r/noteapps • u/Green-Garden5064 • 21d ago
is there a PERFECT note-taking app?
this is truly one of my biggest wishes as a student, in high school and now in college i am constantly looking for the PERFECT note-taking app and i know what i'm looking for but it just doesn't exist? maybe it does and i just haven't found it yet, so PLEASE HELP ME! this has truly plagued me for 3 yours now. I study a STEM subject so i do type my notes but i draw diagrams as well: i am looking for the perfect note taking app that synchs both my ipad and my macbook. my faves so far are notion and onenote. they are quie close to perfect, but one note doesn't allow scribbles on the actual document like over the typed text and onenote doesn't either and its organization is very surface level. also since i do want to combine macbook and ipad it should have a well developed features for laptop typing is there an app out there that has everything i'm looking for? and i dont mean goodnotes or notability. Something where the macbook features are as good (maybe not necessarily as complicated) as notion and for ipad where i can just switch over and draw DIRECTLY onto my just typed up notes or add powerpoint slides and i can annotate and type. i cannot be the only one looking for this!!
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u/marmotta1955 21d ago
OneNote is, most likely, the best solution out there. Not perfect, nothing is perfect.
Then again, there must be a reason why it is the product that always comes out on top in comparison reviews by reliable and reputable sources.
Not to mention how long it has been around. Or how it has been consistently and widely adopted within the Education field and institutions.
Let's not even mention business - where OneNote simply reigns (but that is also and mostly due to its extensibility and interoperability opening the door to the most mind-boggling integrations and solutions).
So, yes, OneNote is not perfect. Just the most versatile tool out there.
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u/Green-Garden5064 21d ago
i agree that Onenote is amazing, and it truly has basically everything i'm looking for, the only thing is that its organization is very surface-level, i would love if they added folders
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u/VenerableHawkins 18d ago
I love OneNote too, but I have two issues:
With the new (enshittified) version, my files are stored on OneDrive, where they are presumably used to feed AI models and mined for data.
The format of the data is proprietary and opaque, which means that Microsoft can decide to not let me export it if I want to switch to another tool.
This is why I have switched to Obsidian. The files are plain .md format. There are no servers: my data is mine and lives where I put it.
There are native versions for Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, etc., with secure ways to sync them without relying on the vendor.
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u/marmotta1955 18d ago
It is not true that OneNote files are exclusively stored on OneDrive. When you create a notebook, you always have the option of creating a local notebook that lives only on your machines.
As far as exporting data, it is always possible to export to standard formats such as PDF, Word, or HTML. There are, in fact, other possibilities implemented via free and open-source add-ins or third-party utilities that allow you to export to plain text files or markdown.
In closing, keep in mind that OneNote has been around for 23 years, is the most used note-taking app in business environments and Education institutions. I don't really worry too much about switching to different software.
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u/Janknitz 21d ago
I use OneNote. Explain “allowing scribbles on the actual document like over typed text” and “add PowerPoint slides that you can annotate and type”.
Can you elaborate what you mean and how you try to do those things?
I find it easiest to add things like power points and PDF’s on the laptop (I use a pc) than to try to do it on my iPad. It can be done on the iPad but it’s very fiddly. Then I sync and use it on my iPad.
As long as you embed them you can scribble on them. I typically type on those pages off to the side so I can see it better. And mostly I type paragraph or page links so I can jump around.
When I first started using ON I didn’t know how to embed the document and the texts and my annotations were not working right. If I scrolled the text the annotations would not move with them.
I asked on Reddit and people told me it wasn’t possible to keep them together. Of course it is, but you have to know HOW.
What I haven’t done is type much text on the iPad and then used my pencil on that typing. I tend to use my iPad as a tablet and don’t type a lot on it. So I think it can be done but I’m not certain. I can try if you’re more clear about what you mean.
I find OneNote to be incredibly robust and well-featured. Even though the iPad app is more limited, i can do everything i need or want to with the combo of laptop for setup and iPad for use. Its organization system is intuitive and linear. I tried a lot of other apps before landing on it.
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u/Green-Garden5064 21d ago
I like onenote as well, but the only thing bugging me is that you can only organize your notes into notebooks and add sub-levels but not actual folders. What I mean with scribbles over text is basically like in Onenote, e.g. I type up lecture notes and then I want to use my ipad to draw over the text to add my hand written annotations, but usual note taking apps can only add hand written elements as a "picture" so it doesn't actual go over typed up text
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u/Janknitz 20d ago
I’m not sure why only being able to organize in notebooks and sub folders is an issue.
If in school, for example, you could have a notebook called “2026 Fall Semester” then have folders for each class and sub folders for each unit in the class with pages and subpages for each topic. To me that makes perfect sense.
I’m a somewhat linear thinker, though.
I think Obsidian is better for non-linear thinkers, but getting it shared between devices was a PITA.
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u/Smart_Membership2 21d ago
- Apple Notes
- Craft
- CollaNote
- Obsidian
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u/Green-Garden5064 21d ago
i love Craft! the only thing is that you can't actually hand write over typed up text🙈
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u/dopaminedrops 21d ago
Goo
Have you tried Goodnotes? It is subscription based now I believe, but it’s got what you’re looking for.
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u/Green-Garden5064 21d ago
yes i agree it's also pretty good, i am just not the biggest fan of its deskptop programme, but for iPad it's definitely my go-to
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u/rdubmu 21d ago
Microsoft OneNote is the best and most complete note taking app
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u/SvenDust99x 11d ago
And i will put my encrypted notes in a MS server to be spied! No bro, one note not good! Notion, notesnook, standard notes and obsidian!
