Notes vs Microsoft OneNote

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

1. [R5] Notes 5/5 · US Organization: Keeps my shopping list and thoughts flowing and on target. Thank you
2. [R11] Notes 5/5 · US Genuinely life saving: It’s user friendly but living with ADD i find notes the go to place to store stuff and all the above… can share certain ones too… it brilliant! My kids use it one is 12 the other 20 so it’s def for everyone!!
3. [R17] Notes 5/5 · US Notes with me: Like having my notes with me. If I’m out & about if I see something I need I can just put it on my list and not worry about losing my scratch piece of paper at home or accidentally throwing my paper away from my purse.
4. [R44] Notes 5/5 · US Immediately Available: Very convenient!
5. [R1] Notes 1/5 · US Only 5 colors?: I wish you had more colors that you can make the words when you type, because you have more colors on the photos app
6. [R6] Notes 3/5 · US App needs improvements: App needs ability to have auto calculation of math data within a table this way as I make a change or add something or remove something it updates those math totals in real time.
7. [R3] Notes 3/5 · US Missing scanned attachments: As much I like Apple. I truly dislike not having a version history option within the app. I’m literally scanning and taking notes only to find out days laters it’s gone. I cannot fathom doing over again. It’s not in recently deleted and no matter how long I kept pressing the undo button has anything changed. I’m truly tired of these glitches. Please fix it. I should ha
8. [R4] Notes 1/5 · US Notes is great but…: The only way to make sure that you don't get a note put in your deleted folder and disappear in 30 days which happens a lot it's a bug or a glitch the only way to prevent that is to Lock the new but nowadays you can't lock a note if it includes a PDF a picture of video and a few other things and if you're trying to retrieve your data from Apple to pack your stuff up or if you'
9. [R7] Notes 1/5 · US 1 Star Here's Why:: One Day, I Come to notes and noticed the undo/redo button is gone all those memories where I can Put Back A Mistake and now I can't do it anymore, So Apple if your out there or your reading this review please bring back Undo/Redo or I'll try my best to get your address And Hit you with a sledgehammer or punch you and your mom & Dad To Death
10. [R9] Notes 3/5 · US Good for typed notes, serious performance issues for handwritten notes.: It pretty much does what it says on the tin, and is great for taking down quick notes, lists and reminders from your phone. However for longer notes I prefer to hand write them, and this app causes massive overheating and battery drain on my M4 ipad air. Putting lines on a page should not be this taxing on my tablet, and it s
11. [R15] Notes 3/5 · US 2 steps away from being the perfect note taking app: So as a student i wanted to try out the notes app for note taking with the Apple Pencil. Its honestly great, i love the layout, the tools, the syncing with iCloud,and, most importantly for me, its free. MY ISSUE: When the note is large enough, the ipad a16 i am using atm starts to struggle for no reason. It heats up and the latency for writing
12. [R20] Notes 5/5 · US Lost ALL notes 🤬: Found most all after closing & reopening the newly installed app. Storage on iCloud versus storing notes on iPhone may lead to a loss of all of your notes. By attempting to move notes from the iPhone up to the iCloud your app will show that all of your notes are now stored in the iCloud and show them as having been moved from your mobile device in to iCloud notes storage.
13. [R28] Notes 2/5 · US Can’t transfer notes to Windows laptop: I initially liked this App, but cannot copy or move any of my notes to my Windows laptop. Nor will Apple let me email them to myself, requiring a different email address. Huge FAIL.
14. [R31] Notes 1/5 · US Export option nonexistant: Want to import my notes into obsidian and can't
15. [R18] Notes 3/5 · US Slow, laggy and search not working: I’ve been using Apple Notes for as long as I can remember and for some reason that app just seems to keep getting worse and worse. It has become so slow and laggy that I can barely use it. By the time it allows me to start typing, I’ve nearly forgotten what I was going to type. Additionally, the search function has become so wonky. If I search a word the notes a
16. [R39] Notes 3/5 · GB Find in note: The function of search (Find in note) in the context seems to have gone malfunction. When you input something hopefully to find it in a massive sea of content, the notes no longer works without a hitch.
17. [R61] Microsoft OneNote 1/5 · US Search is broken: I’ve used OneNote for years. I love it. My note complex has become humongous. Dozens of notebooks. Hundreds of sections. Thousands of pages. Search just keeps disappointing. Unable to search for basic typed text. Search is mission critical. It is not acceptable to suck this bad. Fix it or I’m migrating.
18. [R72] Microsoft OneNote 3/5 · US Is helpful, but with opportunities: I like being able to organize my notes and the easy access. I also love the feature that lets me select the meeting the notes are about. Major opportunities are dragging info down, not working, and making a mess. The text box overlaps, spelling doesn’t work well, and when searching for keywords, it shows you the notebook name but not the tab name. Still love it
19. [R52] Notes 1/5 · US Needs constant improvements and updates, especially the categories, including subfiles.: The Apple app is usable, but there is a categorization issue when it is limited to 5 subfolders while trying to organize my notes by creating categories and folders. If it is the most-used note-taking app, please continually improve and update it. Therefore, Apple Notes should also offer multiple settings opti
20. [R62] Microsoft OneNote 5/5 · US OneNote is it!: I use this software for all my notes. It is great for organizing across all my devices. I love it!
21. [R71] Microsoft OneNote 5/5 · US Wonderful application for segregating all folders and ids properly: Must have this application "OneNote" cuz it saves all data at one palce like sticky notes, folders and Ids at one place with bequtiful colours available to choose to.
22. [R101] Microsoft OneNote 5/5 · US Makers love OneNote: I love OneNote and have been using it for years. I like that I can collect multiple thoughts or subjects on one page and include attachments, photos, even video for that particular subject all collected in one book. I am a maker- all things textile (fabric). From sewing garments, Quilting, bag making, costume making, and sew on (pun intended). I can have sub folders within my
23. [R10] Notes 1/5 · US horrible: all of noted over the last few years with important information just disappeared with no way to get them back???? thanks apple!
24. [R16] Notes 1/5 · US Can’t update it and deleted all my notes: Deletes all my information then tells me to update and is not possible to update.
25. [R36] Notes 3/5 · GB Needs Optimisation: Longer notes seem to take up a lot of processing power and become laggy on my iPad Air M3, even leading to overheating. I’m using Notes to study for an exam where there is a lot of revision material, and it seems like my very powerful iPad is struggling to process all of my handwritten notes and is slowing down. Functionality and features of the app are okay, though nothing spe
26. [R76] Microsoft OneNote 1/5 · US Overheating: I was using OneNote on a 2020 iPad and within minutes of using the app. I thought the it was because my iPad was old. Just bought a new iPad M4 and Microsoft OneNote is the only app, and it STILL overheats within minutes.