Comparison

Microsoft Excel vs Goodnotes

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

Head to head
About

Microsoft Excel

This powerful productivity app allows you to create, view, and edit spreadsheets on the go. Manage data, perform calculations, and analyze information with robust formatting and charting tools. Share your work easily with others.

Highlights
  • Create, view, and edit spreadsheets
  • Data analysis with charts and graphs
  • Budgeting and accounting tools
  • Customizable tables and formatting
  • Share files with collaborators
  • Draw and annotate with ink
Read full description

Review files and run data analysis on the go. Customise tables the way you want with robust formatting tools and great features. Excel lets you build your spreadsheet to meet your specific needs. Get the power of AI with Copilot in your favourite apps when you sign in with your Microsoft 365 subscription. Create templates, edit spreadsheets, organise charts and share with ease when you download Microsoft Excel. Tables and Spreadsheets: Create, Calculate and Analyse • Jump-start your budget, task list, accounting or financial analysis with Excel’s modern templates. • Rich productivity features and formatting options make your workbook easier to read and use. Productivity App: Review, Edit and Work Anywhere • Refresh sheet data or update your task list from anywhere. • Spreadsheet features like sort and filter columns help focus your reviews. • Create, duplicate, hide and unhide sheets easily. Data Analysis: Discover Key Insights on the Go • Analyse data using charts and graphs. • Highlight key insights using chart labelling features. • Visualise data at a glance. Finance Budgeting and Accounting: Simplify Personal Finance • Use spreadsheets and charts to help manage budgets. • Familiar tools to help you drill down to your exact finance needs. • Calculate tax estimates, personal finances and more. Draw and Annotate with Ink: Capture Ideas on the Page • Make notes, highlight your worksheet, create shapes or write equations using the draw tab feature on devices with touch capabilities. Sharing Made Easy: Collaborate Anywhere • Share your files with a few taps to quickly invite others to edit, view or leave comments directly in your workbooks. • Copy the content of your worksheet in the body of an email message with its format intact or attach or copy a link to your workbook for other sharing options. • Send worksheet content in an email while preserving formatting or send a link to your workbook. AI Assistance with Copilot* • Summarise data and highlight trends quickly. • Generate charts and tables from raw data with simple prompts. • Get intelligent recommendations for budgeting and forecasting. REQUIREMENTS: 1 GB RAM or above To create or edit documents, sign in with a free Microsoft account on devices with a screen size smaller than 10.1 inches. *Unlock the full Microsoft 365 experience with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription for your phone, tablet, PC and Mac. 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, where 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 Microsoft's EULA for Terms of Service for Microsoft 365 on iOS. By installing the app, you agree to these terms and conditions: http://aka.ms/eula

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

Screenshots

Microsoft Excel4 screens
Goodnotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

Microsoft Excel and Goodnotes both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 34% of Goodnotes's written reviews are positive against 25% of Microsoft Excel's. Microsoft Excel's advantage is ratings volume (1.5M vs 455K) and chart position (#20 vs #85). 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 Excel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month and Goodnotes sells 16 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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Microsoft Excel against 4.7 for Goodnotes. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.5M and 455K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 25% of Microsoft Excel's written reviews are positive against 34% of Goodnotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Microsoft Excel versus Goodnotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMicrosoft ExcelGoodnotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.5M ratings)4.7 (455K ratings)
Positive reviews24.6% of reviews33.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.5M — better455K
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#20 — better#85
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Vision ProiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS18.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size436 MB794 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMicrosoft CorporationGoodnotes Limited

Customer experience

Microsoft Excel

All ratings1,460,557 ratings
Positive94.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews3,559 reviews
Positive24.6%
Neutral6.4%
Negative69.0%

Goodnotes

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

User reviews

Microsoft Excel

From 1.5M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💻 Powerful and feature-rich
  • 🔍 Useful for data management and analysis
  • 🔧 Convenient for on-the-go work
  • 🤝 Good integration with Microsoft ecosystem
  • 🤩 Excellent for personal and professional use

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription required for full functionality
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 📱 Limited features compared to desktop version
  • 🤔 Confusing user interface changes
  • 🤯 Frustrating syncing and file management issues

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

Bugs and requests

Microsoft Excel

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to open or edit files
  • Unexpected app closures
  • Syncing problems with OneDrive
  • Formatting issues when copying and pasting
  • Slow performance on high-end devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Conditional formatting options
  • Ability to open password-protected files
  • Improved Apple Pencil and keyboard support
  • Customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Better compatibility with Dropbox and other cloud storage

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

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Microsoft Excel

Subscriptions12
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • Office 365 Personal1 Month trial$6.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Personal Student1 Month trial$9.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial2 variants$12.991 Month
  • Office 365 Home1 Month trial$12.991 Month
  • Microsoft 365 Premium Monthly1 Month trial$19.991 Month
  • Microsoft Copilot Pro$20.001 Month
  • Office 365 Personal$69.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Personal1 Month trial$99.991 Year
  • Office 365 Home$129.991 Year
  • Microsoft 365 Family1 Month trial$129.991 Year
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

Questions

Is Microsoft Excel free?
Microsoft Excel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Goodnotes free?
Goodnotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Microsoft Excel or Goodnotes?
Microsoft Excel and Goodnotes are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.5M and 455K ratings respectively.
Do Microsoft Excel or Goodnotes have ads?
Neither Microsoft Excel nor Goodnotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Microsoft Excel or Goodnotes?
Microsoft Excel ships an update weekly, and Goodnotes weekly. Most recently, Microsoft Excel was updated on September 24, 2026 and Goodnotes on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Microsoft Excel or Goodnotes?
Microsoft Excel currently peaks at #20 in the App Store charts, and Goodnotes at #85. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons