Comparison

Microsoft OneNote vs Cuely

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

Cuely

Features
Read full description

Your script. Your speech. Your procedure. One step at a time — right on your Apple Watch. Write your notes on iPhone. Tap through them hands-free on your wrist. No scrolling. No unlocking your phone. No losing your place. Cuely is the simplest way to move through any written material, hands-free, eyes up, exactly when you need it. PERFECT FOR Speakers and presenters — glance at your wrist at the podium, not a lectern. Advance your talking points with a tap. Eyes stay on the audience, not the page. Teachers and trainers — follow your lesson plan step by step without looking at your phone. Stay present with the room. Coaches — run through drills, session plans, and plays from your wrist on the sideline. Hands free, head up. Tradespeople — follow procedures and checklists hands-free on site. Gloves on, phone in your pocket. Anyone who needs their notes with them, eyes up, always. HOW IT WORKS Write your notes, script, or checklist on iPhone — any length, any format Open Cuely on your Apple Watch Tap forward to advance. Tap back to return. That's it. No clutter. No complexity. No fumbling with your phone mid-task. Just the next step, exactly when you need it. FEATURES · Step-by-step Apple Watch app — tap forward, tap back · Haptic confirmation on every step advance — feel it, don't look at it · Bold and italic text support — emphasise key words in your notes · Paste any text to import — split into steps automatically · Starter templates included — Speech Outline, Work Procedure, Coaching Session · Organise note sets with tags and filter chips · iCloud sync across all your devices — write on Mac, use on Watch · Works fully offline — no internet needed on your wrist · Watch install banner — guided setup if Watch app isn't installed yet ONE-TIME PURCHASE Unlock unlimited note sets with a single purchase. No subscription. No monthly fee. Buy once, use forever. Free tier includes 3 note sets — enough to try every feature before you commit. DESIGNED FOR APPLE WATCH Cuely is built Watch-first. The interface is large, readable, and works with a glance. Every interaction is a single tap. You'll never need to scroll, pinch, or swipe. YOUR NOTES STAY PRIVATE Notes sync via your personal iCloud account. Cuely never sees your content. No account required. No data collected. Cuely. One step at a time. https://cuely.com.au/support https://cuely.com.au/privacy https://cuely.com.au/terms support@cuely.com.au

Screenshots

Microsoft OneNote4 screens
Cuely4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is chart position: Microsoft OneNote at #70 against Cuely's unranked. Cuely's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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

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 Cuely sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Microsoft OneNote ships an update weekly, Cuely every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Microsoft OneNote versus Cuely: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft OneNoteCuely
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.1M ratings) — better—
Positive reviews44.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.1M — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#70 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS26.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size409 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationCameron Ivey-drayton

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

Cuely

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
1 purchases

Cuely

One-time1
  • premium$1.99

Questions

Is Microsoft OneNote free?
Microsoft OneNote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cuely free?
Cuely is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Microsoft OneNote or Cuely have ads?
Neither Microsoft OneNote nor Cuely shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft OneNote or Cuely?
Microsoft OneNote ships an update weekly, and Cuely every 4 days. Most recently, Microsoft OneNote was updated on October 28, 2026 and Cuely on October 25, 2026.

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