Strawberry Notes vs OneNote
OneNote is Microsoft's free notebook app, organized into notebooks, sections, and pages, with typing, ink, and Copilot on Microsoft 365 plans. Strawberry Notes is built for studying on iPad and iPhone: handwriting on infinite pages, flashcards that schedule themselves, and a map of how your notes connect.
Go with OneNote if…
- 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
Go with Strawberry Notes if…
- You want flashcards with spaced repetition and image occlusion built in
- You want an infinite notebook and whiteboard with infinite zoom
- You want to nest subnotes as deep as you like and see them on a map
- You want notes, flashcards, and tasks in one simple app, with docs and a calendar coming soon
- You want your notes on your device, not only in the cloud
Side by side
Checked against OneNote’s own website in September 2026.
| Feature | Strawberry Notes | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Works on | ||
| Works on | iPad and iPhone. Android, Windows, and Mac coming soon | Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, and web |
| Price | ||
| Price | $19.99 a year (7 days free), $4.99 a month, or $39.99 once | Free with 5 GB. Microsoft 365 is $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for Copilot and 1 TB |
| Handwriting | ||
| Handwriting | Yes:Smooth, realistic-looking ink with pens, pencil, highlighter, study tape, and shape recognition | Yes:Pens, highlighters, and shape recognition |
| Page style | ||
| Page style | Yes:Infinite notebook or infinite whiteboard, with infinite zoom and templates | Freeform pages in notebooks and sections |
| Write on PDFs | ||
| Write on PDFs | Yes:Write on PDFs and scans, or read side by side | Partly:Inserts PDFs as page images you can write over |
| Typed notes | ||
| Typed notes | Yes:Text boxes mixed in with your handwriting. Full typed docs coming soon | Yes:Rich text, tables, and page templates |
| Record audio | ||
| Record audio | No:Not yet | Partly:Recording and transcripts on Windows |
| Flashcards | ||
| Flashcards | Yes:Built in, with FSRS spaced repetition, image occlusion, and Anki import | Partly:Copilot study guides can make flashcards, but no spaced repetition |
| AI study tools | ||
| 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 | Yes:Copilot summaries, to-do lists, and chat on Microsoft 365 plans |
| Tasks | ||
| Tasks | Yes:Tasks and reminders for every class, with a calendar coming soon | Partly:To-do tags and checklists |
| Organize and link | ||
| Organize and link | Yes:Subjects, folders, subnotes, tags, links, backlinks, and Sky View, a map of your notes | Partly:Links to pages and sections. Subpages two levels deep. No map |
| Works offline | ||
| Works offline | Yes:Yes. Everything saves on your device first, then syncs to your other devices through iCloud | Yes:Works offline, then syncs to OneDrive |
| Where your notes live | ||
| 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 | Microsoft's OneDrive. Only Windows can keep notebooks on the device |
| Share and work together | ||
| 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:Live co-editing |
Why Strawberry Notes
Everything for school, in one simple app
Notes, flashcards, and tasks live together, and docs and a calendar are on the way. Every subject, folder, and subnote gets its own notes, flashcards, and tasks, so nothing gets lost between apps.
- Notes
- Flashcards
- Tasks
- Docs (soon)
- Calendar (soon)
Notes that connect like your brain does
Link any note to any other, nest subnotes as deep as you like, and zoom in forever. Sky View shows it all as a map. You're free to think your way instead of going page by page.
Private by design
Your library lives on your devices, and we can't read it. iCloud sync is optional: keep everything on one device if you like, and export your whole library as one file anytime to back it up or bring it back in. Handwriting recognition runs on your device. AI only sees what you choose to share, and we don't store your chats.
Coming from OneNote?
OneNote can export pages as PDFs. Import them into Strawberry Notes to keep writing on them, then turn the important parts into flashcards.
DownloadQuestions people ask
If you study on an iPad, yes. Strawberry Notes gives you an infinite notebook and whiteboard with infinite zoom, flashcards with FSRS spaced repetition and image occlusion, subnotes as deep as you like, and a map of how your notes connect. If you need Windows or Android, or your class shares OneNote notebooks, OneNote is the better fit.
Yes. OneNote is free on every platform with 5 GB of OneDrive storage. A Microsoft 365 plan, from $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, adds Copilot, more storage, and extra features. Strawberry Notes is $4.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $39.99 once, with every feature included.
Not in your notebooks. Copilot study guides can generate flashcards, but there's no spaced repetition to schedule your reviews. Strawberry Notes has flashcards, image occlusion cards, and Anki import built in, all scheduled with FSRS.
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Sources: OneNote versions, Microsoft 365 plans, Copilot study guides, OneNote links. Prices are in US dollars and can change, so check before you buy.
OneNote is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, and Strawberry Notes isn't affiliated with them. Spotted something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.