Apple Notes vs Microsoft OneNote

Apple Notes

• People who use only Apple devices
• Quick capture with Quick Note, Siri or dictation on Apple Watch
• Scanning receipts and documents into searchable notes
• Families and friends sharing notes and folders over iCloud

Microsoft OneNote

• People who already have a Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 subscription
• Handwritten notes and sketches with a pen or stylus
• Teachers and students working in Class Notebooks
• Free note-taking across Windows, Mac, phones and the web

Apple Notes

• Apps are listed only for Apple devices; on anything else, notes are reached in a web browser at iCloud.com.
• Notes on iCloud.com works only with notes stored in iCloud, not with notes kept in other accounts such as Google or Yahoo.
• Sync relies on iCloud, which includes 5 GB of free storage; iCloud+ plans with more storage start at $0.99 per month for 50 GB.
• Sharing is limited to people who use iCloud, and Apple says certain features are available only in select languages and regions.

Microsoft OneNote

• A free Microsoft account stops at 5 GB of cloud storage, shared with OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments.
• Only the Windows desktop app can keep notebooks on a local hard drive; the other versions work with cloud notebooks.
• Microsoft 365 AI features are limited to the subscription owner, with usage limits, even on the Family plan.
• Microsoft lists apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android but none for Linux, where OneNote is browser-only.

Apple Notes

Rich notes

A note can combine text styles, checklists, tables, photos, PDFs, maps and web links. Section headers collapse to hide the text under them.

Audio recording and transcripts

Audio sessions are recorded inside a note with a live transcript, and transcripts are searchable to find a particular moment.

Document scanner and handwriting

A built-in scanner captures paper documents. Sketches and handwriting are added with a finger, or with Apple Pencil on a compatible iPad, including on inline PDFs.

Folders, tags and Smart Folders

Notes sit in folders and subfolders or carry typed or handwritten tags. Smart Folders collect notes by rules such as date created, checklists or attachments.

Search and links between notes

Search covers typed text, handwriting and the text inside scanned documents and photos. Notes can link to one another, with >> as a typing shortcut.

Shared and locked notes

Notes and folders can be shared with other iCloud users, with changes shown in real time and an Activity view. A note can be locked with the device passcode or a custom password.

Microsoft OneNote

Typed, handwritten and scanned notes

Pages hold typed text, digital ink from a pen or stylus, pictures and videos. The mobile app also scans documents and extracts their text.

Voice transcription and dictation

Voice transcription captures spoken notes for later review, and the iPhone and iPad app takes dictation in 27 languages, some of them in preview.

Copilot in OneNote

Copilot responds to prompts to draft plans, generate ideas, create lists and organize information. Microsoft 365 plans include the desktop apps with Copilot, subject to usage limits.

Sharing and collaboration

Notebooks are cloud-connected, so they can be shared with other people and opened on a PC, a Mac, a phone, a tablet or in a browser.

Web Clipper

A free browser add-on for Edge and Chrome captures web content into a notebook, where it can be edited, annotated and shared.

Class and Staff Notebooks

Class Notebook gives each student a personal workspace, a content library for handouts and a collaboration space. Staff Notebook does the same for school teams.

Apple Notes

• Free$0

  Every feature of the app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, plus browser access at iCloud.com.

Microsoft OneNote

• OneNote$0

  The standalone app on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, used with a free Microsoft account and its 5 GB of cloud storage.

• Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99

  per month, or $99.99 per year

  For 1 person: 1 TB of cloud storage and the OneNote, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook desktop apps with Copilot, on up to 5 devices at once.

• Microsoft 365 Family$12.99

  per month, or $129.99 per year

  For 1 to 6 people, with 1 TB of storage per person (up to 6 TB). AI features are for the subscription owner only.

• Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99

  per month, or $199.99 per year

  Everything in Family, plus extensive Copilot chat usage, agentic AI features for research and analytics, and more AI image creation.

Apple Notes

No public discounts listed.

Microsoft OneNote

• Annual discount

  About 17% lower cost with yearly billing

  Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 per year against $9.99 per month ($119.88 over twelve months). Family and Premium show the same gap between yearly and monthly prices.

• Education

  Free Office 365 Education for students and educators

  Microsoft's education site says students and educators with a valid school email address are eligible for Office 365 Education, which includes OneNote, at no cost.