5 Best Note-taking Apps in 2024: Notion, Heptabase, NotebookLM and More

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Ever felt overwhelmed trying to keep all your brilliant ideas organized, or struggled to find that perfect note from a meeting months ago?

Whether you need an app that’s great for visuals or one that helps with project management, I’ve navigated through the maze and can’t wait to share my favorite 5 note-taking apps of the year.

Each one is a game-changer in its own right, tailored to solve specific challenges. Let’s dive into these note-taking apps together and find the one that you’ll love!

How to choose the right app

Choosing the right note-taking app depends on how well it fits with your learning and work styles and organizational needs. Follow the step-by-step guide below to find your need for note-taking apps.

Step 1: Think of a certain situation of taking notes. (For example, project planning, travel diary, idea collection..etc.)

Step 2: Ask yourself the following according to the situation:

1. What is your note-taking style?

• Visual: If you frequently attach images or rely on visual thinking, an app with robust multimedia support is essential.
• Textual: For those who mainly type, consider whether the app offers rich text formatting to enhance your notes.
• Handwriting: If you prefer the tactile feel of writing, look for apps that mimic this natural experience with good stylus support and handwriting recognition.

2. What devices do you use when making notes?

• Phones
• Tablets
• Laptops

3. Do you often need to share the notes with others?

• If your work involves teamwork, choose an app that offers easy sharing options to collaborate effectively with colleagues or classmates.

4. Try AI innovations to get inspired!

• Lastly, AI features such as automatic summarization can significantly enhance efficiency.  I’ll share one of my recent favs in the end of the post!

After defining your needs, let’s jump into the 5 best note-taking apps of the year!

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5 Best Note-taking apps in 2024

1. Notion

Notion is a note-taking app designed to enhance productivity and organization. The nested structure and multiple options of templates are great for organizing notes and project management. It is ideal for structured and typed-in note-taking.

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Basic Information

• Fee: (pricing plans)
  • Free (Great for individuals. The free plan is enough for me.)
  • Plus (Starting from $10/month, great for small teams. )
• Device: ☑ Phone ☑ iPad ☑ Laptop
• System: ☑ iOS ☑ Windows
• Key features:
  • Structured note-Taking
  • Custom templates
  • Built-in gen AI assistant (Requires fee for advanced features, starting from $8/month.)

Overall

• Suitable for textual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
• Suitable for visual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
• Share and collaboration: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

How I use it 

To-do lists: To keep on-track on my weekly to-dos.

Project Management: I use templates to help with project management. The function of changing between different views such as “Calendar”, “Timeline”, and “Table” helps a lot.

How-to Documentation: The nested structure is great for saving step-by-step instructions for workplace processes.

Workshop Key Points: When I attend professional workshops or seminars, Notion is a convenient tool to take textual notes due to the clean and simple formatting and nested structure.

Meeting Notes: Same as the previous one, I use Notion to take notes from business meetings.

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2. GoodNotes

GoodNotes is a digital note-taking app renowned for its ability to emulate the traditional paper experience on digital devices. It excels in environments where visual and personal note-taking is key.

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Basic Information

• Fee: (Pricing Plan)
  • Free (3 notebooks available only)
  • Apple:
    • $29.99/ One-time payment (I use this one.)
    • $9.99/ year
  • Android/Windows:
    • $6.99/ year
• Device: ☑ Phone ☑ Tablet ☑ Laptop
• System: ☑ iOS ☑ Windows
• Key features:
  • Handwriting stylus support: GoodNotes provides a superior handwriting experience with stylus support.
  • PDF annotation: GoodNotes excels in PDF annotation, allowing users to write, draw, and highlight directly on PDF files.

Overall

• Suitable for textual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
• Suitable for visual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
• Share and collaboration: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

How I use it

Daily and Travel Diaries: I write my diaries using lots of images, and GoodNotes is the perfect choice to save the moments.

Language Learning: When learning new vocabulary and grammar, I prefer to write them down. I also add images to my notes to help learning.

PDF Notes: GoodNotes is a great note-taking option when having the need to highlight and handwrite key points directly on PDFs.

Personal Goal Setting: I prefer to set my goals using handwriting, as I get inspired more while writing down my goals.

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3. Heptabase

Heptabase is a dynamic note-taking application designed specifically for the collection and development of ideas. This app stands out for its ability to visually map and connect information, facilitating deeper understanding and innovative thinking.

