GoodNotes
The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.
Handwritten notes on a tablet: ink with pressure and tilt, PDF annotation, notebooks that sync across devices, and search that reads your handwriting.
Do not rebuild GoodNotes. Build a PDF annotation and export pipeline around an existing ink editor. WHAT TO BUILD - A small macOS or iPadOS app using PencilKit for the ink surface — PencilKit is the part you must not write - PDFKit for rendering and annotating documents WHY THE INK IS OFF LIMITS, IN THE README - Predicted touches, pressure and tilt curves, and 120Hz rendering are platform work measured in years - A homemade stroke engine feels wrong within thirty seconds and no amount of tuning fixes it WHAT IS WORTH BUILDING - A library over a folder of PDFs, with tags and full-text search of the underlying text layer - Ink stored as PencilKit drawing data alongside the file, never flattened until export - Export producing a PDF with the ink burned in, plus a copy keeping annotations editable SEARCH - Text layer indexed with SQLite FTS5 - Handwriting search only if the platform provides it; do not attempt recognition yourself SYNC - Use iCloud Documents and let the system resolve conflicts - Never write your own merge for binary drawing data; keep both versions and let the user choose BACKUP - A nightly export of every document plus its ink data to a folder you control Include a README on the PencilKit data format, the export path and the conflict policy.
What you lose
- Ink rendering with pressure and tilt at 120Hz, which is the entire experience on an iPad
- Handwriting recognition and search across years of handwritten pages
- PDF annotation that survives being opened anywhere else
- Sync of large ink documents without corruption or conflict
- Shape recognition, lasso editing and the small gestures that make it feel like paper
If you would rather not build
- Notability — paid, the direct competitor on iPad
- Apple Notes — free, weaker organisation, same ink engine
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Xournal++
$0Handwritten note-taking and PDF annotation on desktop, with stylus support.
xournalpp/xournalppfree · open source
Joplin
$0Markdown notes with encrypted sync, for the typed half of the same job.
laurent22/joplinfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
21/100
Verdict no at 21: ink is a platform problem, not an application one, and anything less than perfect feels broken immediately. The prompt takes the sensible half — a searchable library over PDFs — and refuses the stroke engine.
History
tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Questions about GoodNotes
answered from the record above
Is GoodNotes free?
No — the plan we track is $9.99 a month. GoodNotes 6 is $9.99/year for the standard tier, with a one-off lifetime option; a free tier limits notebooks.
Can you replace GoodNotes by building your own?
KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 21 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does GoodNotes cost?
$9.99 a month on Yearly — $119.88 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing GoodNotes?
Ink rendering with pressure and tilt at 120Hz, which is the entire experience on an iPad; Handwriting recognition and search across years of handwritten pages; PDF annotation that survives being opened anywhere else; Sync of large ink documents without corruption or conflict; Shape recognition, lasso editing and the small gestures that make it feel like paper. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to GoodNotes?
Yes: Xournal++, Joplin. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
Related entries
same category first, most replaced first
Feedly
Raindrop.ioEvery week, something stops being worth paying for.
New verdicts, prices that moved, entries added. One email a week. Unsubscribe in one click.
free forever · no tracking pixel · every prompt stays free on the site