10 Best Notability Alternatives: Everything You Must Know About Them

Part 1. Why Should You Look for Alternatives to Notability?

Notability has a minimalistic interface that allows users to mark anything on screen with ink, record, and replay captured audio notes, and present them to the public. However, if we look at the two sides of the coin, Notability even has certain flaws that push people to explore alternatives. To know the primary reasons for finding an alternative to Notability, explore the points discussed in this section.

1. Platform Compatibility: The number one reason people search for an alternative is that it is limited to Apple devices such as Mac, iPad, and iPhone. Windows and Android users who cannot access this note-taking app look for alternatives so they can also benefit from similar services.
2. Cost Considerations: Not everyone has the same resources to spend on a note-taking app, and Notability is a paid app that requires in-app purchases for certain features. That’s why users seek an affordable note-taking solution and prefer switching to an alternative to meet their needs.
3. Feature Set: Although Notability has a comprehensive set of features, people need tools beyond essential functions. It leads them to choose an alternative with advanced mathematical notation, note organization, and collaboration features.
4. Performance: Many users report that Notability shows crashes, bugs, and performance issues interrupting their note-taking in a critical meeting. Besides, they claim less flexibility, customization, and control over the existing notes, forcing them to search for an alternative.

Part 2. Top 10 Alternatives to Notability That One Can Consider for Note-Taking

Upon knowing the reasons for exploring Notability alternatives, it’s time to shed light on the current top-notch alternatives available in the digital market. Like the colors in a palette, each substitute has its own qualities, advantages, and disadvantages. Considering that, we have explained them in detail so you can make an informed choice out of 10 incredible options.

1. Afirstsoft PDF

In the list of alternatives, Afirstsoft PDF stands at the top because it's a free alternative to Notability and is equipped with innovative technology to revolutionize the note-taking process. It’s a comprehensive PDF editor, reader, and converter with an additional note-taking ability so users can perform PDF-related tasks on one platform.

Using this AI-powered software, you can access countless reading and annotation tools, such as highlight, strikethrough, underline, tilde, and stickers. Additionally, this note-taking app allows users to add markups in any color to make the notes appear appealing and easy for anyone to comprehend.

Benefits of Using Afirstsoft PDF as a Notability Alternative

1. Resolve Compatibility Concerns: This free Notability alternativeis the lightest application that offers the fastest processing without software crashes and lags. Additionally, it is quick to launch and available on Mac, Android, iPhone, and Windows, so anyone can benefit from it.
2. Summarize Notes with AI: Unlike Notability, this application is empowered with AI features and allows you to boost your workflows. To do so, you can use its summarization feature and generate brief but important points of your notes in seconds.
3. Digitalize Paper Notes with OCR: If you have notes in paper format and need to digitalize them to upload somewhere, the OCR technology of Afirstsoft PDF can help. It scans the notes with AI support and converts them into a searchable and editable format upon accurate language recognition.
4. Notes Reading with Customization:After taking notes on an important lesson, people must read and interpret it whenever needed. To ease the reading process, Afirstsoft PDF facilitates page resizing, bookmarking, page navigation, and full-screen options.

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2. Goodnotes

The second alternative for Notability is Goodnotes, available on the Web, Windows, Android, and Apple devices. It focuses on obtaining your ideas on the digital page and correcting them in terms of spelling through AI. Users can combine their handwriting with typed notes and enhance the notes’ appearance using markup and highlight tools.

Pros

• It can search any work from handwritten notes on your command.
• With the power of AI, this app can predict/guess words when you are writing.

Con

• Some of its innovative AI features are again limited to iPhone users.

3. Evernote

The next on the list is the Evernote note-taking app, a Notability alternative for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It is designed for busy professionals who can create a to-do list and get things done easily. Through it, users can make notes with text, images, scans, PDFs, and audio while having the ability to access them from other devices via syncing.

Pros

• This software provides AI-powered instant recall to search notes and documents.
• As it supports syncing, users can collaborate with teammates on notes with real-time editing.

Con

• Many users claim that its AI features provide unreliable results.

4. Microsoft OneNote

With the Think with Ink notion, OneNote is a part of the Microsoft Office family and is responsible for note-taking. It aims to replace print handouts in classroom environments through on-screen sticky notes, shapes, and scribbling features. Besides, it allows users to collaborate with the team and access notes on Windows, Apple, Android, or the Web, anywhere, even offline.

Pros

• It provides advanced note-taking features such as dictation and video recording.
• OneNote can organize notes with a logical structure so they can be accessed easily afterward.

Con

• This app heavily relies on syncing but has trouble syncing across devices, which is usually slow.

