The Best Note-Taking Apps of 2025

Choosing a note-taking app shouldn't feel overwhelming. Instead of listing hundreds of options, we’ve narrowed it down to the best apps worth your time — whether you’re looking for a business-focused tool like Fellow to keep everyone on the same page or a creative, personal workspace like Evernote or OneNote.

Some note apps are built for teams and meeting productivity, while other note-taking apps are better for solo brainstorming and freeform note taking. Some of these are free note taking apps, while others come with a monthly subscription. Either way, all of them offer a major upgrade from jotting things down in Google Docs or relying on sticky notes scattered around your desk.

No matter your style, your device of choice, or your specific note taking needs, there’s a right tool out there for you. Let’s help you find the best note taking app for your workflow.

6 best note-taking apps

1. Fellow

Fellow is the only all-in-one AI meeting assistant built for remote and hybrid teams. Fellow streamlines the process of building collaborative agendas, sharing meeting notes, and tracking action items, whether your team is in-person or remote. It can auto-join meetings in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet to provide a summary, transcription, and recording. That means you can focus on your calls while Fellow takes care of meeting notes.

Fellow syncs with your calendar and also integrates with more than 50 tools, including HubSpot, Notion, Linear, Glean, and more.

Fellow supports your entire meeting workflow with collaborative agendas, pre-meeting briefs, a central recording library, and detailed permissions.

Try Fellow for free.

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2. Nifty

Nifty is a powerful note taking and project management tool that brings chats, documents, tasks, calendars, and collaboration into one streamlined app.

You can create multimedia notes, collaborate on tasks with your team, and manage entire projects without switching apps. Nifty supports file sharing, internal hyperlinks, real time editing, and integrates with external calendars like Google Calendar and Outlook.

Its highly customizable project views (Kanban, Swimlane, List) let users work the way they prefer — whether that's for building a grocery list, drafting meeting agendas, or planning complex projects.

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3.  SimpleNote

Simplenote lives up to its name: it’s a lightweight, fast, and easy-to-use free note taking app that’s perfect for capturing quick notes and organizing ideas with tags.

While it’s best suited for personal use or light team sharing, Simplenote syncs across all your devices without cost, ensuring quick access whenever you need it. However, its minimalistic design also means it lacks rich text features, customization options, or multimedia note support like images or audio notes.

If your main priority is speed and simplicity, Simplenote is a strong contender among the best free note taking apps available today.

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4. Zoho Notebook

Zoho Notebook is one of the more visually creative note taking apps, offering features like scan-to-text, the ability to record audio notes, capture text notes, and create to do lists.

It supports real-time collaboration, securely syncing notes across all your devices. Zoho Notebook also supports multimedia notes, allowing you to combine images, audio, sketches, and checklists all in one place.

With native integrations for apps like Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams — and Zapier access to 1,000+ other apps — Zoho Notebook is a flexible choice for teams that want a mix of structured and creative note taking.

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5. Evernote

Evernote is a longtime favorite among note-taking apps, built for individuals who value freeform thinking and creative organization. While it does offer some collaboration features, it’s primarily designed for personal use rather than team-based workflows, calendar integration, or task management.

What sets Evernote apart is its versatility. You can save notes in nearly any format — text, images, PDFs, audio recordings, Slack messages, emails, web pages, and more — making it a powerful all-in-one digital notebook.

Paid plans unlock even more robust features, including global search across all your content. Evernote can even search within PDFs and, under the right conditions, inside images with clear text, such as signs, book pages, or food labels. It can also attempt to recognize and search handwritten notes, although typing is usually faster for most users.

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6. Microsoft OneNote

If you're looking for a free note taking app that offers serious features, Microsoft OneNote is a standout. It’s bundled with Microsoft 365 but can also be downloaded for free on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android — making it a great option for Apple users and Windows users alike.

OneNote acts as a flexible interlinked digital database of notes, complete with robust search, tagging, and highlighting features. It organizes notes into subsections called pages within notebooks, offering a familiar structure for anyone who loves the feel of flipping through a physical notebook.

OneNote supports to do lists, images, quick notes, multimedia notes, and real-time editing, making it one of the best note taking apps for students, teams, and individuals alike. It’s also a smart choice if you’re already using other Microsoft tools like Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive.

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Take your best notes every time

However you're approaching note taking — whether it's for personal use or collaboration — note-taking apps can dramatically improve how you organize, share ideas, and turn inspiration into action.

The right app saves you time, helps your team stay organized, and makes it easier to track action items or even manage projects. Whether you need simple text notes, quick access across all your devices, or full-featured task management, there’s a note taking app tailored to your life.

If you’re looking for a meeting-first solution that’s truly built for teams, check out Fellow. With Fellow, you can create collaborative agendas, assign responsibilities, and manage meeting action items — all while maintaining high standards for security and data privacy.

Try Fellow today.

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