Are you a meticulous digital note taker, now confused between GoodNotes and Notability?
Which app to prefer for Note-taking? Worry not. You aren’t the only one struggling to choose one. The dispute between GoodNotes and Notability has existed for a long time now.
Digital note-taking has become increasingly popular among professionals and students as well. This might be one of the contributing reasons for the increased sales of iPads, as they are one of the primary devices used for taking digital notes.
With digital notes comes so much conviction that once you start doing it, there’s no going back. Forget the days when you’d have to carry around a different notebook for every subject and burden your shoulders. You only need one compact device with digital notes, and you are good to go.
What could be better than storing all your study material in one place, always accessible to you with just a click? Digital notes make that happen.
When I first started jolting down my itinerary on the iPad, it was simply to have reminders set so I won’t forget things. But a few years later, I’ve almost wholly left paper behind. Whatever needs to be written down goes on the iPad, be it work-related, some to-do list, or my assignments; it’s all on my digital whiteboard.
While there are numerous apps available online for note-taking, GoodNotes and Notability continue to outshine them. Both apps are practical tools for students and business people who prefer to use their iPads and Mac devices for note-taking rather than picking up pen and paper.
But which one to choose among the two? How do I divide which apps are better?
Well, I’m here to help you with that. In this article, you’ll find a detailed comparison between GoodNotes and Notability, so read and divide for yourself.
Table of Contents
GoodNotes vs Notability: Basic Details
With its release in 2010, Notability has been in the tech world for more than a decade, but GoodNotes isn’t that far behind either, having released just a year after Notability. Both apps have made upgrades to stay compatible with changing device models.
Let’s look at some details of both apps.
GoodNotes: All you need to know
GoodNotes is your most-known iOS app. Compatible with several file formats, including PDFs, images, videos, and audio files, GoodNotes lets you make and edit digital notes on any Apple device. Beginners and more seasoned users, who want to utilize its more advanced functions, will find it simple to navigate owing to its straightforward user interface.
- With each book, you can have a different page style. It implies that you can have a variety of designs and different colored page backgrounds.
- Outline view is present, which comes in handy when browsing any PDF with numerous pages.
- Authentic highlighter marker option.
- A variety of template options is available.
- It enables you to run the applications in independent windows and tabs. This works great when you have to switch between books repeatedly.
- You can have personalized templates saved on the app for later use.
- When in a hurry, GoodNotes makes it laborious to take notes.
- Copy pasting process is a bit tedious.
- The app stutters a little when opening large PDF files.
- The separated pages become irritating when trying to continue writing to the next page.
- It lacks Notability’s audio recording feature, which enables you to scroll to a specific point in the lecture and review your notes.
- Moving images or other objects across pages is impossible.
Also if you have GoodNotes 5 version on your tablet then you can watch this video for a full walkthrough.
Video Credit – KDigitalStudio
Notability: All you need to know
Notability can be called your common iPad note-taking app. It provides numerous features like auto-saving (so you no longer have to be concerned about manually saving your notes), highlighting tools for all the critical information in your messages, and many more.
Notability enables you to take handwritten notes, type a text and record all on a single note.
- The audio recording feature comes in handy for all users. Students can refer to the lecture’s audio and compare it to their notes. The audio remains in sync even as you scroll through multiple pages.
- The responsive user interface makes navigation smooth and easy.
- You don’t need to add pages as you write manually; the app does it for you.
- Shape drawing is relatively easy on this app.
- It has a color selector tool that is particularly helpful if you need to find the hex code for a specific color quickly.
- All the fantastic features can only be accessed when you purchase the premium pack.
- It isn’t easy to collaborate on notes with others.
- A single message can not be opened on different windows.
- In the folder hierarchy, there are only five levels.
The following video tutorial can give you a better idea of “How to use Notability?”
Video Credit – Nathan Lemoine
GoodNotes vs Notability: Features Comparison
Now that we have seen both apps’ pros and cons let’s put them against each other and see which note-taking apps make for a better option.
- Layout
When you open the apps, you first see the basic layout of both apps and how you’ll navigate through them. Layout-wise, GoodNotes 5 triumphs over Notability. The explanation is straightforward: We like hierarchical folders.
Notability has its two-pane layout, putting all the books to the left and the previews on the right, which is perfectly fine to work through. Though the endless folders offered by GoodNotes make for a better and more preferred structure here compared to the five folders one offered by Notability.
GoodNotes considered that different themes could have many subgroups when building its software. Users have greatly adored GoodNotes’ bookmarking functionality. While GoodNotes wins brownie points on the bookmark feature, Notability is lacking in this department.
Collaborating on project notes with colleagues or fellow students is easier on GoodNotes 5, as you get real-time syncing and can see the changes made. Collaborating on Notability, on the other hand, is only possible if the other person has a Notability account.
- Easy to Use
When looking at the user interface for both apps, it seemed very basic in design.
Notability comes with the most straightforward user interface with three buttons on the toolbars to Create notes, Take notes, and Record lectures. You can efficiently perform all these actions on a single note, and all your notes get saved automatically.
