Goodnotes reviews
Goodnotes's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 459,990 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 7, 2026.
The rating, and what people say
4.7
out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app
- 5 stars87%
- 4 stars7%
- 3 stars2%
- 2 stars1%
- 1 star4%
459,990 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 7, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing
Often praised
- Writing notes by hand on an iPad and still being able to search them is the combination reviewers and commenters keep naming. App Store reviews · Hacker News 1, 2
- Importing PDFs and writing straight onto them with the Pencil is a use that reviewers and commenters describe again and again. App Store reviews · Hacker News 1, 2
Often criticised
- A reviewer and two commenters are uneasy about how far their notes depend on the app, from files that cannot be edited elsewhere to fear of losing notes kept in an older version. App Store reviews · Hacker News 1, 2
- Typed text is the weak spot for several otherwise happy reviewers, who describe the text tool as clunky, limited in formatting or prone to glitches. App Store reviews
Based on 10 App Store reviews, all four or five stars and seven of them more than three years old, and about 14 Hacker News comments from October 2024 to August 2026, read Oct 7, 2026. These are themes summarised in our words, not our own verdict. Follow the links to read what was said.
Check for yourself
- App Store listingEvery rating and review, at the source
- G2Reviews from people who use it at work
- RedditThreads where people discuss it
- Hacker NewsDiscussions among developers
These open each site’s own pages. Nothing on this page is copied from G2 or Reddit.
What Goodnotes's own pages show
Suits
- 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
Limits worth knowing
- 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.
Read from the vendor’s pages, not from reviews. The tool page lists them.
Common questions
How is Goodnotes rated?
Goodnotes's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 459,990 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 7, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA.
What do people like about Goodnotes?
Themes that come up often in the reviews and discussions read. Writing notes by hand on an iPad and still being able to search them is the combination reviewers and commenters keep naming. Importing PDFs and writing straight onto them with the Pencil is a use that reviewers and commenters describe again and again.
What do people complain about with Goodnotes?
Complaints that come up often in the reviews and discussions read. A reviewer and two commenters are uneasy about how far their notes depend on the app, from files that cannot be edited elsewhere to fear of losing notes kept in an older version. Typed text is the weak spot for several otherwise happy reviewers, who describe the text tool as clunky, limited in formatting or prone to glitches.
Are these ToolGPA's own reviews of Goodnotes?
No. ToolGPA does not review or score tools. Any rating shown is the store's, and any praise or complaint listed is a theme from public reviews and discussions, summarised in our words with a link to where it was said.
Where can I read more reviews of Goodnotes?
This page links to Goodnotes's App Store listing where it has one, and to searches for it on G2, Reddit and Hacker News, so you can read what people wrote in full.