7 Best Note-Taking Apps for College Students in 2025: For Study & Notes

One of the things that you might want to consider is embracing a note-taking application if you’re in college or university.

Note-taking applications can be a great way to not only build your ideas out, journal, and take notes during class, but they can now transform information into more useful, bite-sized information to make your studying smarter versus more overwhelming. There are many different types of note-taking applications, so we’ll go through the ones that use AI to help you establish a smarter routine, and the ones that don’t, so that you can have a more established way to take your notes on the go.

How we chose the apps?

One of the most important factors for students is cost.

• AI Powered - You want to be smarter with your approach

• Easy to Use - Simple & easy to get notes captured and organized.

Keeping costs down helps reduce overheads while at college or university, so apps with a generous free tier are vital for long-term use. Another crucial factor is the ease of use, whether for quickly capturing information, using extensions to combine research from multiple sources, or AI-powered features to summarize notes.

1. RemNote

Best All-Rounder

RemNote is a popular choice due to its extensive free plan, brilliant quality note-taking tool and a standout feature: flashcards creation.

Flashcards are excellent for studying and use spaced repetition to help students learn and absorb information effectively. The app’s AI can automatically convert notes into flashcards, saving time and allowing students to focus on revising rather than administrative tasks. The premium version includes advanced PDF tools and additional AI functionality, but the free version offers plenty for student needs.

2. Coconote AI

Best for Audio Transcription

Coconote AI is an application that is used to turn audio into things like notes, flashcards, and quizzes.

This is available in over 100 languages, and it’s got a really high App Store rating (4.9), with their website stating that over a million students are using this right now. The app is a lot smarter in the approach to taking notes, as you can leave your phone next to you during the lecture, and then after an hour, if you’re using Coconote’s premium, you can then turn all of those transcribed notes into a flashcard quiz that will help you to turn a recorded lecture into something more practical to test that you are truly listening.

There are also quizzes and podcasts that can be created, so that you can approach it in the learning style that best suits you.

3. Supernotes

Best for Sharing Notes

Supernotes is designed around a card-based system, making it ideal for students who prefer visual note-taking. The cards allow you to organize your thoughts clearly and connect ideas seamlessly. This is particularly useful for creating structured content, such as research notes or summaries of lectures. One of Supernotes’ most appealing features is its collaboration capability, allowing you to share cards with classmates easily. For instance, if a peer misses a lecture, you can send them the relevant cards in just a few clicks. It also works with markdown.

The free plan offers up to 100 cards, which is enough to get started, while the premium plan includes grammatical AI tools to refine your notes and make them visually polished. Supernotes is available across devices, making it highly functional for quick note-taking, whether during a lecture or while studying.

4. Notion

Best for Group Projects

Notion is a super app for students, combining note-taking, task management, and collaboration into one platform. The free academic plan is incredibly generous, providing unlimited notes and additional features for those who sign up with a .edu or .ac.uk email address. Notion is beneficial for organizing coursework, thanks to its templates that help create structured workspaces.

Students find Notion’s backlinking feature particularly valuable for connecting notes and its ability to embed media for more dynamic content.While some AI features, like Q&A for deeper analysis, are part of the premium plan, the free version includes plenty of tools to get started. With its functionality and accessibility, Notion is a strong choice for students across disciplines.

5. GoodNotes

Best for iPad

GoodNotes is a top choice for iPad users, offering stylus-friendly features for visual thinkers. It’s ideal for sketching ideas, taking detailed notes, and using AI to refine handwritten content. The yearly cost of $9.99 is highly competitive, making it one of the best premium options for students. It's got some great AI features for better handwriting recognition and better formulation, so you don't look so weak with your stylus.

Goodnotes offers good notebook customization, including stickers, templates, and even a big store (locked under premium). This level of customization appeals to many students wanting a BuJo-style notes app with sketch abilities.

6. Obsidian

Best for Nerds

Obsidian is another PKM-focused app and a great choice for students who want a local-first, markdown-based solution. It supports bidirectional linking and features a visual Canvas tool for brainstorming and connecting ideas. This makes it highly appealing for research projects and thesis work. Students will love this one, if they can learn it well enough, for expanding on a thought and bringing it to life. We would recommend this most to knowledge-based topics that requires connecting ideas together in-full.

Obsidian also includes a web clipper, which makes it easy to gather resources online and integrate them into your notes. The free version is highly functional, offering a comprehensive toolset for students without requiring a subscription.

7. Recall AI

Best for AI Summaries

Recall AI is another study-based application that is actually used by not just those college students, but a wide variety of note-takers.

You can use the application to take a podcast, website, or YouTube video and summarise the information. This allows you to make use of and extract the most important lessons from the video, which is perfect if you’re somebody that typically struggles to learn in written format, and likes to be able to bring together visual learning into a more useful format. Many people like this application because it also auto-organises your notes into a format where there’s no need to add folders or notebooks.

For example, if you were to add a YouTube video about a certain biology topic, it will auto-generate a folder around biology for you. You can always edit this, but it’s really helpful to be able to get the information in and then find relevant stuff. It also has a feature, which is sort of like a knowledge graph, so if you’re working on a topic, you can expand your learning of who or what is involved, like a person that’s important to the topic, or a company that might be interesting to explore.

Choosing the Right App?

Now that you’ve explored the range of options, choosing a note-taking application that fits your needs as a student is essential. Each app offers unique features, and the right choice depends on your personal preferences, study habits, and academic requirements. Here’s a breakdown to help you decide:

Best All-Round Note-Taking Apps

If you’re looking for a well-rounded solution that is easy to use in a variety of situations—whether for lectures, group work, or personal study—we recommend:

• Notion: Offers a free academic plan with powerful templates and collaboration features, making it great for managing tasks and organizing notes.

• Microsoft OneNote: Excellent for students with Microsoft licenses, offering familiar tools, free access, and interactive features like Copilot AI.

• RemNote: A strong choice for students who want to combine note-taking with spaced repetition flashcards for effective learning.

Best for Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)

For students engaged in research or those who want to organize extensive notes in a highly structured way, PKM-focused apps are ideal. These apps help you visualize connections between ideas and manage complex information:

• Obsidian: Great for its bidirectional linking, markdown-based note storage, and Canvas feature for visualizing ideas.

• Capacities: Offers a unique object-based organization system, perfect for creating structured knowledge bases.

• Supernotes: Combines visual note cards with collaborative capabilities, making it suitable for both individual study and group projects.

These tools are especially useful for students working on research-intensive assignments, dissertations, or collaborative academic work.

Best for Task and Productivity Integration

If you want to streamline your academic life by combining note-taking with task management, consider:

• Amplenote: Its Task Score feature automatically prioritizes tasks based on urgency and importance, helping students stay on top of deadlines.

• Lunatask: A privacy-focused app that integrates tasks and notes seamlessly, with encryption for added security.

These apps are excellent for students managing tight schedules, balancing coursework, and keeping track of tasks and projects.

Best for iPad Users

If you use an iPad or stylus for taking notes, these apps stand out:

• GoodNotes: Perfect for visual thinkers, offering tools for sketching and annotating notes, with affordable premium pricing.

• Bear Notes: A lightweight, elegant option for Mac and iOS users who prefer offline functionality and markdown support.

Both apps excel in stylus-friendly features, making them great choices for students who prefer handwritten or visually structured notes.