Best Digital Planner Apps Comparison Guide for iPad Users
Discover the best digital planner apps for iPad with our in-depth comparison of GoodNotes, Notability, Noteshelf, and more to boost your productivity today!
Key Takeaways
GoodNotes is the default recommendation for most people. It does everything well, costs $9 once, and has the best template support.
Notability wins if you record lectures or meetings. The audio synced to your handwriting is genuinely useful, not a gimmick.
Noteshelf is underrated—good writing feel, works on Android too, solid all around.
OneNote is free and surprisingly capable, especially if you're already in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Skip Zinnia unless you're really into the scrapbook aesthetic. It's expensive and limited.
The Short Version
If you just want an answer: get GoodNotes. It's $9, works great with digital planners, and you'll probably never need anything else.
If you record audio (lectures, meetings, interviews): get Notability. The subscription is annoying, but the audio sync is worth it for the right use case.
If you need something free: try OneNote. It's not as polished for planning specifically, but it's capable and costs nothing.
Now, if you want the full breakdown of why, keep reading.
What Makes a Good Planner App
Before comparing apps, here's what actually matters:
Writing feel. Does the stylus feel responsive? Is there lag? Do the pen strokes look natural? You're going to write a lot, so this matters more than you'd think.
PDF handling. Digital planners are usually PDFs with hyperlinks. The app needs to import them cleanly and keep the links working.
Organization. Can you find things later? Folders, notebooks, search (including handwriting search) all factor in.
Sync. Does it back up automatically? Can you access your notes from your phone?
Template support. Can you import custom planners and use them without issues?
What matters less than people think: the number of pen colors, sticker features, aesthetic customization options. Nice to have, but not why you'd pick one app over another.
GoodNotes
Price: $9.99 one-time (or free with limited notebooks)
GoodNotes is the most popular digital planning app, and the popularity is deserved. It's not the best at any single thing, but it's good at everything.
What's good:
The writing experience is smooth. Pen strokes look natural, there's minimal lag, and the app keeps up with fast handwriting. The variety of pen types and colors is solid without being overwhelming.
Handwriting search works well. You can search for words you wrote by hand and actually find them, even across hundreds of pages. This sounds minor until you're trying to find something you wrote three months ago.
PDF support is excellent. Hyperlinks work. You can import complex planner templates and they function properly. This is the main reason it's the go-to for digital planning.
Organization is intuitive. Folders, notebooks, tabs—it all makes sense. You won't lose things.
What's not:
No audio recording. If you need to capture spoken content synced to your notes, you're out of luck.
The shape and drawing tools are basic. Fine for planning, but if you're doing design work or detailed diagrams, you might want something more capable.
Best for: Most people. Students, professionals, anyone using digital planners. If you're not sure what to get, start here.
For planner templates that work well with GoodNotes: best planners for GoodNotes.
Notability
Price: Free (limited) / $14.99 per year for full features
Notability does one thing no other app does well: audio recording synced to your handwriting. Record a lecture or meeting, and later you can tap any word you wrote to hear exactly what was being said at that moment.
What's good:
The audio sync is genuinely useful if your use case involves recording. Students swear by it. You can take quick notes during a lecture without trying to capture everything, then go back and tap words to fill in the gaps.
Writing feel is comparable to GoodNotes—smooth, responsive, natural.
Multi-note view lets you have two notes open side by side, which is handy for referencing one document while writing in another.
PDF annotation works well.
What's not:
The subscription model. Notability used to be a one-time purchase, then switched to subscription, and a lot of users are still annoyed about it. $15/year isn't outrageous, but it adds up compared to GoodNotes' one-time fee.
Organization is weaker than GoodNotes. It uses dividers and subjects rather than nested folders, which gets messy if you have a lot of notes.
Fewer templates by default. You can import custom planners, but there's less built-in variety.
Handwriting search exists but isn't as reliable as GoodNotes.
Best for: Students in lecture-heavy courses. Professionals who take meeting notes and want to capture what was said. Anyone whose workflow involves recording audio.
Noteshelf
Price: $9.99 one-time
Noteshelf is the underdog that deserves more attention. It does most of what GoodNotes and Notability do, with some unique strengths.
What's good:
The writing feel is excellent—some people prefer it to GoodNotes. Low latency, good pressure response, feels close to paper.
Audio recording is included (like Notability, but with a one-time purchase).
PDF annotation and planner support work well.
Cross-platform—works on Android, not just Apple devices. If you might switch ecosystems someday, this matters.
More visual customization than GoodNotes. Custom stationery, more paper options, sticker support.
What's not:
Smaller user community. That means fewer tutorials, fewer third-party templates designed specifically for it, less help when you get stuck.
Handwriting search isn't as accurate as GoodNotes.
The interface is busier. More options means more to navigate.
Best for: People who want the features of both GoodNotes and Notability in a one-time purchase. Android users who also use iPad. Anyone who prioritizes writing feel.
