Goodnotes vs MyScript 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

MyScript Notes

• Stylus users who want handwriting turned into typed text
• Students revising with AI summaries and quizzes
• Handwritten math, diagrams and PDF annotation

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.

MyScript Notes

• The free version limits notebooks to five pages each and leaves out cloud sync and AI features.
• It is sold only through the App Store and Google Play, and the vendor's own pricing page lists plan types without prices.
• On Windows the app is still Nebo: a separate Microsoft Store purchase that syncs with MyScript Notes but gets no new features.
• Family Sharing is not supported, because each user needs their own MyScript account.

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.

MyScript Notes

Handwriting recognition

Recognizes handwriting in 66 languages and converts it to typed text. Search covers handwritten content, text in diagrams and PDF annotations.

Pen gestures

Edit with the pen instead of menus: scratch out to erase, underline to emphasize, and add or remove space between lines.

Four note formats

Notebooks with fixed-size pages, documents that reflow with the screen, boards on an expandable canvas, and imported PDFs for annotation.

Math and diagrams

Solves simple handwritten calculations, copies math as LaTeX or an image, and turns hand-drawn diagrams into shapes that stay editable in PowerPoint.

Generative AI study tools

Summarize notes, explain a selected term, turn a note into a quiz or chat with an assistant. AI study sets are on iOS, with Android to follow.

Cloud sync and export

Paid plans sync through iCloud (iOS only), Google Drive or Dropbox with a free MyScript account. Notes export as PDF, PNG, SVG or Word.

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.

MyScript Notes

• Free$0

  A limited version with notebooks of up to five pages each and no cloud sync or AI features.

• Full Access$1.99 to $29.99

  monthly, yearly or lifetime; the listing does not say which is which

  The US App Store lists three Full Access purchases at $1.99, $7.99 and $29.99. Paid plans add AI features and cloud sync, on up to 10 devices.

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.

MyScript Notes

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime purchase instead of a subscription

  Next to the monthly and yearly subscriptions there is a one-time lifetime purchase with all future updates. One purchase covers up to 10 iOS and Android devices.