Best free note-taking apps for students (2026)

We read each app's own pricing page, plans page or app store listing on 24 October 2026. Every price and limit below comes from there. Where a page did not say something, we wrote "not stated" instead of guessing. Where another app is the better choice, we say so.

The short version

1. Notiero

Free. No account to start. Web, phone and computer.

Notiero is a notes app that opens in your browser. You tap, type, and the note saves on your device. It keeps working without internet, and you can add it to your phone's home screen so it opens like an app. Signing in is optional and only turns on syncing between your phone and laptop.

The part built for studying: right click a note, or long press it on a phone, and pick Make flashcards or Quiz me. You get cards or a multiple choice quiz written from that note alone. You can try both without opening the app, with the free flashcard maker and quiz maker. Those give 15 free runs on each device.

Skip it if you write by hand with a pencil, or you need shared pages with a group project team. Goodnotes and Notion do those better.

2. Notion

Free for one person. Plus is free for students with a school email. Paid: $12 a month or $120 a year.

Notion is the most flexible app here. One workspace can hold notes, a class timetable, a reading list and a group project board. The Free plan has unlimited pages for one person, with 5 MB per uploaded file and 7 days of page history.

Notion's pricing page says the Plus plan with a one-member limit is free for students and educators. Its education page adds the catches: you sign in with your school email, K-12 students and gmail.com addresses are not eligible, and you re-verify the email once a year. Notion AI is only included on the Business and Enterprise plans, and free users get a limited trial.

Choose it over Notiero if you want one place for every class and group project, and you do not mind setting it up.

Skip it if you need your notes offline in a browser. Notion's help page says offline only works in its desktop and mobile apps.

3. Obsidian

Free without limits. No sign-up. Sync: $5 a month, or $4 a month billed yearly.

Obsidian is an app you install on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone or Android. Your notes are plain text files on your own device, and its pricing page says plainly: "Free without limits." Students get 40% off the paid Sync and Publish add-ons.

Choose it over Notiero if you want your notes as files on your computer and you like setting up your own system.

Skip it if you study on a school computer where you cannot install apps. Obsidian lists no browser version.

4. Goodnotes

Free: 3 files and 3 folders. Paid: $11.99 a year (Essential) or $35.99 a year (Pro).

Goodnotes is built for handwriting and marking up PDFs with a stylus, and it now runs on Apple, Android, Windows and the web. It also has a quiz generator from notes, up to 5 a month on the free plan, and flashcards through its study Sets.

Choose it over Notiero if you write by hand on a tablet. Typed notes are not its main job.

Skip it if you need more than three notebooks without paying. The free plan stops at 3 files.

5. Microsoft OneNote

Free. Needs a Microsoft account.

OneNote is free and many schools already hand out Microsoft accounts, so it may be set up for you. Its Google Play listing says "A free Microsoft account is required to use OneNote." The pages we could load did not say which features need a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Choose it if your school runs on Microsoft and your teachers share class notebooks in it.

6. Google Keep

Free. Needs a Google account.

Keep is for short notes, lists and reminders, and it syncs through your Google account. It works offline on the phone. It has no flashcards or quizzes, and long notes get awkward in its card layout.

Choose it if you want quick reminders and to-do lists next to your Gmail.

7. Notability

Free: 5 notes. Paid: from $11.99 a year (Lite).

Notability records audio while you write, which some students love for lectures. Its AI quizzes and flashcards are on the paid plans only: limited on Plus ($15.99 a year), unlimited on Pro ($79.99 a year). The free plan stops at 5 notes.

8. Evernote

Free: 50 notes, 1 notebook, 1 device. Paid: $14.99 a month or $99 a year.

Evernote still has strong search and web clipping. The free plan is now small: one notebook on one device. College students can get 40% off one year of the Advanced plan ($24.99 a month or $249.99 a year). We wrote a longer piece on free Evernote replacements.

9. Apple Notes

Free on Apple devices.

If every device you own is from Apple, Apple Notes is already there and syncs through iCloud. You can reach iCloud notes on iCloud.com from another computer's browser. There is no app for Android. Here is how to reach Apple Notes from an Android phone anyway.

How to choose in one minute

• You want to start typing right now, on any device: Notiero.
• You have a university email and want one hub for everything: Notion.
• You want your notes as files on your own computer: Obsidian.
• You write by hand on a tablet: Goodnotes.
• Your school runs on Microsoft: OneNote.

Whichever you pick, the app matters less than what you do with the notes afterwards. Testing yourself beats re-reading. We wrote about that in how to take notes effectively and how to revise from your notes.

How we checked

On 24 October 2026 we read each app's own pricing page, plans page, help center or app store listing. Prices are in US dollars as shown that day, and some apps charge differently by country. Notion shows $10 and $20 a month on its pricing page, which are the yearly-billed rates, so we list the monthly price too. Microsoft's OneNote product page would not load for us, so the OneNote facts come from its app store listings and support pages.