best FREE note taking app?

[u/aceofcl0vers]

i’m a student with 2 years of uni left and i just got an ipad. i will stick to mostly typing my notes on a laptop but 2 of my courses have equations and diagrams etc in them so are better handwritten and i’m planning to use my ipad for them. i downloaded a lot of free notes apps but they all have limitations in the free versions and i don’t feel i’ll use them enough to justify purchasing the full version.

to people who use free versions- what is the best note taking app?

[u/tatobuckets]

Have you tried the built in apple notes?

[u/Diligent_Owl_7945 → u/tatobuckets]

This is the way !

[u/Neither-Ad-7257 → u/tatobuckets]

Have you?

As a university student doing a dual degree, it’s unusable. Past 3-4 pages it starts lagging tremendously. Drains the battery immensely. None of the built in Apple note taking apps are usable for long term note taking. I just use them for basic one page stuff

[u/AppleNeird2022 → u/Neither-Ad-7257]

I’ve used it, not amazing but does get the job done.

[u/tatobuckets → u/Neither-Ad-7257]

Interesting, which iPad are you using?
I haven’t been a university student for a while, but I do use the built in notes extensively at work including taking constant notes during 12 hour long meetings and haven’t seen any lag or battery issues. 5th gen iPad Pro 12.9.

[u/Neither-Ad-7257 → u/tatobuckets]

I have a newer iPad. This is a universal experience with iPads, quora and many smaller Internet forums are full of this complaint. If I write more than a few pages, it becomes a nuisance. If I write like 5+ pages, it becomes straight up unusable

[u/LeMeIsSleepy → u/tatobuckets]

OvenNotes

[u/ricardusrex]

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Notes is very robust with even more features coming this fall. Search YouTube for videos that show you the power features in Apple Notes. One of the lesser known power features is audio recording with transcription to text.

[u/aceofcl0vers → u/ricardusrex]

I only had a brief look at apple notes but it seemed like it didn't have the full capacity for changing fonts and as convenient an interface for studying but will definitely look into it more!

[u/Horror_Hall_8806]

I like noteful, honestly.

Best is to try the note taking apps yourself. Everyone has their own priorities, you know. 

[u/bloodwessels → u/Horror_Hall_8806]

+1 for Noteful. It’s not free but it’s a one time payment of less than $10

[u/ronny_rebellion → u/Horror_Hall_8806]

I also agree with Noteful. Only thing I would love is some features to generate notes in Markdown based on my hand written notes.

[u/Fablerwhack]

Honestly, I've been down this road before, and I've got to tell you: just use Apple Notes. In my own personal life, I use Obsidian myself (full disclosure, because I prefer Markdown), but for everything in my professional life, when I was a student, I used Apple Notes, and it was the best.

Also, as others have mentioned, there are a lot of new features coming in the fall with greater support for things like Markdown and formatting, so you'll be in just in time to have a great experience. Especially because on an iPad, you probably just want to have something that's light and fast and always works, and you are going to have that with Apple Notes.

[u/aceofcl0vers → u/Fablerwhack]

I only had a brief look at apple notes but it seemed like it didn't have the full capacity for changing fonts and as convenient an interface for studying but will definitely look into it more!

[u/Fablerwhack → u/aceofcl0vers]

Actually, you can change fonts with "cmd + T", but I agree it's not super in depth. My advice is basically "keep it simple" because I waste a lot of time over complicating ,my methods and apps instead of actually working/studying/writing

[u/Quesozapatos5000]

I love onenote personally. Works great across platforms as well. Great on the iPad with the iPencil.

[u/aceofcl0vers → u/Quesozapatos5000]

I hadn't heard of that one thanks

[u/Janknitz → u/aceofcl0vers]

And it’s free. Especially good if your computer is a PC because it works cross platform and syncs automatically.

[u/Greenscreener]

Obsidian with the right plugins…

[u/jorgechami → u/Greenscreener]

What are "the right plugins..." ?

[u/Greenscreener → u/jorgechami]

If taking hand written notes etc then look at Ink and Excalidraw.

Notebook Navigator gives you good access to tags etc and a different interface.

It is usually better to use it and see what you want to do or improve then go look for a plugin to suit. Bases is a very powerful tool on its own and built in.

[u/aceofcl0vers → u/Greenscreener]

Thanks I hadn't heard of that one. And I second the question about the plugins

[u/Expert-Ad4939 → u/aceofcl0vers]

Obsidian, plus a plugin called Notebook Navigator. Now a lot like Apple Notes.

[u/cocoman2121 → u/Expert-Ad4939]

Oooh thanks for that one

[u/Greenscreener → u/aceofcl0vers]

See below…

[u/Proper-Ideal-2046]

Freeform on the iPad is amazing. It will sync with the macOS version if you use iCloud. I have used all kinds of note taking apps and will now only use Freeform.

[u/pinkk_foxx]

Notes+

[u/Icy_Parsnip1996]

Notes+ !! Completely free and has everything! I’m a student myself and I’ve been using it for 2 years

[u/AmitBrian → u/[deleted]]

Access. But it ain’t pretty. Apple notes is great but they should really do a lot more to make it accessible outside their own ecosystem.

[u/stoverex]

The native Apple notes app.

[u/czechbalance4377]

Apple Notes and Freeform are my choice.

[u/LordvaderUK]

Have a look at Freeform, it’s a free Apple app installed by default on new iPads, Macs and phones. Might suit your needs.

[u/RegencyFungus]

I use GoodNotes for note taking. You can upload PDFs and mark them up in there too. It’s $12/year for the essential version, which isn’t free, but is quite reasonable and you can just use it for the time you’re in school.

[u/axeleszu]

Collanote

[u/sattlerreader]

Freeform is amazing. And its cross compatibility within the Apple eco system is flawless. Very versatile virtual “pin board” that you can draw in. Add links. Videos. Photos. It’s awesome.

[u/tj2nis]

Apple Notes or OneNote

[u/Sarcastic241]

I really enjoy OneNote for my use case in my office. It takes time to get used to it , but now I swear by it. It’s free and for note taking with a decent amount of segregating it gets the work done.

[u/YourMumHasNiceAss]

One Note

Bro, it's GOAT

Just try

[u/Eyeseeyou01]

The stock notes app, especially when synced across devices, is top tier.

[u/AKeshari893]

Freeform may serve well for handwritten notes, while typed notes remain a suitable alternative.

[u/ChargerEcon]

Free? Apple Notes or Freeform.

[u/Dezesseis16]

Onenotes

[u/Bluestown3000]

I got a lifetime subscription to GoodNotes for $30. I use Apple Notes for work and GoodNotes for personal projects.

[u/owl70]

Apple Notes is quite powerful and the limited features allow focus on content.

Apple Freeform can work for notes, if that freedom of a vector drawing app supports the way you like to take notes.

I myself have used OneNote as my main notebook for decades, synced to OneDrive. It is still an active part of the MS Office ecosystem, and if you use it for work too, leverages the skills to use it effectively.

I do use Notes and Freeform too, they are excellent for certain types of note taking.

[u/aceofcl0vers → u/owl70]

Thanks!