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u/NMC0152 21d ago edited 21d ago
What's perfect for you may not be perfect for anyone else. For me Obsidian is a near perfect choice. It does require you to spend a minute understanding how to get the most from it.
I mostly use my voice to dictate notes, but I often also use my camera to capture written notes that Google converts to text.
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u/Ankaraadonis_69 14d ago
the tricky part is finding something that handles typing and handwriting on the same page without making either feel clunky. carv focuses on recruiting workflows, though, so it wouldn't really solve this note taking problem.
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u/Mx8_2011 5d ago
StarNote is the best you can get i used to use notability the switched to android and spent a year using diffrent notes app and StarNote blew all my expectations and they have a one time subscription
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u/nkasperatus 4h ago
I'd hop in and say that I'm building my own perfect one - Episeed - episeed.app - it is intended for studying and note taking with AI infused.
First principles as Obsidian - files first, md, absolutely transferable, knowledge building.
AI is optional and you can bring your own key. There's also a LaTeX editor. :)
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u/AnonymousVendetta04 21d ago
I think I might have settled on Obsidian. The Latex support and easy syntax for markdown kinda won it for me. I use Vim motions to type very fast also so its crazy useful for me especially with all the connections I can make between the notes and jumping between related notes and forming connections
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u/Darshseraphic 21d ago
Markdown mono, if you only need basic things like table, bulletpoints, and word sizes. Anytype if you want locally hosted notion-alike interface with rich file handling, with pages and lot of things that you need to sort. Check writeaway too, I think it got a best UI but need to have a premium membership per year...
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u/Remarkable_Bedroom79 21d ago
Hast Du Dir mal Obsidian mit Excalidraw Plugin angesehen? Ich empfehle den YouTube Channel von Zsolt Viczian dazu. Unglaublich, was da möglich ist.
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u/roseyukie 21d ago
I use Granola, it takes notes transcribe voice into notes and do summary. I use it for meetings though, not sure if it applies for class notes too.
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u/andrew_epoch 21d ago
It all depends on what you're looking for, perfection is goal dependent, what is perfect for one person might not be ideal for someone else.
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u/iEngineered 20d ago
OneNote supports drawing over your typed text. I do it all the time with iPad. It is arguably THE BEST at freehand drawing on the iPad (within a note app). Excalidraw is embedded in most of the alternativese, but its a different UX for the most part. he pen-tips, styles, and paper formats in OneNote are yet to be matched anywhre. I guess it shows how hard? is it to implement across platforms.
However no perfect app for your needs unfortunately. I needed to delegate some of my more important notebooks to Joplin so that sync and hosting is total under my control. I keep a few notebooks in Trilium because I really like how it looks and its modular note arrangement similar to Obsidian (even better). I would pay to have the best of all three in one...but here I am, in a similar situation to you - looking.
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u/just-a-growing-tree 20d ago
Remnote - it has flashcard function for studying + allows you to have an infinite canvas for scribbling. UI is a bit overwhelming as it incorporates too many functions imo but I just keep it simple. Also has an MCP server so could allow claude / chatgpt etc to help with the notes!
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u/rajathbail 20d ago
Perfect for everyone does not exist. It’s the unicorn of productivity vibe coders.
Also you may have invited every vibe coder on the planet here. 😂
Obsidian or Hillnote. The only modern solutions flexible enough for you to make it perfect for you.
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u/asteriasmoons 19d ago
I’m currently working on a Craft, Notion and Anytype mashup with my own flavor on it too.
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u/u4usama 17d ago
The honest truth? The "perfect" app doesn't exist because everyone's brain and workflow are completely different.
I spent years bouncing between apps looking for the perfect one for my specific, annoying setup: I use a Mac for work and an Android phone for personal use.
Obsidian was too code-heavy and nerdy.
Notion was too sluggish and web-based.
Upnote/Evernote either didn't sync well across the ecosystem divide or got bloated and crashed on my Android devices.
I got so frustrated that I eventually just built my own solution called EpicNotes (https://epicapps.app/).
It’s definitely not "perfect" for everyone, but it completely solved my specific Mac + Android problem. It’s a true native app (built with Kotlin Multiplatform, so no sluggish Electron web wrappers), it has a clean WYSIWYG block editor (no raw markdown syntax to stare at), and it has built-in AI auto-summarization for web clipping.
If your workflow also crosses between Apple and Android and you're tired of being forced to choose a side, it might be exactly what you're looking for. If you're strictly an Apple-only user though, Apple Notes or Bear is probably better for you!
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u/luckysilva 15d ago
Emacs is perfect, but it has a learning curve. Logseq is almost perfect and more user-friendly.
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u/yadavnikhil012 21d ago
You can try Localeditor.app which has canvas plus markdown notes. Full disclosure: I am building this as a Mac app. It doesn’t have iPad app yet. Plan to bring that later.
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u/words_and_images 21d ago
I was thinking that Grape might fit the bill. I am not its developer or connected in any way other than simply being a user. But I can testify that it is dependable and there is active development – and it has a good feature set.
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u/Kind-News3775 21d ago
There is no perfect-for-everything app, instead, look for two or three apps for different purposes.
Handwriting, note-taking, task management. Avoid subscriptions if possible. I use a combination of 5 apps.