CollaNote vs Goodnotes

CollaNote

• Students handwriting notes on an iPad with Apple Pencil
• Marking up lecture slides and PDFs while recording audio
• Keeping planners and flashcards in the same app as notes

Goodnotes

• Handwritten notes on an iPad with Apple Pencil
• Marking up PDFs such as contracts, reports and lecture slides
• Students who want audio synced to their lecture notes
• K-12 schools using iPads, where Goodnotes Education is free

CollaNote

• Apple devices only: the listing covers iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision and Macs with an Apple M1 chip or later.
• Neither the site nor the App Store listing itemizes which features need Lifetime Premium.
• The App Store shows four Premium prices from $6.95 to $13.90 without saying who qualifies for each.
• Collaboration requires a login tied to an email address or phone number; other use needs no account.

Goodnotes

• The Free plan stops at 3 files in total, 100 MB of storage and 20 minutes of audio recording, and its exports carry a watermark.
• Keeping one library in sync between Apple and non-Apple devices needs Goodnotes Cloud, which is included only from Pro.
• Goodnotes says the Android, Windows and web versions do not offer the full range of features available on iPad.
• Essential, Pro and Teams are priced per year, and AI Pass is a separate $9.99 per month add-on for more AI credits.

CollaNote

Handwriting with Apple Pencil

The site lists 50+ pens and brushes with Apple Pencil support, along with shape and diagram recognition that tidies what you draw.

PDF, slide and document markup

Imports PDFs, PowerPoint slides and Word documents to write, highlight and sketch on, leaving the original file unchanged.

Audio recording synced to notes

Records audio while you write. Tapping a word afterwards jumps playback to the moment it was written, and AI turns the recording into a transcript.

Translation and calculator

Translates a selected phrase into 90+ languages with audio pronunciation, and turns handwritten equations into step-by-step solutions.

Planners and flashcards

Hyperlinked digital planners, habit trackers and to-do lists sit in the same document as notes, and flashcard decks can be made, pinned and shared.

Collaboration and community

Real-time collaboration works after logging in, and Public Rooms and a community library let users share notes and flashcards with others.

Goodnotes

Handwritten notebooks

Notebooks mix handwriting, typed text, images and stickers on customizable paper templates. Handwriting stays searchable and can be converted to text.

PDF annotation

Imported PDFs are highlighted and marked up by hand, searched alongside notes, and keep their table of contents for navigating long documents.

Whiteboards and text documents

An infinite-canvas whiteboard for diagrams and mind maps and typed text documents with inline blocks sit in the same library as notebooks.

Audio recording and meeting notes

Audio is recorded in sync with what you write. On Pro, Goodnotes AI for Meetings transcribes and summarizes discussions and links notes to calendar events.

Goodnotes AI

An in-app assistant answers questions from handwriting, typed text and PDFs, with citations back to the source page. AI credits vary by plan; AI Pass adds about 12 times more.

Sharing and real-time collaboration

Every plan can share documents by link. Essential can join real-time collaborative documents, and Pro can host them and share by private link.

CollaNote

• CollaNote$0

  Free download for iPad, iPhone and Apple silicon Macs, usable without an account. Its limits are not spelled out.

• Lifetime Premium$13.90

  one-time purchase

  One-time in-app purchase on the US App Store, which also lists a $9.69 Welcome Offer and $6.95 sale and loyal-user versions.

Goodnotes

• Free$0

  Up to 3 files, 100 MB of storage, 20 minutes of audio recording, limited sharing and limited Goodnotes AI usage.

• Essential$11.99

  per year

  Unlimited files and audio recording, 5 GB of storage, exports without a watermark, basic Goodnotes AI and Google Calendar integration.

• Pro$35.99

  per year

  Adds cross-platform library sync, private link sharing, hosting real-time collaboration, Drive integration and advanced AI including meeting notes.

• Special Edition$35.99

  one-time purchase, Apple devices only (US App Store)

  Unlimited note-taking on Apple devices without a subscription. Limited Goodnotes AI and not eligible for Goodnotes Cloud.

• Teams$120

  per seat / year

  Everything in Pro, plus SAML SSO, domain control, consolidated billing and user and admin management.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For 25 seats and above: AI permissions, the Microsoft Intune App SDK, dedicated account support and custom contracts.

CollaNote

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime Premium as a one-time purchase

  Premium is sold as a one-time in-app purchase, listed at $13.90 on the US App Store alongside a $9.69 Lifetime Premium Welcome Offer.

Goodnotes

• Education

  Goodnotes Education is free for K-12 schools

  K-12 schools get Goodnotes Education at no cost, with no trial period, including its classroom tools for teachers and students. It currently works only on Apple devices.

• Lifetime license

  Special Edition one-time purchase on Apple devices

  Special Edition unlocks unlimited note-taking on Apple devices without a subscription and is listed at $35.99 on the US App Store. Availability varies by region.