On the other hand, GoodNotes has a pretty straightforward interface as well. When you’ve finished creating your notebook, click on the “+” icon to take notes. You’ll find a list of all your previous notebooks on the app.
It is easier to add images and videos while taking notes. GoodNotes also offers several tools for enhancing your messages, and you can add custom templates to the app library.
With a more thoughtful design that makes navigation easy for users, Notability is a win here.
- Note-taking
This is an important feature considering note-taking is the primary use for both apps. Both GoodNotes and Notability have shown great potential in this aspect, with the companies upgrading features as per users’ convenience. It’s a joy to write on either of these apps.
The user interface is cleverly laid out such that the tools you need the most at only a few taps away. Both apps offer excellent palm rejection while writing. Although the writing experience on GoodNotes and Notability is undoubtedly different, there is no clear marker on which one is better here.
- Multitasking
You often need to perform more than one function simultaneously; not all apps can handle this multitasking.
Notability offers excellent multitasking capabilities that let you work on all of your notes at once. Additionally, the app keeps a record of your progress so you can take up where you left off while allowing you to move between notes quickly.
GoodNotes 5.3 or later offers full multi-window capabilities. It is a feature of iPadOS to allow the opening of different windows of the same program. This enables you to launch several full-screen, Slide Over, and even link the same software instances with other apps or the same app in Split View instances of the software.
Notability outshines GoodNotes when it comes to multitasking, as you have to rely on an iPad multitasking feature to work with multiple windows on GoodNotes.
- Tools
You’ll find a range of tools on these note-taking apps, incorporated especially for the user’s convenience and benefit.
Pen – With GoodNotes, you get a collection of Ballpoint, fountain, and brush pens available in small, medium, and larger tip sizes. Stability, on the other, has a similar group with the addition of dashed and Dotted pens. Thanks to its pressure-sensitive pen tool, you also get a more realistic writing experience with Notability.
Highlighter – Notability lets you add the highlighter on your noted text instead of the standard ways it is behind it. GoodNotes has better highlighter options.
Text – Notability allows you to type directly on the page but can lead to changes in the line and grid orientation. Using a text box is a better option to go by. On GoodNotes, as you type, the text box appears around it, and you can efficiently work with it.
Eraser – Notability offers you 12 different eraser sizes to choose from but requires an additional tap on the Apple pencil when switching from eraser to pen. GoodNotes has a relatively more accessible switch from eraser to pen, offering just three eraser sizes.
Lasso Tool – The lasso tool, which allows you to resize, cut, copy, delete, or alter the color of your selection, is unquestionably the finest feature of both apps. However, the lasso tool in GoodNotes has two extra advantages that we didn’t see in Notability: you can select several elements (such as images and text boxes, as opposed to only handwriting in Notability), and you’re able to screenshot your selection.
- Scrolling
For many people, the scrolling feature can be a deal-breaker, which is understandable. In contrast to GoodNotes 5, Notability provides continuous or seamless scrolling. On reaching the bottom of the page you’re writing on, Notability automatically adds a new page as another intelligent feature. For this reason alone, Notability wins this round for sure.
- Compatibility
Notability and GoodNotes 5 both let you export documents as PDF or picture files. Still, Notability additionally enables you to save RTF and Note format files. You can export from GoodNotes in a specific GoodNote format as well. However, this is incompatible with other note-taking programs.
You can rapidly switch between the iOS and macOS versions of Notability and GoodNotes 5, continuing to work on your notes or fast accessing a message when necessary.
- Security and Setting Options
These apps’ settings offer extensive customizability and are suitable for the typical user. You may also back up your work via the apps to services like iCloud, Google Drive, and other third parties. You can view your files if you have the apps downloaded on your iPhone and Mac.
Regarding security, Notability allows you to password-protect your papers, but GoodNotes 5 does not. This enables you to use Face/Touch ID to unlock the app or particular folders.
- Plus Features
Both apps have some additional features that you’ll find only here. Notability with its audio recording feature has formed a solid user base, while GoodNotes allowing users to personalize each page, continues to attract more users.
- Price
A Notability subscription costs $15 per year, but if you’re a student, you can obtain it for nothing! You can download Notability for free, try it, and decide whether you want to pay for premium features. And trust me, you will desire the premium features because they allow Notability to reach its full potential. The Notability website page that best explains it is located here.
Users of GoodNotes 5 pay a one-time price of $8.99, which accounts for the app’s popularity among students.
Conclusion – GoodNotes vs Notability
With this, I’ll end the GoodNotes vs. Notability Comparison, hoping you could make the right choice for yourself.
Both apps offer you some exceptionally great features, but in the end, it all depends upon your needs and what you need to use them for.
Ben Scott is a prominent technology journalist and reviewer, specializing in tablet devices. He is known for his comprehensive and unbiased reviews of tablets from various manufacturers.
With a deep understanding of tablet technology, including hardware components, operating systems, and software applications, Scott provides clear and informative reviews accessible to readers of all levels of technical expertise.
His attention to detail and in-depth analysis have earned him a loyal following of readers.