# Rnote

> Open-source app for sketching and handwritten notes with a stylus

Rnote is a free, open-source vector drawing app for sketching, taking handwritten notes and annotating documents and pictures. It is aimed at students, teachers and owners of a drawing tablet, with pressure-sensitive stylus input, PDF and image import, and page layouts that range from fixed pages to an infinite canvas. It installs from Flathub on Linux and also has macOS and Windows builds.

- **Category:** Note-Taking Apps
- **Made by:** Felix Zwettler
- **Website:** https://rnote.flxzt.net
- **Runs on:** Linux, macOS, Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 9, 2026

## Pricing

Rnote is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The whole app is free software under the GPL-3.0-or-later license. The project takes donations through GitHub Sponsors and Liberapay.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rnote | $0 | The full app as a Flatpak for Linux, an app bundle for macOS and an installer for Windows. |

Read from https://rnote.flxzt.net/ on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Rnote before buying.

## Key features

- **Stylus-focused input:** Pressure-sensitive stylus input with several configurable stroke styles, stylus button shortcuts that can be reassigned, and optional pen sounds.
- **Page and canvas layouts:** A document can use fixed pages, a continuous vertical layout or a canvas that is infinite in every direction, with custom background colors, patterns and page formats.
- **Shapes and selection tools:** A shape tool creates many kinds of shapes, and a selection tool moves, rotates, resizes and modifies content already on the page.
- **PDF and image import:** PDFs, bitmap images and SVGs can be brought in for annotation, with drag and drop and clipboard support.
- **Export to open formats:** Documents export to SVG, PDF and Xopp, and single pages or selections to SVG, PNG and JPEG. Files are saved in the native .rnote format, which a command-line tool can also handle.
- **Workspace browser and tabs:** A built-in workspace browser gives quick access to related files, and tabs keep several documents open at once. Autosave and printing are included.

## Good for

- Students and teachers who write by hand with a stylus or drawing tablet
- Annotating PDFs and pictures on a Linux desktop
- People who want a free, GPL-licensed handwriting app

## Worth knowing

- The site warns that the file format is still unstable and may break compatibility between versions.
- Installs are listed for Linux, macOS and Windows only; there is no phone or tablet app or web version.
- The macOS app bundle is packaged by a community contributor and downloaded from a separate GitLab project.

**Tags:** Open source, Notes

## Alternatives

- [Xournal++](https://toolgpa.com/tools/xournalpp): Open-source handwriting notes and PDF annotation for desktop. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/rnote-vs-xournalpp)
- [Saber](https://toolgpa.com/tools/saber): Open-source handwritten notes app for phones, tablets and PCs. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/rnote-vs-saber)
- [Linwood Butterfly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/linwood-butterfly): Open-source handwriting and sketching app with an infinite canvas. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/linwood-butterfly-vs-rnote)
- [Stylus Labs Write](https://toolgpa.com/tools/stylus-labs-write): Open-source handwriting word processor for desktop and mobile. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/rnote-vs-stylus-labs-write)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026:

- https://rnote.flxzt.net/
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/flxzt/rnote/main/README.md

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/rnote
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).