Forget the small stuff.

Note-taking apps are a great way to stay organized and productive. Open one up to keep track of your thoughts, ideas, and tasks and collaborate with others.

Many different note-taking software are available, so deciding which is right for your business takes time. This article discusses the best note-taking apps on the market to help elevate productivity and reach business goals. We’re going to look at their features, pricing, and ease of use and also provide tips on picking the best one. We have the perfect note-taking app for your needs.

Best note-taking apps

You want to maximize the tool’s functionalities, and choosing a solution for your specific use case is essential. Whether you rely on note-taking software for educational purposes, brainstorming creative projects, or managing endless to-do lists doesn’t matter.

Our round-up below contains real user reviews. To be included on this list, a solution must have the following:

• Note-taking and organizing capabilities
• The ability to create and store text and multimedia notes
• Synchronization of notes across multiple devices
• Collaboration and sharing features
• Search and tags for efficient organization
• Cross-platform accessibility
• Integration with other tools

*This data was pulled from the G2 Winter Grid Report on February 16, 2024, based on our  scoring methodology. Some reviews may have been edited for clarity. 

1. Google Workspace

Google Workspace is a suite of cloud-based productivity tools that teams turn to for collaboration and remote work. The tools such as Docs, Sheets, and Slides allow teams to work together on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in real-time.

What users like best:

“Being that a majority of computer users worldwide are familiar with Google Products, this is inherently a standard suite of software most people already know first hand. Ease of implementation is seamless for anyone with a Gmail account, for all products not just email. Customer support is amazing, google is always available to troubleshoot.

My entire company is on Google Workspace, which we use every hour of the day. The number of features are endless from: calendars, meetings, chat, and email to software for powerpoints, sheets, docs, and more! Easily integrated and completley free, it takes literally minutes to sign up if not.”

– Google Workspace Review, Iyer A. 

What users dislike:

“Google Workspace can present a bit of a learning curve for new users due to its expansive features and tools.”

– Google Workspace Review, Adeeb K.

2. Notion

Notion is a powerful all-in-one productivity and task management app that lets users organize task lists, notes, databases, and wikis in one place. A great collaborative platform, Notion’s flexibility and customization make it ideal for professionals, students, and anyone who wants to stay focused.

What users like best:

“It is quick and easy to setup and has pre-defined templates to use.It has its own docs for making gen-notes and docs and has in-built made wikis for searching anything and hence everything is built under one roof. It allows to manage projects without any chaos. Best platform ever and helps to create the best written texts through its AI Capability. It also provides analytics features and helps to gain a lot of insights and overall very easy and comfortable to use it.”

– Notion Review, Samruddha S.

What users dislike:

“There is a significant learning curve when using it to its full potential. The application could use a more intuitive onboarding process to help understand how to better use its features, particularly the databases, which can be cumbersome to navigate and challenging to utilize effectively. Additionally, there is confusion between tables and a database.”

– Notion Review, Musa A.

3. ClickUp

ClickUp is a project management tool designed for teams. It tracks tasks, issues, and goals from a single platform and has robust workflow management features, including customizable views, time tracking, and project structuring.

What users like best:

“ClickUp offers a wide range of features that align perfectly with my preferences, such as sprint-based task organization, dynamic data fields, associating tasks with multiple lists, collaborative editing, and multiple-view capabilities. These features have significantly improved my productivity and workflow. 

As a proud ambassador, I highly recommend ClickUp to others, as it has become an essential tool in my daily routine.”

– ClickUp Review, Gui M.

What users dislike:

“Our team has found that document management is where ClickUp falls short. It can be challenging to organize and navigate files within the platform, which makes managing and accessing documents difficult. Improving the document management system in ClickUp would enhance its functionality as a one-stop-shop productivity tool.”

– ClickUp Review, Raine S.

4. Fathom 

Fathom is an AI-powered note-taking app that helps record, transcribe, highlight, and summarize your meetings, allowing you to focus on your conversation. The app integrates with several platforms such as Salesforce, Slack, HubSpot, Asana, Google Docs, Notion, etc, to help increase productivity and save time. 

What users like best:

“There are so many things I enjoy about Fathom. First, let’s start with their support. I have had so many questions and each and every time I received a personalized response in a very short period of time. Second, Fathom is very easy to use and is not overwhelmed with bloat. The layout is simple and each feature is easy to find.

Third, It provides me with exactly what I need. I have evaluated 3 other note-taking platforms and found that Fathom is right for me. Fourth, Video Clarity, the recording of the video is clearer than what I see when I am hosting a live meeting. Fifth, the notes summary by time, is so very helpful even with the free version, you do not skimp on features.

Six, the full version, IS INCREDIBLE with the AI notes templates, the general summary is perfect for me 99% of the time! Seven, you can save the transcript and even download the video of the session right from Fathom. I love this software more and more every day. Eight, it easily integrates into Zoom and Google meet so I don’t have to do any setup for each meeting.”

– Fathom Review, Allen G.

What users dislike:

“In my area, there are some technical vocabulary that comes around a lot, and AI is taking some time to understand it correctly. It would be nice to have to option to teach it those terms in an easy fashion, so the summaries are more accurate.”

– Fathom Review, Helena F. 

5. Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a free-form digital notebook that lets you capture, structure, and share your thoughts, ideas, and to-do’s across devices. Some of its key features include the ability to create and share notebooks with others and note customization through tags.

