How do you take notes? You can write notes on the back of envelopes, receipts, and important bills. You can scribble them down in notebooks.
Or you can take things into the 21st century and use a note-writing app like Ulysses or Google Keep.
Whatever you decide to use, there are note-taking apps to suit all tastes formats. Here’s everything you need to know to determine which apps are for you and which ones are not worth bothering with.
Functionality
There are certainly many apps to consider, but there are some strict criteria for what makes a great note-taking app.
You must be able to import images as well as text. You want graphics tablet and stylus support – for example with the Apple Pencil.
Second, note-taking apps should be quick and easy to use. You want to be able to whip out your laptop on the go and make a quick note if you need to.
1. Evernote
It is impossible to talk about notes without mentioning Evernote, so it’s no surprise to see it on this list.
It is one of the most powerful options out there and can handle almost any music format you could wish for. Did you know Evernote now even integrates with Slack?
This means it can make your working day even more productive and allow you to add your colleagues to notes.
You can add text notes, audio clips, images, PDF documents, scans, handwritten pages, casual conversations, emails, web pages, and pretty much everything else you can think of.
If you’re the type of person who writes the outline of a bestseller on a napkin, then Evernote is great for you. You can start by dumping information and then organize it later.
Create a new note, click it, enter the type you want to add (there is support for note types at the bottom of the screen), and then you can add a tag.
Photos and Evernote
When you add a photo of your favorite pancake recipe, for example, you can browse it as if it were the text of a note you entered yourself.
It is similar to PDF and other documents you upload, but if you have a premium Evernote subscription, you can search for everything in the app.
When you upload a photo, a page of the newspaper, a business card, a menu, or signed text, Evernotes processes it to make it readable. It processes the text, and it makes it searchable.
This feature even works with handwritten notes, but there is one big caveat: Your font must be clean enough for a computer to read it.
The Evernote app is for you if you are looking for the ultimate notebook and don’t mind a monthly subscription.
Of course, the free version is still great. Just remember that if you use the free version, the app is available on only two devices. Plus, you can’t store notes offline, and there’s no mobile access.
2. OneNote
Microsoft’s OneNote is part of the Office 360 suite. It’s a free, full-featured note-taking app, and it’s a great alternative to test some code on before moving onto Wine.
Together, Wine and OneNote are great alternatives to Notepad Mac, which isn’t supported on Apple devices.
Of course, there are other differences. One of the biggest is that OneNote allows you to drag and drop pictures and add text and files.
If your computer supports the stylus, you can scrawl mustache photos using an Apple Pencil and Sidecar as you can with other note-taking software.
Notebooks on OneNote look like ring binder notebooks that are divided into sections. Each subsection is called a page. Each page is the canvas on which you can add any type of note.
It feels like a solution designed specifically for students taking long, intense notes, or for people looking for a digital notebook to collect small bits of random facts.
The ribbon at the top of the app has tabs that contain basic formatting tools. These include Paste, which allows you to attach files, images, and audio recordings. You also have Draw, which gives you free drawing and highlight tools.
Finally, View allows you to navigate through documents and change how things look so that you can potentially print your notes or display them on the big screen.
3. Notion
Notion is the ultimate personal wiki. It allows you to organize your life into different sections, import notes from the books you read on Kindle using the Readwise App. And it’s perfect for taking notes.
You can easily organize notes and even export them as PDFs or web pages so that anyone with the link can easily find them.
The best part about Notion is that, unlike Evernote, it’s free for a single-user version. You can create databases, import documents, and even add hyperlinks, making it one of the best free note-taking apps on the market.
There is a premium version for use across teams if you have a business or frequently collaborate with co-workers.
Note Taking Apps Can Change Your Life
Evernote, OneNote, and Notion are the front-runners in the notes category. If you’re already entrenched in the Apple ecosystem, you probably don’t mind paying a little bit extra to get the functionality and syncing you need to make your digital life work.
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