getting corrupted
- Sync getting stuck mid-process
- Slow and delayed cross-device synchronization
- UI elements obscuring page content after 20+ minutes of use
- Copy-paste functionality limited and unreliable
- App performance degradation over time
- Glitchy behavior with shape drawing mode
Requested features
20 requests- Add layers feature for advanced editing
- Implement automatic zoom box that follows writing
- Add pencil, waterbrush, and crayon drawing tools
- Sticker marketplace or sticker customization
- Horizontal page flipping/swiping navigation
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- Ability to pause real-time syncing
- MacBook native app with full feature parity
- More shape customization (arcs for graphing)
- Improved text formatting and customization options
- Single page view mode (vertical and horizontal)
- Notebook organization beyond just pages
- Magnifying glass tool like GoodNotes
- More pen and pencil style options
- Line spacing customization for text
- PDF import from web/internet
- Printing functionality
- Audio recording and sharing capabilities
- Hyperlink support on desktop version
- Scroll locking to prevent accidental page movement
- Better shape recognition (arrows, parentheses)
In-app purchases
Goodnotes
- 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
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- Essential (Yearly)1 Year trial2 variants$11.991 Year
- Goodnotes Pro (Yearly)7 Days trial$35.991 Year
- Bunny Oasis StickersFree
- Medicine-Academia Sticker SheeFree
- Goodnotes 6 Free TrialFree
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- 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
Notewise
- Notewise Cloud Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
- Notewise Cloud Starter Monthly$6.991 Month
- Notewise Cloud Pro Monthly$15.991 Month
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- Notewise Cloud Basic Yearly$28.991 Year
- Notewise Cloud Starter Yearly7 Days trial$36.991 Year
- Notewise Cloud Pro Yearly$129.991 Year
- Notewise Marketplace Content$1.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$2.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$3.99
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- Notewise Marketplace Content$4.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$5.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$6.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$7.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$8.99
- Notewise Marketplace Content$9.99
- Notewise Unlimited$19.99









