Laptops are great for taking class notes: They're portable enough to take to every class, and they have a built-in keyboard and touchpad so you can type and navigate quickly, you can doodle or sketch with a digital pen, and you can even record lectures with a laptop's built-in microphone (in most cases).
But none of that matters without a good note-taking app. For example, having only a notepad can be very limiting, but having a notes app that lets you draw notes, insert images, and attach files gives you nearly unlimited flexibility.
Related: Best laptops for college students
Furthermore, if you use a memo app that suits your usage, you If you love taking notes, there's an app for you – feature-packed, simple and lightweight, or collaborative – most of them free.
Here are the best note-taking apps that will help you significantly improve your note-taking and understand your lessons better.
We've focused on note-taking apps for Windows PCs here, but most of these are cross-platform and have cloud capabilities, so you can access your notes from anywhere, using almost any device, including Mac, Chromebook, iPhone, and Android.
1. Microsoft OneNote — Best Overall Note-Taking App
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Microsoft OneNote is the best note-taking app for Windows. It's completely free and comes with Windows, but don't let that fool you – the app is hugely popular among users across multiple platforms, including macOS, Android, and iOS.
OneNote allows you to create multiple notebooks with multiple sections per notebook and multiple pages per section – not only does it help you stay organized, but it also gives you the freedom to type and style your notes however you want, all in one place.
You can draw notes with the digital pen and attach files to individual notes, making it perfect for jotting down mathematical calculations, drawing diagrams, and clipping various files (documents, images, presentations, etc.) to related notes.
Additionally, you can record lectures in audio format and instantly transcribe them and attach them to your notes. You can also record videos, which is useful for visual demonstrations, etc.
OneNote has many other features that students will find useful, such as powerful search, co-authoring, a web clipper for your browser, the ability to solve simple math equations, and built-in templates for taking different types of notes.
OneNote, by the way, is an official desktop application, which means it works offline, you can keep taking notes even if you lose Wi-Fi, and everything syncs with your Microsoft account as long as you have an Internet connection.
Don't want to use a Microsoft account? We recommend it so you can access your notes from anywhere, on any device, but you can instead create a local notebook that exists only on your laptop. If you do this, be sure to back it up regularly so you don't lose everything in the event of a disaster.
OneNote's biggest weakness is that it's a bit complicated. It's packed with features that aren't too overwhelming, especially once you've spent a few hours getting used to it, but if you just want simple text notes, it might be a bit too much. Personally, I think it's good to have all the features available, because you never know when you'll need to insert an image, attach a file, or draw a diagram.
Related: Useful Microsoft OneNote add-ins and tools
2. Google Keep — The best, simple and lightweight note-taking app
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Google Keep is a handy, simple, free note-taking app. It's great for jotting down quick notes, and even better if you want to integrate your notes with Google's web apps (for example, add Google Keep notes to Google Calendar events, or open Google Keep as a sidebar in Gmail).
Google Keep also has a “Copy to Google Docs” feature that instantly converts your entire Google Keep note into a new Google Docs document, which is great for turning a quick note into something much more detailed. (If Google Docs is your favorite document editor, Google Keep is a great way to jot down thoughts before turning them into full-fledged notes later.)
Google Keep's greatest strength is also its weakness: it's so simple that if you want to do more than basic text entry, you'll find it's not as powerful or flexible as OneNote.
Google Keep is best suited for short, quick “sticky notes” and isn't designed to be a full-blown note-taking app. It does have some useful features, but not as many as the other apps on this list.
Although Google Keep supports collaborative editing, if you plan to take notes collaboratively with other students (who are more likely to be familiar with Google Docs), Google Docs is a better choice.
Finally, Google Keep is just a web app on Windows – there is no offline storage, it can only be accessed via a browser, and requires an always-online internet connection to avoid losing sync.
