Microsoft OneNote vs Samsung Notes
We give Microsoft OneNote a 4.0 GPA and Samsung Notes a 3.4, out of 4.0. Microsoft OneNote 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.
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft's free digital notebook for typed, inked and audio notes
Samsung Notes
Samsung's free note app for Galaxy phones, tablets and Galaxy Book
How we grade them
| 4.0GPAMicrosoft OneNoteExcellent | 3.4GPASamsung NotesVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AOneNote itself costs nothing. The paid route is Microsoft 365 Personal at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and that's less a notes upgrade than 1 TB of storage plus Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook with Copilot. | AIt's free. The Microsoft Store lists the Windows app as a free download and Google Play shows no price. One small flag: Samsung says basic Galaxy AI features are free, while enhanced ones may carry fees. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree to download and use on every platform it supports. The limit is storage: a free Microsoft account has 5 GB, shared with your OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments. Most people could stay here. | AThe full app costs nothing on Galaxy phones, tablets and Galaxy Book PCs, with sync through Samsung Cloud included. You do need a Samsung account for sync and for locking a note. |
| Features | ATyped text, pen or stylus ink, pictures, videos and voice on one page. The phone app scans documents and pulls the text out, a free Web Clipper saves pages from Edge and Chrome, and notebooks can be shared. Copilot is in there too, on Microsoft 365 plans. | ATyped text, handwriting you can convert to text, PDFs you can write on, and recordings synced to the note, so playback follows what you wrote in the lecture. Folders, page templates, locked notes and export to PDF, Word or PowerPoint too. Up to 10 people can edit one note, though Samsung still labels that beta. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from over a million App Store ratings. Reviewers like the notebooks and sections for keeping lots of subjects in order. Sync is the grumble, with repeated complaints about notes that are slow to reach another device. | BNo rating on record, so a B is as high as we go. Sign in with a Samsung account and notes sync between your devices. On select Galaxy devices, Note Assist tidies the formatting and fixes the spelling for you. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, the web and a browser clipper, tied into OneDrive, SharePoint, Word and Excel. Linux gets the browser version only. | CGalaxy phones and tablets, plus a Windows app made for Galaxy Book PCs. Samsung says other Windows computers may have issues running it. No iPhone, Mac or web version is listed, and OneNote sync isn't available on devices running One UI 9. |
| Best for | free notebooks on every device | free notes and S Pen handwriting on a Galaxy |
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: Microsoft OneNote and Samsung Notes. How we grade
Where they differ
- Microsoft OneNote starts at $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal). Samsung Notes is free.
- Only Microsoft OneNote lists a web app.
- Only Microsoft OneNote lists macOS and iOS apps.
- Only Microsoft OneNote lists a browser extension.
- Microsoft OneNote also covers transcription, dictation and web clipper.
- Samsung Notes also covers templates.
At a glance
| Microsoft OneNote | Samsung Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year (Microsoft 365 Personal) | Free |
| Free plan | OneNote is free to download and use on every supported platform. A free Microsoft account includes 5 GB of cloud storage, shared with OneDrive files and Outlook.com attachments. | The Microsoft Store lists the Windows app as a free download and the Google Play listing shows no price. Samsung says basic Galaxy AI features are free, while enhanced AI features may carry fees. |
| Free trial | 1-month free trial of Microsoft 365. A credit card is required, and it converts to a paid subscription unless canceled. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Microsoft | Samsung Electronics |
| Price read from | microsoft.com | apps.microsoft.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Samsung Notes
- Galaxy phone and tablet owners, especially those with an S Pen
- Recording a lecture or meeting while taking notes
- Marking up PDFs by hand on a Galaxy tablet
Worth knowing
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.
Samsung Notes
- Samsung documents the app for Galaxy phones, tablets and Galaxy Book PCs; no iPhone, Mac or web version is listed.
- The Windows app is optimized for Galaxy Book models, and Samsung says other Windows computers may have issues running it.
- Syncing with Microsoft OneNote is not available on devices running One UI 9; notes sync through Samsung Cloud instead.
- Note Assist needs a supported Galaxy device, a Samsung account and an internet connection, and shared notes are still labeled beta.
Key features
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.
Samsung Notes
- S Pen handwriting
- Handwriting can be altered, moved and converted to text, using pens, fountain pens, pencils and highlighters in a range of colors and thicknesses.
- Voice recordings synced to notes
- A recording made while you type or write is synced to the note, so playback follows along with what you wrote during a lecture or meeting.
- PDF import and annotation
- PDFs can be imported, written on and annotated. Notes export as PDF, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, image or text files.
- Folders, page templates and locked notes
- Notes are organized into folders and subfolders, with page templates such as grids and lined paper. Individual notes can be locked, which requires a Samsung account.
- Shared notes
- Up to 10 people, including you, can edit the same note at the same time on Galaxy phones and tablets, invited from contacts or by link. Samsung labels the feature beta.
- Note Assist with Galaxy AI
- On select Galaxy phones and tablets running One UI 6.1 or later, Note Assist formats notes automatically, summarizes them, corrects spelling and translates them.
Plans
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.
Samsung Notes
Free$0
The full app on Galaxy phones and tablets and on Galaxy Book PCs, with sync through Samsung Cloud using a Samsung account.
Ways to pay less
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.
Samsung Notes
No public discounts listed.
