Note-taking apps for students, compared

alai's makers wrote this page, and alai is one of the apps on it, so weigh what it says about alai with that in mind. alai is a note-taking app for iPad and the web with Ally, an adaptive AI tutor that steps in at your first mistake with a question.

Facts about the other apps come from their own websites, help pages and App Store listings, checked on November 5, 2026 and linked, and prices change often. We haven't tested the apps side by side, so this page doesn't rank them. It sorts them into handwriting apps, typed notes and lecture recorders, and says who each one suits.

At a glance

A dash means the pages we read on November 5, 2026 didn't mention it, and platforms are the ones those pages name.

Handwriting apps for a tablet and pen

Goodnotes

Goodnotes is a handwriting and PDF markup app for iPad, iPhone and Mac, with Windows, Android and web versions. Its App Store listing describes searchable handwriting, AI summaries and recordings synced to your writing. The free plan holds 3 files and 20 minutes of audio, Essential is $11.99 a year, and Pro is $35.99 a year. Its Windows page says the Android, Windows and web versions don't have every iPad feature.

It suits iPad students with lots of slides and readings who want a low yearly price.

Notability

Notability is a handwriting, PDF and audio app for iPad, iPhone and Mac, with Android and web apps. Its App Store listing describes recordings synced to your notes, live transcripts, summaries, quizzes and flashcards. Its pricing page lists a free Starter plan with 5 notes, then Lite at $14.99, Plus at $19.99 and Pro at $99.99 a year, with 20% off all plans on November 5, 2026. Transcription is limited on Plus and unlimited on Pro. A separate Windows and Mac desktop app records and transcribes meetings beside typed notes.

It suits students who record lectures and want transcripts and study tools in one notebook.

Noteful

Noteful is a handwriting and PDF markup app for iPad, iPhone and Mac. It records audio while you write, with playback in step with your notes, and imports PDFs and Office documents. It's free with no time limit, and Pro is a one-time $6.99 purchase.

It suits students who'd rather pay once than subscribe.

MyScript Notes

MyScript Notes, formerly Nebo, turns handwriting, math and diagrams into typed text and clean shapes, and copies math as LaTeX. It runs on iPad, iPhone, Apple silicon Macs and Android, and on Windows as Nebo. Its AI tools summarize, explain and quiz you, and chat and study sets are on iOS only for now. A limited free version stays after a 7-day trial, and its App Store listing shows Full Access purchases from $1.99 to $29.99 without naming the period.

It suits students who want handwriting and math turned into tidy typed text.

Freenotes

Freenotes is a free iPad notes app with PDF annotation, recording, and AI summaries of recordings and documents. The free version has ads (removing them costs $29.99), Plus is $9.99 a year and Pro $39.99 a year, and one account shares a subscription with its Android app.

It suits students who want to start free and don't mind ads.

alai (ours)

alai is a notes app with Ally, an adaptive AI tutor, built in. Ally learns which kind of help works for you, remembers what tripped you up, and in Homework help checks each step about two seconds after your pen lifts, asking a short question at the first one that doesn't follow. Ally tutors math from algebra through calculus, physics, chemistry and present-tense Spanish, and the Pro study tools (handwriting to text or LaTeX, summaries, flashcards, quizzes) work for any class.

You write with Apple Pencil on iPad, or with a stylus, mouse or finger in the web app, which runs in a browser such as Chrome or Edge, so it works on a Chromebook or a Windows laptop. Notes sync between the two. alai imports PDFs, brings in Goodnotes and Notability notes as ink you can keep editing, and records audio that follows your ink, without transcripts. The free plan has 10 files and 30 minutes of Ally, and paid plans start at $2.99 a month. The iPad app isn't on the App Store yet, alai is US only, and Ally can misread messy handwriting.

It suits math and science students who want a tutor beside their notes.

Typed and mixed notes

Microsoft OneNote

OneNote is a free-form notebook where you type, write or draw with a pen, and record audio. It's free on iPad, iPhone, Mac and the web, and on Windows it installs with Microsoft 365 and Office. Students with an eligible school email get Office 365 A1 free, including OneNote on the web. Its iPad listing describes Copilot AI features.

It suits students on a Windows laptop or at a school that uses Microsoft 365.

Notion

Notion is a typed workspace of pages and databases for working together, with Mac and Windows apps, an iPhone and iPad app and a browser version. The Free plan includes a Notion AI trial, and Plus, $10 a month per member, is free for students and educators with one member.

It suits typed notes, class projects and group work.

Apple Notes

Apple Notes comes free on iPhone, iPad and Mac. You can type, sketch with Apple Pencil or a finger (on PDFs in a note, too), scan documents, search your handwriting, record audio with a transcript, and share notes and folders.

It suits students on Apple devices who want something simple at no cost.

Lecture recording and transcription

Transcription apps such as Otter.ai write out a lecture as it happens and add a summary. Otter's free plan covers 300 minutes a month and 30 minutes per conversation, so a full lecture may need Pro, at $16.99 a month or $8.33 a month billed yearly, 20% less for students with a .edu email.

Notability and Goodnotes sync recordings to your writing and can transcribe them (Goodnotes on iOS), and Apple Notes records and transcribes. alai records audio you replay by tapping your notes, but doesn't transcribe. Ask your instructor before recording a class.

Which to pick

• An iPad and lots of PDFs: Goodnotes, Notability and Noteful all mark up PDFs with Apple Pencil, and Noteful costs $6.99 once. alai imports PDFs too.
• A school Chromebook or a Windows laptop: OneNote runs on Windows and the web, and Office 365 A1 is free with an eligible school email. Goodnotes has Windows, Android and web versions, with 3 months free on eligible Chromebooks. Notability has web and Android apps, MyScript Notes runs on Windows as Nebo, and alai's web app runs in a browser such as Chrome or Edge.
• Mostly typed notes and shared projects: Notion (free on Plus for students) and OneNote both work across devices, and Apple Notes shares notes and folders on Apple devices.
• Recording lectures: Otter.ai writes out the whole talk, and Notability puts transcripts beside your handwriting.
• Math and science classes: MyScript Notes turns handwritten math into typed text or LaTeX, Goodnotes has Math Assist on its free plan, and alai's Ally tutors math, physics and chemistry. See also AI tutor apps for handwritten math.
• The lowest price: Apple Notes and OneNote are free, and so is Notion's Plus plan for students. For handwriting, Noteful is $6.99 once, Goodnotes Essential $11.99 a year and alai Essential $19.99 a year, and Freenotes is free with ads.
• A tutor that asks questions about your work: alai. Ally asks a question at your first mistake instead of giving the answer, with smaller hints if you ask. Pro is $14.99 a month, and the free plan includes 30 minutes of Ally.

What matters more than the app

How you study from your notes matters more than where you keep them. A 2013 review in Psychological Science in the Public Interest by Dunlosky and colleagues rated practice testing and distributed practice (spreading study over time) as high utility, and rereading and underlining as low. So close your notes and recall the main points, turn headings into questions, and return to them over several days. Quiz and flashcard tools make that easier, and a covered page works too.