Zinnia
Price: $39.99 per year
Zinnia is marketed toward creative planners and journalers. Drag-and-drop stickers, washi tape, scrapbook-style layouts.
What's good:
If aesthetics are your priority, Zinnia is pretty. The decorative elements are fun. The interface is designed for visual, creative planning.
Easy to make things look nice without design skills.
What's not:
It's expensive—$40/year is steep for a planning app.
Limited compared to GoodNotes or Notability for actual functionality. Less robust writing tools, weaker organization, no audio.
iPad only. No iPhone or Mac companion apps.
The creative features are fun but don't add much to actual productivity.
Best for: People who prioritize aesthetics over everything else. Creative journalers. If you'd never use audio sync or advanced organization anyway, and you love decorating your planner, maybe it's worth it. For most people, it's not.
Microsoft OneNote
Price: Free
OneNote is the wildcard. It's not designed specifically for digital planning, but it's free, capable, and works everywhere.
What's good:
Completely free with no feature restrictions.
Infinite canvas—you can write anywhere on the page, not just in designated areas. Some people love this flexibility.
Excellent organization. Notebooks, sections, pages, subpages. You can build complex structures.
Cross-platform everywhere. Windows, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, web. If you switch between devices a lot, everything syncs.
Collaboration features. Share notebooks with others, edit together in real time.
Integrates with Microsoft 365 if you use Outlook, Teams, etc.
What's not:
The writing experience isn't as polished as dedicated note apps. Functional, not delightful.
No built-in planner templates. You'd need to import PDFs or build your own layouts.
Can feel cluttered and overwhelming. The flexibility means more complexity.
Syncing through OneDrive is occasionally slow.
Best for: Teams and collaboration. People deep in the Microsoft ecosystem. Anyone who needs something free and capable. Not ideal if the writing experience is your top priority.
Evernote
Price: Free (limited) / $8-15 per month for paid plans
I'm including Evernote because people ask about it, but honestly, it's not great for digital planning.
What's good:
Excellent at capturing and organizing text notes, web clips, documents.
Tags, notebooks, and search make it easy to find things.
Works everywhere.
What's not:
Not designed for handwriting. Stylus support is an afterthought.
No real planner functionality built in. You'd have to hack it together.
The pricing has gotten aggressive over the years.
Best for: Text-based note organization. Web clipping. Corporate knowledge management. Not digital planning.
Quick Comparison
App | Price | Audio | Handwriting Search | Planners | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GoodNotes | $9.99 once | ❌ | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Excellent | Apple only |
Notability | $14.99/year | ✅ Synced | ✅ Good | ✅ Good | Apple only |
Noteshelf | $9.99 once | ✅ | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Good | Apple + Android |
Zinnia | $39.99/year | ❌ | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Creative focus | iPad only |
OneNote | Free | ✅ | ✅ Good | ⚠️ Limited | Everything |
Evernote | $8-15/month | ❌ | ✅ Text only | ❌ | Everything |
How to Decide
"I just want something that works for digital planning." Get GoodNotes. It's the safe choice, and you'll probably be happy with it.
"I need to record lectures or meetings." Get Notability. The audio sync is the whole reason to choose it.
"I want GoodNotes features but don't want a subscription and might use Android someday." Look at Noteshelf. It's underrated.
"I don't want to spend money." Try OneNote. It's more work to set up for planning, but it's genuinely capable and free.
"I care a lot about how my planner looks." Consider Zinnia, but know you're paying a premium for aesthetics over functionality.
"I'm a student—what should I get?" GoodNotes if you mostly take written notes. Notability if you want to record lectures. Either will serve you well.
"I work in an office and use Microsoft everything." OneNote integrates best with that ecosystem. But if you want a nicer writing experience for personal planning, GoodNotes on the side isn't a bad idea.
Getting Started
Once you've picked an app, grab a planner template:
Import the template, spend 10 minutes learning how navigation works, and start using it. Don't overthink the choice—you can always switch later if it's not working.
For a complete walkthrough: how to start digital planning.
FAQ
Which app has the best handwriting? GoodNotes and Noteshelf are both excellent. GoodNotes is slightly more polished; Noteshelf feels slightly more natural to some people. Try both if you're picky about this.
Can I use these apps without Apple Pencil? You can tap and type, but handwriting is the main point. If you're doing digital planning, get an Apple Pencil or equivalent.
What about free apps? OneNote is the best free option. Apple Notes is also free and decent for basic notes, but not ideal for complex planners. GoodNotes has a free tier with limited notebooks if you want to try before buying.
Should I pay once or subscribe? One-time purchase (GoodNotes, Noteshelf) is better value long-term. Subscription (Notability) makes sense if you specifically need audio sync. Don't subscribe to Zinnia unless you're sure the aesthetic features are worth $40/year to you.
Can I switch apps later? Yes. Most apps can export PDFs, so your content isn't trapped. You'd lose some app-specific features, but your actual notes and planners are portable.