3. Notion — Best collaborative note-taking app for complex projects
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Notion is one of the most trending note-taking apps out there right now, and that's because it's not your traditional note-taking app at all. Notion actually describes itself as a “connected workspace” that can be used for everything from tasks and to-dos to comprehensive project management.
Notion is for teams, but its collaborative design makes it perfect for group projects, lab partners, etc. In my experience, Notion is Organization It's more than just note-taking: I know several people who trust Notion to help organize their entire lives outside of school and work.
Related: These free tools will help you stay organized
When you create a free account, Notion will ask you what you're using it for. If you say school, it will give you templates to help you create class notes, group projects, research papers, and more.
Some types of people are obsessed with Notion because it's so different from traditional note-taking apps like OneNote or Google Keep. (So different that Microsoft has created its own Notion-like collaboration app called Microsoft Loop.)
Unfortunately, Notion is also primarily a web app with no local storage. You can download Notion as a Windows app, but it's essentially the same as using the Notion website in your browser. You'll need a constant online internet connection to access your notes.
As for pricing, Notion's basic plan is free, but Notion also offers a free Plus plan upgrade for students “at accredited universities and colleges,” which gives you access to features like unlimited file uploads and 30-day edit history.
4. Joplin — The Best Open Source Notes App Worth Using
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Joplin is a great note-taking application that is also open source. If you are wary of proprietary software and prefer a completely free note-taking application, this might be the one for you.
This open-source note-taking app has more features than other simple apps, but not as many as OneNote. You can format your notes and insert images, but it doesn't offer much support for handwriting notes with a pen, and you can't record audio to accompany your notes. These are just a few of Joplin's shortcomings.
By default, Joplin takes the traditional approach and stores your notes as files on your computer – it's not a web app disguised as a desktop app, but it's not Chromebook friendly.
Additionally, Joplin notes aren't synced by default, so it's up to you how you sync them: just like any other type of file, you can sync them to the cloud using OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or purchase an optional Joplin Cloud subscription.
Joplin offers Joplin Cloud at a 50% discount for students, but we encourage you to use it for free in combination with our free cloud storage service. The only exception is if you plan to use Joplin for collaborative note-taking, in which case you'll need a Joplin Cloud subscription, or you'll need to set up your own Joplin server, which may or may not be technically challenging.
Joplin is great if you don't need a lot of features, but these limitations are not trivial and most students will be better served by the more powerful and feature-rich OneNote. But if you're looking for the closest open-source alternative to OneNote, Joplin is a great choice.
Related: These free and open source apps will handle everything you need
5. Zotero — Best note-taking app for research and annotation
Chris Hoffman / IDG
Zotero is the most unconventional note-taking app in this roundup. The tool is primarily focused on collecting and organizing research materials and creating notes related to those materials through annotations. It also helps you cite research materials, which is definitely helpful when writing a research paper.
Like Joplin, Zotero is completely free and open source. It stores everything locally on your computer (so it works offline and doesn't require a constant internet connection), and you can sync your library. The optional Zotero storage service lets you sync up to 300MB for free, after which you pay at least $20 per year to get more space.
Zotero is more of a reference organizer, but the built-in annotations are very useful. If you are doing a lot of research and need to collect, organize, search, and cite those materials (such as academic papers and web pages), Zotero is a great choice. Check out Zotero's Quick Start Guide to learn more about its features.
For everyday notes in class, OneNote is still probably a better choice, but for larger research projects with lots of references, Zotero is a good choice to have on hand.
If you're not sure, start with OneNote
We're in the golden age of note-taking apps, so if you're still not sure which one to choose, don't fret.
If you're not sure which one is better, we recommend starting with OneNote. It's the best all-in-one solution, it's completely free, and it works great as part of the Microsoft 365 family of apps.
But if you're interested in other apps, like Google Keep for its simplicity, Notion for its unique approach to collaboration, Joplin for its open source perspective, or Zotero for its research-focused appeal, be sure to check them out.
Further reading: How to really protect your college laptop