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Basic Information

• Fee: (Pricing)
  • Monthly plan: $11.99/ month (one-week free trial.)
  • Yearly plan: $8.99/ month (one-week free trial.) (I use this one.)
• Device: ☑ Phone ☑ iPad ☑ Laptop
• System: ☑ iOS ☑ Windows
• Key features:
  • Visual idea mapping: Heptabase features a digital whiteboard for flexible visual mapping of ideas and concepts.
  • Card-based system: It utilizes a dynamic card-based system for easy organization and reconfiguration of notes.
  • Search and tagging: It includes advanced search and tagging capabilities for quick retrieval of information.

Overall

• Suitable for textual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
• Suitable for visual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
• Share and collaboration: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑

How I use it

Idea Collections: I use Heptabase to store and visually connect diverse creative ideas. It helps a lot to keep my ideas organized and accessible for future reference.

Campaign Case Study Collections: Heptabase helps me organize and analyze campaign case studies, allowing me to reference them quickly whenever I need inspiration for new campaigns.

Theme-Related Resource Collection: Heptabase is also great for categorizing and linking resources by themes, ensuring easy access and structured information management.

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4. Google Docs

Google Docs is a cloud-based word processor that is part of the Google Workspace suite. Since almost everyone has a google account, it is always my first choice for collaborative documents.

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Basic Information

• Fee: Free
• Device: ☑ Phone ☑ iPad ☑ Laptop
• System: ☑ iOS ☑ Windows
• Key features:
  • Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can edit a document simultaneously, with changes visible in real-time, which is invaluable for teams working on shared documents.
  • Extensive formatting options: Google Docs offers a comprehensive set of formatting tools that allow for the creation of well-structured documents, including reports, essays, and articles.
    

Overall

• Suitable for textual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
• Suitable for visual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
• Share and collaboration: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

How I use it 

Collaborative Projects: Google Docs is my go-to tool for collaborating on projects, as its straightforward interface and the widespread use of Google accounts make it ideal for teamwork.

One-Time Blog Drafts: I utilize Google Docs for drafting blogs that don’t require long-term organization or storage, but where formatting is crucial.

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5. NotebookLM

NotebookLM is a cutting-edge note-taking application that leverages AI to revolutionize how users capture, organize, and enhance their notes. The source is restricted while using the function of gen AI, which sets a difference from mainstream AI tools such as ChatGPT.

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Basic Information

• Fee: Free
• Device: ☑ Phone ☑ iPad ☑ Laptop
• System: ☑ iOS ☑ Windows
• Key features:
  • AI inspiration and idea generation: The app uses AI to offer creative prompts and tools, sparking inspiration in seconds.
  • Selective source integration: NotebookLM limits AI to retrieve information only from the sources that you’ve uploaded.

Overall

• Suitable for textual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
• Suitable for visual note-taking: 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑
• Share and collaboration: 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑
• AI integration: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

How I use it

Understanding Customer Feedback: It converts articles into Q&A formats in seconds, which helps a lot. For example, after uploading a customer review of beauty products and transforming them into a Q&A format, it tells me the customer’s skin type, favorite product, beauty concerns, etc. in seconds.

Extracting Relevant Information: Reading yearly reports such as “The State of Fashion” takes time. I ask NotebookLM to extract information that is relevant to the luxury beauty market, and it gives me a brief summary in seconds. It highlights the source from the document so that I don’t need to worry about the AI tool making up information from nowhere.

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Conclusion

Choosing the right note-taking app can dramatically boost your productivity and organization. Here’s a quick guide to the five best note-taking apps to help you decide which app is best for you:

(Scroll right to view the whole table.)

To me, the 5 best note-taking apps in 2024:

• Notion: Ideal for those who need a highly structured and versatile tool for typed notes.
• GoodNotes: Ideal for fans of handwritten notes and those who add lots of images when taking notes.
• Heptabase: The best choice for visual thinkers and creative professionals who thrive on connecting ideas and building expansive thought maps.
• Google Doc: Essential for teams and individuals who prioritize seamless collaboration and need a straightforward platform that’s accessible to all.
• NotebookLM: Excellent for users who want to leverage AI to enhance note efficiency, particularly in summarizing content and ensuring data security from trusted sources.
  

Select the app that aligns with your specific note-taking style and organizational needs, and you’ll find managing your tasks and ideas easier than ever!