Goodnotes alternatives, sorted by why you're switching

alai's makers wrote this page, and alai is one of the apps on it. alai is a notes app for iPad and the web with Ally, an adaptive AI tutor. Facts about the other apps come from their own websites, help pages and App Store listings, checked on November 5, 2026, with US prices. We haven't tested the apps side by side, so they aren't ranked. They're sorted by why you might leave Goodnotes.

You want to stop paying every year

Goodnotes' pricing page lists Essential at $11.99 a year and Pro at $35.99 a year. Its App Store listing also shows a one-time Special Edition for Apple devices at $35.99, though Goodnotes says it doesn't include Goodnotes Cloud. These apps also let you pay once:

• Noteful. Noteful is free to use, and Pro is a one-time $6.99 that adds layers and syncing between iPhone and iPad. It records audio as you write, with playback synced to your notes, and a June 2026 update added importing a .zip with its folders.
• Noteshelf. Noteshelf is free for three notebooks, and its listing offers Premium for life at $14.99. It records audio, turns handwriting into text in 65 languages and summarizes pages with AI. Its site also offers Android and Windows apps.

alai's plans are monthly or yearly, so alai doesn't fit here.

You want your iPad notes on a Windows laptop or Chromebook

Goodnotes runs on Windows, Android and the web, and its download guide sends Chromebooks to Google Play. On November 5, 2026, its Windows and web pages said those versions don't offer the full range of features in Goodnotes on iPad. Its FAQ said syncing between Apple and non-Apple devices requires Goodnotes Cloud, which comes with Pro and not with Essential. The Windows page still called iPad sync coming soon, so check before you pay. These also sync an iPad and a laptop:

• OneNote. Microsoft's iPad app is free, and Microsoft says OneNote is free on many other devices. There's also a Mac app, a web version and a Windows app, where you write with a pen from the Draw tab and Ink to Text turns your handwriting into typed text.
• MyScript Notes. Formerly Nebo, it runs on iPad, iPhone, Apple silicon Macs and Android, and it keeps the name Nebo on Windows. It syncs through iCloud (on iOS only), Google Drive or Dropbox.
• alai (ours). alai's web app runs in a browser such as Chrome or Edge, so it works on a Chromebook or a Windows laptop, and it syncs with alai's iPad app on every plan, including Free. You write with a stylus or a mouse. The iPad app isn't on the App Store yet. Essential is $2.99 a month on alai's pricing page.

You want audio tied to what you wrote

Goodnotes' audio guide says the notes you write while recording are synchronized with the recording, and its plan comparison gives the Free plan 20 minutes per notebook. These apps also tie audio to your notes:

• Notability. Ginger Labs' recording guide, dated August 24, 2026, says recordings are linked to what you write, and tapping anything in a note during playback jumps to that point. Plus adds limited transcription, and Pro adds unlimited live transcripts and AI summaries. Notability runs on iPad, iPhone, Mac, Android and the web. Its free Starter plan holds 5 notes, and its pricing page listed Plus at $19.99 a year, or $15.99 with 20% off.
• alai. Record class records audio while you write, and tapping your notes plays that moment. The audio stays on your device. Free records 20 minutes per note, Essential and Pro have no limit, and alai doesn't transcribe recordings.

You want your handwriting turned into text

Goodnotes does this with its lasso tool. These apps convert too:

• MyScript Notes converts handwriting and math to typed text and drawn diagrams to shapes, and copies math as LaTeX, its App Store listing says. After a 7-day trial you subscribe or keep a free limited version, and MyScript's pricing page says prices vary by region and store.
• Noteshelf converts and searches handwriting in 65 languages.
• alai Pro turns handwriting you lasso into typed text or LaTeX, and search finds words in your ink.

You want it free

• Apple Notes. Apple's free Notes app lets you sketch with Apple Pencil in a note or on a PDF inside it, records and transcribes audio, and searches your handwriting.
• OneNote is free on iPad and iPhone.
• Freenotes. Freenotes is free with ads. It marks up PDFs, searches handwriting with text recognition and summarizes recordings with AI. Removing the ads costs $29.99, and Plus is $9.99 a year.
• Free plans. Goodnotes keeps three notebooks free, Notability 5 notes, and alai 10 files with 30 minutes of Ally.

You want a tutor in your notes

Ally, alai's adaptive AI tutor, follows each step you write in math, physics and chemistry and stays quiet while the work is right. At the first step that doesn't follow, Ally highlights it and asks a short question. If 5(x + 2) becomes 5x + 2, Ally might ask, "Nice job getting 5x; does the 5 in 5(x + 2) reach the 2 too?" Ally learns which kind of help works for you and remembers what tripped you up last time. Ally can misread messy handwriting or judge a step wrongly. Ally comes with Pro, $14.99 a month, along with summaries, flashcards and handwriting to text. Free and Essential get 30 minutes, once, to try Ally.

Goodnotes Math Assist vs alai compares Goodnotes' own math help with Ally.

At a glance

"Not listed" means the app's own pages didn't mention it on November 5, 2026. It doesn't mean the app can't do it. Microsoft's Copilot help says Copilot might not come with every Microsoft 365 subscription.

What Goodnotes still does well

• It runs almost everywhere. Goodnotes lists iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android, Windows and the web, and says it has more than 25 million monthly active users.
• Essential costs little. $11.99 a year is less than alai's Essential at $19.99 a year.
• Search covers handwriting, typed text, PDF content and folder titles.
• Audio follows your writing, with a Replay mode on iOS and macOS.
• Math Assist comes with every plan.

If Goodnotes does what you need, staying is a reasonable choice.

How to move your notes

On an iPad, iPhone or Mac, Goodnotes' export guide works like this:

1. Tap a notebook's title in the library and choose Export. For several, open the Views menu, choose Select Items, tap them and choose Export. For folders, tap the checkmark, tap the folders and choose Export.
2. Pick a format: Goodnotes, PDF or image. Folders come out as one .zip that keeps their structure.
3. Save the file to Files or a cloud drive.

Goodnotes on Android, Windows and the web exports PDFs. On November 5, 2026, its feature list said exporting in the Goodnotes format isn't currently available there.

Then bring the files in:

• alai. Open Bring your notes and choose the .goodnotes files, or the .zip of a whole library. Your handwriting comes in as ink you can keep editing, and folders stay folders. Recordings don't come over. The Free plan keeps 10 files of up to 5 MB, so a full library needs Essential, which takes imports of any size.
• Notability. Press and hold New, choose Import and pick your PDFs. Its import guide, dated September 3, 2026, says to unzip a .zip first, and Bulk Import takes a whole folder with its subfolders.
• Noteful imports PDFs, and since June 2026 a .zip with its folders.