Comparison

Microsoft OneNote vs Element Note

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

Head to head
About

Microsoft OneNote

Capture thoughts, ideas, and plans in a digital notepad. Organize, search, and secure your notes, memos, and sketches. Sync across devices for access anywhere, anytime. Collaborate with others on shared notepads.

Highlights
  • Capture thoughts and ideas
  • Digital sketchbook
  • Organize and search notes
  • Sync notes via OneDrive
  • Collaborate on shared notepads
  • Handwritten notes and drawings
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Supercharge your productivity with OneNote. Organize thoughts and ideas, and simplify planning important moments with your digital note-taking. Smart notes on your phone can sync across all your devices with Microsoft OneNote. Combine the power of digital ink with the natural feel of a pen to help you sketch out your inspirations. Take smart notes and capture every detail with voice transcription. Our writing tools make it easy to capture your notes, review your content later, and access AI studying. Take smart notes, share writing ideas, organize note-taking, and collaborate on your creative ideas and writing - all with Microsoft OneNote. ONENOTE APP FEATURES: AI-POWERED COPILOT NOTEBOOKS • Make sense of your files with AI chat • Summarize meetings, classes, and discussions easily from your notes • Listen to audio overviews, created directly from the notes you take AI NOTE-TAKING WITH HOMEPAGE AND QUICK CAPTURE • Streamlined writing: Find notes from your connected accounts in one place to easily create, find, & act on your notes. Now with Samsung Notes integration. • AI workflows with Copilot: Capture text, voice, ink or images to your notepad with Quick Capture • Smart notes: Capture smart notes in ink. Click the pen button & write down thoughts • Write smart notes, draw & clip things from the web to add to your writing notebook SCAN PICTURES & EXTRACT TEXT FROM WRITING • Note-Taking Scanner: Scan documents, pictures, or files to extract writing • Capture images to extract text from documents & more • Apply different filters to change colors, add ink, crop images & more SMART NOTES & AUDIO TRANSCRIPTION • Voice smart notes: Take accurate notes with voice dictation • Click the Mic button to record, then click it again to end recording & save the file • Dictate smart notes in 27 languages (note some languages are in preview) & use Auto-Punctutation to format NOTE-TAKING THAT HELPS YOU ACHIEVE MORE • Organize writing using to-do lists, follow-up items, marks for what’s important & custom labels • Use OneNote as a notebook, journal or a notepad for work or AI studying • Notepad badge hovers on screen & lets you quickly write your thoughts down any time • NEW Sticky notes - Make quick memos & note-taking COLLABORATE WRITING & SHARE SMART NOTES • Write meeting notes, brainstorm projects, & draw attention to important points • Take notes & save ideas across your favorite devices, no matter what device your team likes to use BETTER TOGETHER WITH MICROSOFT OFFICE • OneNote is part of the Office family & works great with your favorite apps, such as Excel or Word, to help you do more Write notes, save ideas & keep up with your to-do list with Microsoft OneNote. APP REQUIREMENTS: OneNote is free on iPhone and many other devices. Get started today! Download OneNote and sign in with your Microsoft Account or the account assigned to you by your work or school. Monthly Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased from the app will be charged to your App Store account and will automatically renew within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period unless auto-renewal is disabled beforehand. You can manage your subscriptions in your App Store account settings. This app is provided by either Microsoft or a third-party app publisher and is subject to a separate privacy statement and terms and conditions. Data provided through the use of this store and this app may be accessible to Microsoft or the third-party app publisher, as applicable, and transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or any other country where Microsoft or the app publisher and their affiliates or service providers maintain facilities. Please refer to the Microsoft Software License Terms for Microsoft 365. See “License Agreement” link under Information. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions.

About

Element Note

This app offers a distraction-free digital notebook experience with advanced handwriting, PDF annotation, and sketching capabilities. It features unique brushes, a powerful rendering engine, and smart organization tools. Sync your notes across devices and collaborate with others seamlessly.

Highlights
  • Unique handwriting brushes
  • Smooth drawing engine
  • PDF annotation
  • Text, shape, and image attachments
  • On-device OCR search
  • Smart dark mode
  • iCloud sync and collaboration
Features
Read full description

Element Note is the next-gen note taking, PDF annotation, and light sketching app. We stripped down the unnecessaries and carefully polished the elemental functions for a digital notebook. With a modern look and powerful features, Element Note strives to provide an elegant writing space free of distractions. Features: Unique brushes - Pencil (HB Pencil, Mechanical Pencil) - Pen (Pen, Line Pen, Fountain Pen) - Brush (Art Brush, Round Brush) - Marker (Marker, Round Marker) Best-in-class note rendering engine - Smooth and fluid drawing powered by Metal technology - Support gradient ink for more expressive notes Powerful attachments - Text - Shape - Sticker - Image Universal Search - Search through your PDF & Handwritting using on device OCR Smart Darkmode - Smartly adapts all of your notes to the system darkmode without changing the paper or stroke colors. iCloud Sync & Collaboration - Sync via your personal iCloud (No data is passed to our server) - Collaborate through iCloud collaboration for up to 100 users. Desktop class organization - Intuitive multi-select drag and drop gesture to organize your notes or pages Element Note is free to try for up to 3 notes. Unlock the full app with an in app purchase to create unlimited notes. Terms and Conditions https://elementnote.app/terms Privacy Policy https://elementnote.app/privacy

