Updated August 2026
Updated August 2026 · Verified against the Play Store listings on 6 August 2026.
Best overall: Samsung Notes, free and preinstalled on Galaxy hardware, rated 4.8 stars from 14.7M reviews (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026). Best free everywhere: Microsoft OneNote, free with no ads, 4.6 stars from 1.49M reviews. Best for turning ink into editable text: MyScript Notes (formerly Nebo), free tier plus in-app purchases from $1.99 to $29.99, no ads. Prices, ads and ratings for all 12 apps were verified against the Play Store listings on 6 August 2026; the full breakdown is below.
Galaxy S Pen
Samsung Notes is the best overall: free, preinstalled on Galaxy hardware, no ads or in-app purchases, with low-latency S Pen ink and built-in handwriting-to-text. The blunt con: it is Samsung-only, and the listing has not updated since 23 September 2025 (checked 6 August 2026).
Pros: free with zero monetisation · reliable ink-to-text · PDF annotation and audio recording. Cons: Samsung devices only · sync needs a Samsung account · listing idle since September 2025.
Skip it if you write on anything other than a Galaxy. Choose Samsung Notes over MyScript Notes inside the Samsung ecosystem; choose MyScript when text conversion is the whole point.
↑ Back to the comparisonInk to text
MyScript Notes (formerly Nebo) turns handwriting into clean, editable text better than anything on Android, math and diagrams included. Free to start, no ads; the honest con: serious use needs the paid unlock, $1.99 to $29.99 in-app (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026), and it wants an active stylus.
Pros: best ink-to-text engine · exports Word and PDF · lifetime unlock option. Cons: limited free tier · weak with finger writing · 1M+ installs, a small base.
Skip it if your notes stay as ink. Choose MyScript Notes over Squid when you need typed text out; choose Squid for paper-style ink and budget PDF filling.
↑ Back to the comparisonBudget tablets
Squid turns any cheap tablet into infinite paper and stays fast doing it. Core writing is free with no ads; the blunt cons: no handwriting-to-text at all, and PDF import sits behind the paid tier, $1.00 to $14.99 in-app (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026).
Pros: vector ink scales cleanly · quick on low-end tablets · fully offline, no account. Cons: no ink-to-text · PDF import is paid · no built-in cloud sync.
Skip it if keyword search matters to you. Choose Squid over Microsoft OneNote for offline paper-like ink on a budget tablet; choose OneNote when notes must reach a laptop.
↑ Back to the comparisonMicrosoft 365
Microsoft OneNote is the best free pick: no ads, no cost, and handwritten pages sync to Windows, iOS and the web. The con: a Microsoft account is mandatory, and big shared notebooks sprawl (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026).
Pros: free, generous OneDrive storage · mixes typed and handwritten notes · 4.6 stars from 1.49M reviews. Cons: ink stays second to typed notes · account required · big notebooks sprawl.
Skip it if you never need notes off your tablet. Choose OneNote over Samsung Notes when notes must open on a Windows laptop or a non-Samsung phone; choose Samsung Notes when you never leave Galaxy hardware.
↑ Back to the comparisonSigning docs
Xodo is for signing and marking up documents, not keeping notebooks. Viewing, annotating and signing PDFs is free with no ads; the ceiling: heavier editing hides behind in-app purchases up to $109.99 (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026), and ink stays annotation, never text.
Pros: free signing and highlighting · steady with large files · from PDF specialist Apryse. Cons: pushy subscription upsell · no conversion · overkill for plain notes.
Skip it if what you really want is a notebook. Choose Xodo over Penly for one-off contracts and forms; choose Penly for a planner you live in daily.
↑ Back to the comparisonDigital planners
Penly is the digital-planner pick: PDF templates, hyperlinked planners and paper-like ink for a one-time $5.49, no subscription, no ads. The cons: no free trial and a small user base, 3.7K reviews (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026). The developer's own Play listing promises: "We offer refunds for any reason within 7 days."
Pros: one-time purchase · hyperlinked planner tools · 7-day any-reason refund. Cons: no trial · English-only per the listing · planner tools take learning.
Skip it if you refuse to pay unseen. Choose Penly over INKredible to plan and journal on a tablet; choose INKredible purely for beautiful handwriting.
