Goodnotes vs Inkflow

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

Inkflow

• Brainstorming and planning by hand on an iPad
• Sketching layouts and wireframes that need rearranging
• Classrooms, where the vendor offers volume pricing

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.

Inkflow

• It is available for iPad and iPhone only; the vendor lists no Android, Windows or web version.
• The free edition has black ink only, 5 fonts and a 20-page limit per book; color, extra tools and unlimited pages need Inkflow Plus.
• The user guide describes manual backup through iTunes File Sharing and does not mention syncing books between devices.
• The App Store listing notes that the free app contains advertising.

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.

Inkflow

Fountain-pen vector ink

Strokes are stored as vector ink modeled on a fountain pen, so writing stays sharp at any zoom level. It works with a finger or a stylus.

Select, move and resize

Anything on the page can be lassoed, dragged somewhere else or scaled up and down, so lists and sketches can be rearranged after they are written.

Text, photos and paper backgrounds

Text boxes and photos can be placed anywhere and resized along with the ink. Paper options are plain, grid, ruled lines and a music score.

Inkport

Part of Inkflow Plus: the device camera converts handwriting and sketches on paper into vector ink that can be moved and edited like anything drawn in the app.

Apple Pencil mode and palm rejection

With an Apple Pencil connected, a Pencil-only mode ignores marks from the palm and fingers while fingers still zoom and pan. Settings also offer palm rejection and a wrist guard.

Export and sharing

A book exports as a PDF and a page as a high-resolution JPEG, for email, printing or another app. Plus adds PNG export with a transparent background.

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.

Inkflow

• Inkflow$0

  The Basic edition: fountain pen in black ink, select, move and resize, full-resolution zoom, text, photos and paper backgrounds. Unlimited books, up to 20 pages each.

• Inkflow Plus$12.99

  one-time in-app purchase (US App Store)

  Adds Inkport, a full color palette, pencil and paint brush tools, cut, copy and paste for ink, page management, unlimited pages, all device fonts and custom paper.

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.

Inkflow

• Education

  50% off Inkflow Plus in packs of 20 or more

  Schools and businesses can buy Inkflow Plus at half price in packs of 20 or more through Apple's volume purchase program, using the standalone $12.99 Inkflow Plus app.