Planning guide
GoodNotes vs Notability for a digital planner
By Print Magic StudioX ·
GoodNotes and Notability are the two apps most people choose between, and both handle a digital planner well. Most comparisons judge them for lecture notes. This one judges them for planning: opening a year-long hyperlinked PDF, jumping around it, and writing in it every day.
Devices
- GoodNotes runs on iPad, iPhone and Mac, and a separate GoodNotes for Android, Windows and the web opens the same notebooks, without every iPad feature yet.
- Notability runs on iPad, iPhone and Mac, and on Android since August 2026.
Free plans and paying
- GoodNotes is free for up to three notebooks, which holds a planner; paying unlocks unlimited notebooks. On Android, Windows and the web the free plan also limits how large a file you can import.
- Notability has a free Starter plan with limits on how much you create or edit, and paid plans, including a one-time purchase, that lift them.
- Prices differ by country and change often, so check the store listing.
Following a planner's links
- GoodNotes: tap a tab or a date with your finger while the Apple Pencil keeps writing, or switch to Read Only mode. Being able to keep the pencil in hand is the main reason planners favour it.
- Notability: switch the note to read-only with the pencil toggle, tap, then toggle back to write.
Writing and organising
- Handwriting: both feel natural with an Apple Pencil, and both search your handwriting.
- Organising: GoodNotes keeps notebooks in folders and subfolders, which suits a planner beside other notebooks; Notability sorts notes into subjects and dividers.
- Stickers: GoodNotes keeps favourites in its Elements tray, one tap from any page. How to add stickers to GoodNotes.
- Audio: Notability is known for recording audio as you write and replaying it in step with the notes. That matters for lectures and meetings more than for a planner.
Which to choose for a planner
- Mostly planning: GoodNotes. Following links without putting the pencil down makes the daily jump between month, week and day quicker, and most planners are made with it in mind.
- Planning and recording lectures or meetings: Notability, for its audio.
- Unsure: both have free plans. Open the same planner in each for a week.
Try both with the same planner
The free 2027 calendar is a full hyperlinked year: import it into both apps and use each for a few days. You will know which you prefer by the weekend.
Every planner on this site works in either app: the All-in-One Digital Planner and every other digital planner. For other apps, including Android choices, see the best annotation apps for a digital planner.
Quick answers
Is GoodNotes or Notability better for a digital planner?
For planning alone, GoodNotes, mainly because you can tap a planner's links with your finger without putting the pencil down. Notability is the better choice if you also record lectures or meetings.
Can I move my planner from one app to the other?
Yes. Import the same PDF into the other app. Your handwriting comes across only if you export the annotated PDF from the first app and import that.
Do GoodNotes and Notability work on Android?
Both do now: GoodNotes for Android, Windows and the web, and Notability on Android since August 2026.
More planning guides
- GuideHow digital planner hyperlinks work, and how to tap them in GoodNotesWhy a tap sometimes writes instead of jumping, and the one setting that fixes it.
- GuideHow to use Apple Calendar and Google Calendar with a digital plannerA PDF cannot sync, but it can hand off: Reminders, Google Calendar and Shortcuts from the page.
- GuideMonday or Sunday start planner: which week should you choose?What actually changes on the page, and a simple way to decide.
New to digital planning? Start with the planner guide: importing into GoodNotes, the Read Only trick and copying pages.