The Best Note-Taking Apps for Students in 2026
Students need more than a place to type. You need to capture lectures, study what you wrote, and keep track of what's due. Here's how the popular note apps stack up for school.
Checked against each app’s own website in September 2026.
Quick picks
- Best all-in-one for students
Strawberry Notes
Handwritten notes, flashcards with FSRS, tasks, and AI study tools in one simple, private app.
Get Strawberry Notes - Best for planning and group projects
Notion
Docs, databases, and real-time teamwork, free for students.
Strawberry Notes vs Notion - Best for linked typed notes
Obsidian
Free, plain files you own, with backlinks and a graph view.
Strawberry Notes vs Obsidian - Best free on every device
OneNote
Free notebooks on Windows, Mac, iPad, Android, and the web.
Strawberry Notes vs OneNote - Best for saving everything
Evernote
Web clips, scans, and recordings, with great search.
Strawberry Notes vs Evernote - Best for iCanStudy mind maps
Ahmni
One big infinite canvas, built for that method.
Strawberry Notes vs Ahmni
All of them, side by side
Scroll sideways to see every app.
| Feature | Strawberry Notes | Notion | Obsidian | OneNote | Evernote | Ahmni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 a year (7 days free), $4.99 a month, or $39.99 once | Free for personal use. Plus is $12 a month or $120 a year, free for students | Free. Sync is $5 a month, or $4 a month billed yearly | Free with 5 GB. Microsoft 365 is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for Copilot and 1 TB | Free for 50 notes on 1 device. Starter $14.99 a month or $99 a year, Advanced $24.99 a month or $249.99 a year | Free basics. Pro is $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year |
| Works on | iPad and iPhone. Android, Windows, and Mac coming soon | Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, and web | Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android | Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and web | Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, and web | iPad only |
| Handwriting | Yes:Smooth, realistic-looking ink with pens, pencil, highlighter, study tape, and shape recognition | No:No | Partly:Only with the community Excalidraw plugin | Yes:Pens, highlighters, and shape recognition | Partly:Only when marking up PDFs and images | Yes:Apple Pencil, with Pencil Pro gestures |
| Typed notes | Yes:Text boxes mixed in with your handwriting. Full typed docs coming soon | Yes:Its specialty | Yes:Its specialty, in Markdown | Yes:Rich text, tables, and page templates | Yes:Yes | Partly:Very limited. It's built for handwriting |
| Flashcards | Yes:Built in, with FSRS spaced repetition, image occlusion, and Anki import | No:Not built in. Templates and third-party tools only | Partly:Only with community plugins | Partly:Copilot study guides can make flashcards, but no spaced repetition | No:No | Partly:No flashcards. A Revision Board for planning review sessions |
| AI study tools | Yes:Chat, summaries, study guides, games, and quizzes with matching, fill-in-the-blank, and ordering questions. Free starter credits, then pay only for what you use | Partly:Only a trial on Free and Plus. Full AI needs Business ($24 a month) | Partly:Only through community plugins | Yes:Copilot summaries, to-do lists, and chat on Microsoft 365 plans | Yes:Chat with your notes, smart search, and transcription | Partly:Pro only: an experimental AI chat and keyword extraction |
| Tasks | Yes:Tasks and reminders for every class, with a calendar coming soon | Yes:Task databases, plus Notion Calendar | Partly:Checkboxes, plus community plugins | Partly:To-do tags and checklists | Yes:Tasks and a calendar, even on the free plan | Partly:A Revision Board and goal cycles, but no task list |
| Organize and link | Yes:Subjects, folders, subnotes, tags, links, backlinks, and Sky View, a map of your notes | Yes:Links, backlinks, and nested pages. No map view | Yes:Its specialty: links, backlinks, and a graph view | Partly:Links to pages and sections. Subpages two levels deep. No map | Yes:Notebooks, tags, links, and backlinks. No map view | Yes:Links to other canvases and bookmarks (Pro). No subnotes or map |
| Works offline | Yes:Yes. Everything saves on your device first, then syncs to your other devices through iCloud | Partly:Only pages you save for offline, in the apps | Yes:Fully offline | Yes:Works offline, then syncs to OneDrive | Partly:On desktop, or notebooks you download on mobile | Yes:Yes |
| Where your notes live | Yes:Your device, plus your own iCloud if you want it. Back up your whole library as one file anytime. We can't read your notes | Notion's servers. AI uses partners like OpenAI and Anthropic | Yes:Your device, as plain files. Sync is optional | Microsoft's OneDrive. Only Windows can keep notebooks on the device | Evernote's servers. AI uses OpenAI | Your iPad only. There's no sync between devices |
| Share and work together | Partly:Publish a note, or export it as a .sbnote file, to share it. Live editing isn't here yet | Yes:Its specialty | Partly:Shared vaults with Sync, but no live editing | Yes:Live co-editing | Share notes and notebooks | No:No |
App by app
1. Strawberry Notes
The all-in-one study app for iPad and iPhone.
- You want notes, flashcards, and tasks in one simple app, with docs and a calendar coming soon
- You write by hand on infinite pages with infinite zoom
- You want to link your notes and see them all on a map
- You want flashcards scheduled with FSRS, plus image occlusion and Anki import
- You want to use AI and only pay for what you use
- You want your notes private, on your device and your own iCloud
2. Notion
The workspace for typed docs, wikis, and databases. Great for planning, not for handwriting.
- You mostly type, and want docs, tables, and databases
- You plan projects or work with a team
- You need Windows, Mac, Android, or the web right now
- You're a student and want Plus free with your school email
3. Obsidian
Free linked notes stored as plain files you own, with plugins for everything.
- You type your notes and want plain files you own forever
- You like tinkering with plugins and themes
- You need Linux, or Windows or Mac right now
- You want it free
4. OneNote
Microsoft's free notebook app, on every device, with Copilot on paid plans.
- You need Windows, Android, or the web right now
- Your school uses Microsoft 365 or Class Notebooks
- You want to write on notes with classmates, live
- You want it free
5. Evernote
The classic place to save everything: web clips, scans, recordings, and notes.
- You want to search text inside scans and attachments today
- You record meetings and want transcripts
- You want tasks and a calendar that sync with Google or Outlook today
- You need Windows, Mac, Android, or the web right now
6. Ahmni
An iPad infinite canvas for mind maps, made for the iCanStudy method.
- You follow iCanStudy and want an app built for it
- You want focus tools like Pomodoro timers and goal cycles
- You mostly make mind maps and don't need flashcards
Questions people ask
For studying on an iPad or iPhone, Strawberry Notes puts handwritten notes, flashcards with spaced repetition, tasks, and AI study tools in one app. Notion is great for planning and group projects, Obsidian for linked typed notes, OneNote if you need every device for free, and Evernote for saving everything.
Of these apps, only Strawberry Notes has flashcards with spaced repetition built in, including image occlusion cards and Anki import. Obsidian can add them with community plugins, and OneNote's Copilot study guides can generate flashcards without scheduling reviews.
Not really. Notion has no pen or canvas, and Obsidian needs the community Excalidraw plugin to draw. Strawberry Notes and Ahmni are built for Apple Pencil, and OneNote supports it too.
More roundups
- Best Handwriting Apps for iPad
- Best Flashcard and Spaced Repetition Apps
- Best AI Study Apps for Students
- All one-on-one comparisons
Every app here is a trademark of its maker, and Strawberry Notes isn't affiliated with any of them. Prices are in US dollars and can change, so check before you buy. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.