GoodNotes vs Notability for Digital Planners: Which to Pick?

By Robin Hale · November 11, 2026

Both apps let you write by hand on a PDF, and a digital planner is just a PDF with clickable tabs. So the question isn't which app is better in general. It's which one makes a planner easy to open, easy to move around in and cheap to keep. This comparison sticks to that. We make planners, not apps, and we have no deal with either company.

GoodNotes vs Notability at a glance

Sources: GoodNotes pricing, Notability pricing and both help centres, checked November 11, 2026. US prices; they change and vary by country, so look at the App Store or Google Play before you pay.

What matters for a planner (and what doesn't)

The free plan is probably enough

A planner is one file. GoodNotes' free plan allows three files and Notability's allows five notes, so either holds a planner without paying. The limit to watch is GoodNotes' 5 MB import cap on the free plan: big planners with hundreds of image-heavy pages can be larger than that. Check the file size before you buy a planner, or test with a free sample. (Ours are all under 5 MB.)

Links have to open with a tap

The tabs are the whole point of a digital planner. Without them you scroll through hundreds of pages to find today.

• GoodNotes documents this clearly. On iPad and iPhone you tap the tab. On Android, Windows and the web you switch to Read Only Mode and tap, or press and hold the link and choose "Open Link" (GoodNotes help). If a tap draws a line instead of jumping, Read Only Mode fixes it.
• Notability builds its own 2026 planners around tappable tabs, and its help centre explains how to import a planner you bought elsewhere. We couldn't find an official step-by-step for links in imported planners, and we haven't tested our own files in Notability yet. So try a free sample there before you buy anything.

Your devices decide more than the features do

GoodNotes runs on Apple devices, Android, Windows and in a browser. Notability started on Apple devices and added Android in 2026. If you plan on an iPad and nothing else, both fit. If there's an Android tablet or a Windows laptop in the picture, GoodNotes has been there longer, and moving your library between Apple and non-Apple devices needs its Pro plan.

What you can ignore

Pen styles, sticker packs, AI summaries and transcription are nice, and none of them decides whether you open your planner tomorrow. If comparing features has already taken an evening, that's the sign to stop and pick the app you have.

Pick GoodNotes if…

• You're starting from scratch and want the simplest path for a PDF planner.
• You want to stay on a free plan with one planner file.
• You use, or might use, Android or Windows as well as an iPad.
• You'd rather pay once than subscribe (Apple devices only).

Setup takes about five minutes: how to use a digital planner in GoodNotes.

Pick Notability if…

• You already take your notes there. A planner next to your notes gets opened; a planner in a second app gets forgotten.
• You want a planner that comes with the app, and you're happy to pay for the Plus plan.
• You've tested your planner in it and the tabs work.

What about OneNote?

OneNote is free and good for typed notes, but it treats a PDF differently. According to Microsoft's help page, you add a PDF either as an attachment or as a "printout that you can annotate". A printout is made for writing on, not for moving around in: we found no Microsoft documentation saying that links inside a printout can be tapped, and users report that they can't. For a hyperlinked planner, that means scrolling instead of tapping. If OneNote is where your notes live, keep it for notes and open the planner in an app that follows PDF links. On Windows and Android, these apps work.

Try both in ten minutes, for free

You don't have to decide from a table. Import a small free planner into each app and check four things:

1. It opens as a document, not as a template or background.
2. You can write on a page and the writing stays there.
3. Tapping a tab opens the right page.
4. You can find your way back to the start page.

Our free Starter Kit is built with the same links as our full planners, so it's a fair test. Whichever app passes with less fiddling is your answer.

Already using one? Stay.

Switching apps feels productive and plans nothing. Your handwriting doesn't move across as editable ink, and an exported copy of a planner can lose its links. If you do switch, import the original planner PDF into the new app and start from today. There's more on that in how to restart a planner after missing days.

Questions people ask

Is GoodNotes or Notability better for digital planners?

GoodNotes is the easier choice for most people: one planner fits its free plan, links open with a tap, and it runs on iPad, Android, Windows and the web. Notability also works with planners and is the better choice if your notes already live there.

Is Notability free?

There is a free plan with 5 notes and all editing tools. Unlimited notes start with the Lite plan at $11.99 a year (US price, checked November 11, 2026).

Is GoodNotes free?

Yes, with limits: up to 3 files and imports up to 5 MB. A single planner file fits if it is smaller than 5 MB. The Essential plan at $11.99 a year removes both limits.

Do planner links work in both apps?

In GoodNotes, yes: tap the link on iPad and iPhone, or use Read Only Mode on Android, Windows and the web. Notability's own planners use tappable tabs too. For a planner you bought elsewhere, test a free sample in Notability first.

Can I use the same planner in both?

Yes. A planner is a PDF file, so you can import the same file into either app. What you write in one app stays in that app.

This guide shares planning strategies, not medical advice. If ADHD symptoms are making daily life hard, a doctor or ADHD specialist can help. Disclaimer.