What users like best:

“The integration process for Microsoft OneNote was simple. Thanks to its integrated structure with MS Office 365, it’s easy to distribute. It’s great because it makes it easy to transfer and move data to external environments and has an integrated structure with Outlook.

It eliminates the need for notebooks, papers, pens, and other physical items and offers a single management panel instead of multiple programs. You can even take notes on your calendar, and OneNote will check it for you.”

– Microsoft OneNote Review, Turan A.

What users dislike:
“The note-taking app has a limited number of categories and subcategories, which can be insufficient for some users. It would be helpful if there were more subsections available. Additionally, changing the input keyboard can only change the input language. This could be inconvenient if you use multiple languages and want to avoid having everything underlined.”

– Microsoft OneNote Review, Jessica A.

6. Lark

An all-in-one collaborative note-taking app, Lark helps streamline workflows and achieve business results by consolidating chats, emails, documents, and more. It helps the team plan and be in synch without any disruptions to the project at hand. A single solution for various needs, Lark helps take your productivity to the next level.

What users like best:

” I like how Lark integrates all the functions together and makes itself a one-stop-for-all collaboration tool. Easy to use, covering most most of features needed at work. Especially Lark document, the templates are quite handy, easy to share and collaborate, I use it not only at work but also for my personal documents and other project. UI is clean too. Also easy to install, all you need is installing Lark, even not if you just wanted to check Lark documents.”

– Lark Review, Zixuan W. 

What users dislike:

“When utilizing Lark for the first time, some users might discover that there is a learning curve, particularly if they are used to using another collaborative platform. It may take some time to switch to a new tool, and training could be required to make sure everyone in the team is utilizing it efficiently.”

– Lark Review, Ryan Jay F.

7. Zoho Mail

Zoho Mail, an all-in-one email solution designed for modern businesses, provides a comprehensive suite of features, including a calendar, note-taking, task management, contacts, and bookmarks. It’s well-equipped to handle businesses’ unique challenges, such as user account management, complex workflows, and scalability. 

What users like best:

“Zoho Mail has a user-friendly and intuitive interface, making managing email messages and contacts effortless. The well-organized structure enables users to navigate their mailbox efficiently and access important features with just a few clicks.
Moreover, Zoho Mail seamlessly integrates with other Zoho applications like Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects, enhancing productivity by providing a streamlined workflow across various business applications.”

– Zoho Mail Review, Shivam A.

What users dislike:

“Zoho Mail’s emphasis on security can sometimes lead to inconvenience. For example, when accessing a previously authorized device, you may need to repeat the authorization process, even within 24 hours. Verification codes sent to your mobile number may arrive late and expire before use, causing frustration when urgently validating files.”

– Zoho Mail Review, Leandro M.

8. Evernote

Evernote is a digital note-taking app used to organize and store notes in various formats, including text, audio, and images. The app also features expansive collaboration tools, making it a great choice for teams.

What users like best:

“After using Evernote for a long time, I appreciate its functionality and enjoyment. The user experience is well-designed and intuitive. I also value the ability to search my notes quickly and accurately using tags. Furthermore, the app offers various formatting options that allow me to customize my notes more extensively than with basic text and headings.”

– Evernote Review, Sara C.

What users dislike:

“I find importing or exporting content from Evernote challenging due to the limited options available. I also find the authentication process cumbersome, which could be problematic if I forget my password. While I appreciate the security features, such as the app shutting down automatically after use, this also means that if I need to access previously saved data again, I must reinstall all the software and re-enter that data.””

– Evernote Review, Alex S.

9. Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management and note-taking app that helps track and organize information to improve workflows and efficiency. It takes it easy for teams to keep track of what everyone is working on, collaborate on various documents, and schedule projects among other benefits. Each project lives on a single page, making all information organized and in reach. 

What users like best:

“We have 2 teams, one in Spain and another one in Mexico, we use basecamp to keep track of projects, to share updates and to basicly have a great follow up of task and activities. For us it is very easy to use and with the mobile version it is also easy to update new things or to contact someone of the team real quick. We can also have different boards or chat room for each of the clients or projects we are involved.”

– Basecamp Review, Miguel Angel H. 

What users dislike:

“If a project becomes too large or complex, the organization can become a bit confusing. And while Basecamp’s simplicity is great, it can lack some of the more advanced features.”

– Basecamp Review, Gustavo C. 

10. Slite

Slite is a modern note-taking tool that facilitates real-time collaboration, allows team members to leave comments and feedback, and offers advanced search to find and access notes quickly.

What users like best:

“Slite has made it easy for all our teams to document important information, ranging from employee handbooks to project details and detailed design processes. 

The app’s nested documents embed from external services like Airtable and Spreadsheet.com, and the Table of Contents feature makes it simple to create well-organized, easy-to-follow documentation in one central location as our single source of truth.”

– Slite Review, Jesse W.

What users dislike:

“Sometimes I become frustrated with the mobile performance of longer documents in Slite, particularly when using multiple styling techniques in the same document. Additionally, while I find the search capabilities adequate, I think there is room for improvement in this area.”

– Slite Review, Eduard B.

Time to mean it when you say “noted”

Whether you’re scrambling to assemble notes in a fast-paced classroom, taking your sweet time sketching a new product idea, or creating goals for the new year, we’ve all had our share of experience (and memories) with different note-taking tools.

Our discussion of these tools above serves as a starting point if you’re looking for the right note-taking software for specific use cases. To make the best choice for your needs, reflect on the most important features while working with your preferred workflows.

Note-taking and improving task management go hand in hand. Explore the best task management software to increase overall business and personal productivity.