Goodnotes vs ZoomNotes
We give Goodnotes a 3.8 GPA and ZoomNotes a 3.2, out of 4.0. Goodnotes grades higher on ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Goodnotes
Handwritten notes, PDF markup and whiteboards with an AI assistant
ZoomNotes
Handwriting, sketching and PDF notes with a near-unlimited zoom range
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAGoodnotesExcellent | 3.2GPAZoomNotesVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AEssential is $11.99 a year and Pro is $35.99 a year. That's about $1 and $3 a month, in a category where paid plans typically start at $5.99 a month. On Apple devices there's also a one-time Special Edition at $35.99. | A$7.99 once on the US App Store for iPhone and iPad, and Family Sharing covers up to six people. Paid plans in this category typically start at $5.99 a month. The Mac app is bought separately, at $6.99 once. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree forever, but tight: 3 files in total, 100 MB of storage, 20 minutes of audio recording and a watermark on exports. Enough to see if you like the pen feel, not enough for a term of lectures. Essential and Pro have a 7-day trial. | BZoomNotes Lite is free with unlimited zoom, PDF and Office markup, split screen, layers and iCloud. But you get one felt-tip pen, and more pens, images, sound and handwriting recognition are in-app purchases. Lite is for iPhone and iPad only. |
| Features | AHandwritten notebooks you can search, PDF markup, an infinite whiteboard, typed documents and audio recorded in sync with what you write. An AI assistant answers from your handwriting and PDFs and cites the page. Several happy reviewers do call the typed text tool clunky. | AEight pens, handwriting you can search and turn into text, writing over PDFs and Office files, pages nested inside pages, layers, links between documents, planners that show your calendar, and sound recordings tied to the strokes you drew. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 460,000 App Store ratings. Writing by hand and still being able to search it is the thing reviewers keep naming. | B4.54 from about 900 App Store ratings, just under our line for an A. There's a lot in here to find your way around, and iCloud sync has to be switched on document by document. |
| Platforms and integrations | AiPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Windows and the web, with Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Calendar hooked in. Two catches: syncing one library between Apple and non-Apple devices needs Pro, and the non-iPad versions don't have every feature. | CiPad, iPhone and Mac only. No Android, Windows or web version is listed. It does connect to plenty: iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box and Evernote, plus Apple Calendar and Reminders. |
| Best for | handwritten notes and PDF markup on an iPad | handwriting and planners with endless zoom |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Goodnotes and ZoomNotes. How we grade
Where they differ
- Goodnotes starts at $11.99 per year (Essential). ZoomNotes starts at $7.99 one-time for iPhone and iPad; $6.99 one-time for Mac.
- Only Goodnotes lists a web app.
- Only Goodnotes lists Android and Windows apps.
- Goodnotes also covers transcription.
- ZoomNotes also covers templates.
At a glance
| Goodnotes | ZoomNotes | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $11.99 per year (Essential) | $7.99 one-time for iPhone and iPad; $6.99 one-time for Mac |
| Free plan | Free forever: up to 3 files in total across notebooks, whiteboards and text documents, 100 MB of storage, a 5 MB import limit, 20 minutes of audio recording and watermarked exports. | ZoomNotes Lite is free with one felt-tip pen, unlimited zoom, PDF and Office markup, split screen, digital planning, layers and iCloud support. Other features are in-app purchases. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on Essential and Pro; 30-day free trial on Teams. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Goodnotes Limited | Deliverance Software Ltd |
| Price read from | goodnotes.com | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
ZoomNotes
- iPad users who want fine zoom control for dense notes or sketches
- Building or annotating hyperlinked digital planners
- People who prefer a low one-time price to a subscription
Worth knowing
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.
ZoomNotes
- The iPhone and iPad app and the Mac app are separate purchases, at $7.99 and $6.99 on the US stores.
- ZoomNotes Lite has a single pen type; extra pens, sub-pages, images, sound, bookmarks and handwriting recognition are in-app purchases.
- It is offered for iPad, iPhone and Mac only; no Android, Windows or web version is listed.
- iCloud sync is elective: each document has to be set to share individually in its properties.
Key features
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.
ZoomNotes
- Unlimited zoom and whiteboard mode
- Pages zoom in and out without fixed limits, including rotated views, and a whiteboard page style gives an unbounded surface for mind maps, tree diagrams and flow diagrams.
- Eight pens and handwriting recognition
- Gel, nib, italic, pencil, watercolour and other pens with any line thickness. Handwritten notes can be searched by keyword and selected handwriting converted to text.
- PDF and Office annotation
- Write over PDFs and, via Google Drive, over Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. A second document can be opened side by side in split screen.
- Sub-pages, layers and links
- Pages can hold pages within them, including whole PDFs. Layers control what is visible, and links join pages and documents to build indexes or planners.
- Digital planners
- Create a planner for any year or import a PDF planner. Planner pages can show events and reminders from the Calendar and Reminders apps.
- Sound recording and presentations
- Recordings are linked to the strokes drawn while they were captured. Bookmarks animate through a document for AirPlay, an external screen or export to video.
Plans
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.
ZoomNotes
ZoomNotes Lite$0
One pen type, unlimited zoom, PDF markup, split screen, planners and layers. Other features cost $0.99 to $2.99 each, or $7.99 for all of them.
ZoomNotes Desktop$6.99
one-time purchase on the Mac App Store (US)
The Mac app, compatible with documents from the iPhone and iPad versions. Requires macOS 10.13 or later.
ZoomNotes$7.99
one-time purchase on the US App Store
The full iPhone and iPad app, equivalent to the Lite version with every in-app purchase. Family Sharing covers up to six family members.
Ways to pay less
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.
ZoomNotes
No public discounts listed.
