I will share my years of experience using different notes taking application. What is an advantage of taking notes in a digital format?

But are all digital note-taking apps really that good? I think everyone is familiar with GoodNotes, Notability, and Noteself. Let's compare GoodNotes vs Notability vs ZoomNotes. 

1) ZoomNotes App for Note-Taking on iPad

ZoomNotes is an attempt to create something new and from my point of view it's a failure, not an app. In order to somehow compete with the well-known app brands, ZoomNotes tried to create something narrow, it looks like for geometry students, we have a huge lineup for drawing, 
What can I say about the toolbar in ZoomNotes, the buttons are huge and in my opinion not aesthetically pleasing. 

When we open an application for digital notes, we expect from it first of all intuitive ease in the use of tools, but here we see everything is different, there are buttons for drawing shapes, moving objects and even the function of layers, the function of layers was originally invented for applications for drawing and not for digital notes. Of course, some people will find this function useful, but I think it is an unnecessary complication. 

As I said zoomnotes is a narrow application, you can consider zoomnotes for linear algebra. 

I can't recommend it for digital notes, anyone who has ever used Goodnotes or Notability will find the Zoomnotes toolbar strange and inconvenient. 

I was asked: does ZoomNotes sync across devices, yes, almost all applications for digital notes can do it, you need to activate the AutoBackup function in the app settings, you need to do it on each device, and then all your notes and ZoomNotes digital planners will be synchronized between devices.

By the way, if you choose a ZoomNotes digital planner - take a look at this selection of new 2025 2026 digital planners for iPad, they are all compatible with the ZoomNotes app. 

2) Nebo: iPad App that Converts Handwriting to Text

In addition, you can add photos, sketches, and even solve math problems (almost like ZoomNotes) and the cherry on the cake - create digital diagrams

As with every note-taking app on iPad, you can create different notebooks for different tasks. I forgot about Anatocyb PDF files (spoiler - all digital note apps can do this). 

the only thing I can praise is the Blackboard feature. in the Nebo app, it works as a brainstorming board, perfect for free writing and drawing.

How much does Nebo cost?

• $9.99 for Android and Windows; 
• $14.99 for iOS, totaling
• $34.97 for multiplatform use.

Nebo for iPad vs Microsoft OneNote:
OneNote offers similar features for free, including handwriting recognition and 5GB of cloud storage. 

Final Verdict: iPad app for converting handwriting to text

Apple Notes with Scribble killed the need for the Nebo app. You can now use Scribble for free on all iPad tablets with stylus support. 

You can freely take careful notes in Apple Notes with Scribble with text recognition. Goodbye Nebo - Hello Apple Notes

3) MarginNote: Not a Note-Taking App for Everyone

MarginNote is an evolution of Acrobat Reader, which was pumped full of digital steroids and that was the end of it :-). 

MarginNote is a rather specific application that supports handwriting with a stylus, but all its interface and tools are designed for the annotation of large PDF files. 

In this case, MarginNote is of course super cool, in my opinion, first of all, it is a necessary application for lawyers who need to read out large contracts, make notes, make a map of notes and hyperlinks from the note to the desired paragraph or line in the document.

Maybe MarginNote is suitable for students preparing for exams or for future doctors who study large biology books and need to make a lot of notes and annotations, then yes, this application is needed as an annotation tool. 

But as a digital note-taking app, Margin Note is inconvenient and uncomfortable. 

My verdict is that this is a niche app that is NOT for everyone

Verdict: MarginNote is a niche app tailored for specific users who need advanced annotation capabilities.

4) LiquidText: Alternative to MarginNote

LiquidText and MarginNote are two powerful, iPad apps for reading, annotating and organizing Pdf documents. These two iPad apps have similar features, such as creating footnotes, annotations, and links within text, but there are significant differences between them.

Common functions: LiquidText vs MarginNote

PDF Annotation: Both apps allow you to add notes, highlight text, and create footnote hyperlinks within PDF documents.

Linking: The ability to link different parts of a document, or even different documents to each other for better understanding and navigation.

Cloud Integration: Both apps support integration with services such as iCloud, Dropbox and Evernote, making it easy to synchronize and access documents.

Distinctive features:

Interface and usability:

LiquidText has a simple and intuitive interface

MarginNote offers a more sophisticated interface (like a dinosaur rather than an app) with advanced features such as “Document”, “Study” and “Review” modes,

Document Management:

LiquidText allows you to create folders and subfolders to organize your documents, but accessing deeply nested files may be less convenient. 

MarginNote divides documents into three sections: 
“Document” for source files, 
“Study” for workspaces with mindmaps, and 
“Review” for cards created from notes. 

Creating mental maps:

MarginNote allows you to create mental maps from annotations

LiquidText also supports creating links between notes, but the mental maps functionality is less developed compared to MarginNote.

My verdict:

If you need an intuitive app for quickly annotating and linking documents, LiquidText may be the right choice. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a more comprehensive solution with mind-mapping capabilities and advanced document management, MarginNote is worth considering. The final choice depends on your specific needs and workflow preferences.

Ok, what is the  best note taking app for iPad - I think GoodNotes 6, read here honest review about it