In Summary
- Chromebooks are used for a multitude of things, one such activity is note-taking. There are a few apps that let you take both typed and handwritten notes on your Chromebook.
- In this article, we have compiled a list of some of the most useful note-taking applications available for ChromeOS.
- All of these applications are also available for Android phones and tablets.
Do you want to get organized and increase your productivity? Taking notes is one of the most important steps in achieving this goal. Today we will look at some of the best note-taking apps for Chromebooks that can help you do just that.
With the right tools, you can easily manage and organize all your notes, tasks, and ideas in one place. From simple text editors to more advanced note-taking tools, we have compiled a list of our favorite note-taking apps for Chromebooks that will make taking notes easier than ever before.
Chromebooks are equipped with ChromeOS, which is primarily operated via keyboard and mouse input but is also well-optimized for touch input. Many Chromebooks are equipped with a touchscreen, and there are also many tablets that run ChromeOS. Most of these tablets have a stylus that you can use to take handwritten notes.
Since ChromeOS can also run Android apps, we have listed a few apps that let you take notes on your Chromebook using the stylus and keyboard + mouse input. All of these apps are available in the Chrome web store.
Table of Contents
Easily Take Notes on Your Chromebook With These ChromeOS Apps
We have compiled a list of applications that we think work best on ChromeOS. All of the apps listed below support the stylus for handwritten notes, and you can, of course, type anything if you like.
Personally, I am a big fan of handwritten notes, as it’s a better way to remember things than using the keyboard. You can also draw and personalize the notes to your liking. Android or ChromeOS does not have a great collection of apps compared to iPadOS, but it does have a good collection of apps.
Top Free Chromebook Apps for Note-Taking
Squid Notes
This is by far the most popular note taking app on Chrome OS and Android. Squid is especially popular with people who like to take handwritten notes, as it offers several pen-related features. Squid’s main feature is that there is no latency between the pen and the screen. There’s also a paid subscription that costs just a dollar a month that lets you sign PDFs. You can also create PDF notebooks with your notes.
Evernote
Evernote is a multi-platform application. You can use it to take notes, draw, create mood boards and share all your work across different devices and platforms. All your notes are synced to all your devices, so you can easily access them. In the free version, you can only use it on two devices, but you can sign up for a premium subscription to increase the number of devices to five and get unlimited cloud storage as a bonus. All this is for just $2 per month.
Bamboo Paper
Bamboo Paper is an application that focuses mainly on pen input and tries to imitate the feeling of writing in a real notebook. You can choose between different types of paper and also the type of cover for your “virtual” notebook. All this, combined with the beautiful UI, makes it one of the best apps for taking notes on your Chromebook.
Concepts
Concepts is an application that offers many useful features, starting with shared notes and shared notes. It has a good UI, which is well-optimized for ChromeOS and can be used with a stylus or mouse input. The free version is sufficient for normal use, but if you want more, you can sign up for a premium subscription to add some new tools to the app. It costs about $7 per month and gives you access to many additional features.
Special Mentions: Cursive and Google Keep
Cursive is note-taking app from Google specially created for handwritten notes. It lets you organize your notes like a notepad and detects whether you are using the touchscreen with your fingers or the stylus. It adjusts the sensitivity accordingly, but there is still a significant input lag that makes writing with the stylus difficult.
The Cursive app also does not support multi-page notes, so you can not add extra pages to an existing note. You have to create a new note every time you want to write something that goes beyond a single page. This is one of the main problems with Cursive, which is why we did not include it in the main list.
Google Keep is a very good application for making small notes and reminders. It is completely cloud-based, which means that all your data is synced with your Google account. But when it comes to taking serious notes, especially with a pen, Google Keep fails. There are very few pen-based features, and there’s also no way to create multi-page notes, especially if you are using a pen.
Both web apps are good for certain tasks, but not all. For this reason, we did not include them in the main list of best note-taking apps for Chromebooks. But they are certainly very good apps that work really well in ChromeOS, even if only the web versions.
Other popular Chromebook apps for taking notes include:
Free Chromebook Notes Apps
The above applications are the most popular free and feature-rich applications for Chromebooks. While you can do much more with these apps if you pay for their premium subscriptions, we wouldn’t recommend it unless it’s a business expense and you absolutely need additional features.
We hope this article has been helpful. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to leave them below in the comments.
FAQs About the Best Note-Taking Apps for Chromebook
Can we use the touch screen and stylus for taking notes on a Chromebook?
Yes, if your Chromebook has a touch and supports stylus input, then you can use all the applications featured in this article like Concepts, Squid Notes, Evernote, etc. with both input methods.
Is there a notes app on Chromebook?
Yes, Chromebooks come pre-installed with Google Keep which is a simple and free note taking app. Google also has a dedicated app for handwritten notes called Cursive which doesn't come pre-installed but can be downloaded for free.
Is Goodnotes available for Chromebook?
Unfortunately, no. Goodnotes for Chromebook is not available and they have no immediate plans to introduce Goodnotes for Chrome OS. Alternatively, one can use apps like Squid Notes, Bamboo Paper, and Evernote.
What is the equivalent of Notepad on Chromebook?
Google Keep is the equivalent of Notepad on a Chromebook. You can use Google Keep to take notes, maintain a journal, or track to-do lists. The other alternatives include Text and Caret.