5. Notesnook

If you are deeply concerned about the privacy of your digital notes, you should try this app, which is similar to Notability. It offers end-to-end encrypted note-taking freedom and promises that no one can access your data if the device is stolen. This Notability alternative enables basic formatting, tables, task lists, and markdown support to customize notes.

Pros

• Notesnook provides an app lock to tighten the security of your data.
• It allows you to add images, files, and math formulas in the notes.

Con

• This software has some trouble with displaying notes and organization issues.

6. NoteLedge

Individuals with creative minds who are interested in making notes attractive should explore this Notability alternative for Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS. It can help them communicate their ideas to teammates through multimedia such as slideshows. Additionally, it assists them in making quick sketches, drawings, collages, and artworks with brushes and other tools.

Pros

• Noteledge has several handwriting notes, stickers, and highlight tools.
• This app can integrate with cloud storage services to store notes.

Con

• Its features are varied according to the subscription plans and operating systems that confuse.

7. Linwood Butterfly

Another open-source alternative to Notability is Linwood Butterfly, known for its cross-compatibility and minimalist outlook. Like other tools, it also offers collaboration and basic note-taking features such as pen, hand, shape, undo, and redo. What’s different is that it can load PDF, SVG, PNG, and several other file formats in your notes while even letting you take pictures through the camera.

Pros

• It lets you choose where to save your data, either in the cloud or export it to the file.
• Users can decide which color they want from the palette and add pages of infinite size.

Con

• Non-tech-savvy people find it difficult to operate this application as it has some complexities.

8. Notion

This Notability Android alternative can help you make note-taking fun with its designer tools. It can not only help you make notes; instead, it can add content to them and rearrange them in an appropriate structure. Moreover, it allows users to add bookmarks, videos, and code, set due dates, and add teammates for co-working, commenting, and editing.

Pros

• Notion lets you mention someone in Docs so they get notified and focus on certain words.
• Users can share any page of Notion with the world through its drag-and-drop website builder.

Con

• One of the most reported drawbacks of this app is its steep learning curve for newbies.

9. Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is a comprehensive note-taking tool that can create individual notes, audio recordings, and checklists and manage them effectively. This alternative for Notability lets users share their notes securely with their friends for collaboration and sync them to the cloud for backup. For each notebook, users can handcraft covers or assign colors to keep them organized, either in the grid or landscape.

Pros

• This alternative can make your notes more secure through touch ID and passcodes.
• Users can add tags to notes to make them searchable and check their version histories.

Con

• It doesn’t provide enough features in its free version and pushes users to get its paid version.

10. Google Keep

Like the Microsoft family’s OneNote, Google also launched its note-taking app Google Keep, which can be a worthy Notability alternative. This online note-taking platform allows users to create notes with images or drawings. Furthermore, it enables users to collaborate with their teammates, hide checkbooks, and add reminders for certain activities.

Pros

• Google Keep can pin essential notes and add some to archives for temporary hiding.
• It provides color-coded notes and labels so users can easily navigate to the desired one.

Con

• This alternative has limited formatting options and restricted characters for notes.

Part 3. How to Choose Good Replacement for Notability?

Now that you are aware of the available apps similar to Notability, you can pick any app that best meets your needs. However, if you are still confused and unable to decide which option is worth spending time and resources on, go through the points next. They will guide you through some must-have features of an alternative to the Notability note-taking app.

1. PDF Annotation: Count the note-taking app worthy if it provides PDF annotation tools such as sticky notes, underlining, and highlighter such as Afirstsoft PDF offers. Additionally, it must support the import and export of annotated files and various typed text formatting options.
2. Multimedia Integration: If you frequently add images, videos, and stickers to your notes for easy recall, you must look for an app with multimedia integration. This feature is considered great because it makes notes more appealing and fruitful for later use.
3. Note-taking and Organization: An excellent alternative to Notabilitymust offer an easy-to-use interface so everyone can quickly create a new note and organize the previous one. It’s also good if the app offers handwriting and drawing input with various pen styles, colors, and thicknesses.
4. Syncing and Cloud: Lastly, prioritize an app with file syncing capabilities across devices because it saves time for manual sharing and fosters team collaboration. Besides, this automatic syncing ability can prevent data loss while providing teammates real-time editing and commenting options.

Conclusion

Let’s conclude the discussion as this guide has covered all the promised topics and given a detailed overview of Notability alternatives. From the explanation of some must-have features of good options, it is evident that Afirstsoft PDF is a perfect note-taking app for all needs. It is reliable software with PDF annotation, cloud syncing, note organization, and everything you need while taking or interpreting notes.