Screenshots

Microsoft OneNote4 screens
Element Note4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Microsoft OneNote at 1.1M against Element Note's 2.6K. Microsoft OneNote also leads on chart position (#68 vs unranked). Element Note's advantage is review sentiment (69% vs 45%). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Microsoft OneNote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Element Note sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Microsoft OneNote against 4.6 for Element Note. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Microsoft OneNote has 1.1M ratings behind it against 2.6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 45% of Microsoft OneNote's written reviews are positive against 69% of Element Note's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Microsoft OneNote ships an update weekly, Element Note fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Microsoft OneNote versus Element Note: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft OneNoteElement Note
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1M ratings) — better4.6 (2.6K ratings)
Positive reviews44.6% of reviews68.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.1M — better2.6K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#68 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — betteriPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size409 MB129 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationSoysauce Lab

Customer experience

Microsoft OneNote

All ratings1,067,774 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews2,745 reviews
Positive44.6%
Neutral12.0%
Negative43.5%

Element Note

All ratings2,591 ratings
Positive90.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews340 reviews
Positive68.5%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.7%

User reviews

Microsoft OneNote

From 1.1M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Simple, works well
  • 👍 Great for planning
  • 👍 Powerful note-taking app
  • 👍 Invaluable tool for note taking
  • 👍 Used for years, couldn't be without this app

Room to improve

  • 🔨 Could be better
  • 🔨 Formatting issues on mobile app
  • 🔨 Buggy widget, no dark app icon
  • 🐛 Glitchy, crashes often
  • 🐛 Terrible sync speeds

Element Note

From 2.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth handwriting experience
  • 💡 Customizable pens and colors
  • 👍 Clean and intuitive interface
  • 🎨 Gradient and gradient brush tools
  • 📚 Great for journaling and note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🔍 Search function not working
  • 🖼️ Issues with image handling and export
  • 🔀 Difficulty switching between pen and eraser
  • 🔑 Lack of password/locking feature for notes

Bugs and requests

Microsoft OneNote

Reported bugs

9 issues
  • Cursor positioning is erratic
  • Search function does not work well
  • Ink to text conversion missing on iPad
  • Syncing issues, notes not syncing properly across devices
  • Crashing, freezing, and performance issues
Show 4 more
  • Scrolling issues, page jumping to top unexpectedly
  • Eraser tool deletes more than intended
  • Formatting issues when importing/exporting
  • Inconsistent behavior between desktop and mobile versions

Requested features

11 requests
  • Native Markdown support and merged cell support
  • Ruler, ability to choose or create notebook covers
  • Ability to password protect app or individual notebooks
  • Option to open on last opened page instead of Home
  • Ability to turn note into task that appears on To Do and Planner
Show 6 more
  • Search for tags, more Evernote-like search features
  • Ability to select text using 3D Touch
  • Option to limit page to A4 size with framing
  • Pencil feature like Notes app for drawing
  • Ability to delete notebooks
  • Ability to delete notes from Apple devices

Element Note

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes and files randomly disappearing
  • Inconsistent behavior when using the floating keyboard
  • Handwriting recognition not working as expected
  • Exported PDFs losing formatting and background colors

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ruler tool
  • Ability to resize/rotate selections
  • Improved text editing and formatting
  • Presentation mode for connecting to displays
  • Ability to import/export multiple files at once
Show 1 more
  • Seasonal or custom sticker packs

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Microsoft OneNote

Subscriptions3
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal$11.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family$12.991 Month
5 purchases

Element Note

Subscriptions2
  • Element Note Yearly$3.491 Year
  • Element Note Yearly$4.991 Year
One-time3
  • Lifetime Launch Special$4.99
  • Lifetime$9.99
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is Microsoft OneNote free?
Microsoft OneNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Element Note free?
Element Note is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Microsoft OneNote or Element Note?
Microsoft OneNote is rated higher. Microsoft OneNote averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.1M ratings, while Element Note averages 4.6 from 2.6K ratings.
Do Microsoft OneNote or Element Note have ads?
Neither Microsoft OneNote nor Element Note shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft OneNote or Element Note?
Microsoft OneNote ships an update weekly, and Element Note fortnightly. Most recently, Microsoft OneNote was updated on October 15, 2026 and Element Note on October 13, 2026.

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