↑ Back to the comparisonNeat handwriting
INKredible smooths shaky strokes until even a cheap stylus writes elegantly, but go in with open eyes: users rate it just 3.1 stars from 35.9K reviews, the free version contains ads, and the listing has not updated since 15 September 2025 (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026).
Pros: prettiest ink rendering here · fine with finger or passive stylus · 10M+ downloads. Cons: 3.1-star rating · ads in the free version · listing quiet since September 2025.
Skip it if you need more than good-looking pages. Choose INKredible over Google Keep for journal pages worth framing; choose Keep for speed and sync.
↑ Back to the comparisonQuick notes
Google Keep is the fastest handwritten capture on a phone you already own: free, no ads or in-app purchases, 4.7 stars from 2.5M reviews (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026). It is also the shallowest tool here: tiny canvas, no PDF support, no handwriting-to-text. Capture, not a notebook.
Pros: preinstalled on most Androids · instant Google sync · genuinely free. Cons: tiny drawing canvas · no PDF or ink-to-text · notes live in Google's cloud.
Skip it if you keep long-form handwritten notes. Choose Keep over Concepts for ten-second captures; choose Concepts when your notes become diagrams.
↑ Back to the comparisonVisual planners
Concepts blurs writing into sketching on an infinite vector canvas: write, then zoom forever without losing crispness. The free tier is capable and ad-free; the cons: the full brush set needs a subscription or packs, $1.99 to $29.99 in-app (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026), and it is a drawing tool first.
Pros: vector ink, endless zoom · great for mind maps · offline, no account. Cons: subscription for the full toolset · no ink-to-text · steepest learning curve here.
Skip it if you write more than you draw. Choose Concepts over GoodNotes for visual thinking; choose GoodNotes for orderly notebooks.
↑ Back to the comparisonTablet notebooks
GoodNotes on Android is not the iPad app, and the numbers say so: 3.1 stars from 33.2K reviews (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026). The templates, notebooks and handwriting search are here, but the free plan caps at three notebooks and the rest is subscription, $0.49 to $99.99 in-app.
Pros: familiar for iPad switchers · handwriting search · actively updated, 21 July 2026. Cons: 3.1-star Android rating · three-notebook free cap · trails the iPad version.
Skip it if you expect iPad parity today. Choose GoodNotes over Joplin for polished notebooks; choose Joplin when owning your data outranks polish.
↑ Back to the comparisonPrivacy
Joplin is the privacy pick: open source, free, no ads, with end-to-end encrypted sync to a cloud you choose. Cons up front: handwriting comes via a drawing plugin, setup takes effort, and it sits at 3.9 stars from 7K reviews (Play Store, checked 6 August 2026). The developer's own encryption guide is explicit: "End-to-end encryption (E2EE) is a system where only the owner of the data (i.e. notes, notebooks, tags or resources) can read it."
Pros: end-to-end encrypted sync · plain Markdown files · fully offline. Cons: handwriting is a plugin · fiddly setup · 500K+ installs, a small base.
Skip it if you want ink-first simplicity. Choose Joplin over Notein when privacy beats polish; choose Notein for modern ink with zero setup.
↑ Back to the comparisonModern tablets
Notein is the modern-tablet pick: smooth ink, clean layout and solid PDF markup, free with a fair paid upgrade and no ads. The cons: it is missing from the US Play catalog (we verified the international listing: 4.1 stars, 43.1K reviews, checked 6 August 2026), and ORION STUDIO is a young developer.
Pros: polished modern interface · typed notes alongside ink · listing updated 2 June 2026. Cons: not in the US catalog · short developer track record · full features are paid.
Skip it if your Play account is US-only. Choose Notein over GoodNotes for an Android-first feel; choose GoodNotes for cross-platform notebooks with iPad roots.
↑ Back to the comparisonMatch the app to your pen: an active stylus, S Pen or USI, brings pressure and palm rejection; fingers and rubber tips suit casual capture only. Need your words back out? Pick true handwriting-to-text: MyScript Notes, Samsung Notes or OneNote. Marking up forms? Confirm the app exports a standard PDF, not just its own format. And before committing an archive, check export to PDF or images: that is your insurance against lock-in. Writing happens on your device in every app here; notes only leave it when you enable cloud sync.
Every fact on this page was read from the app's Google Play listing on 6 August 2026: rating and review count from the listing's structured data, downloads, price, in-app purchase range and the Contains ads label, plus the data safety section and the developer's own documentation where quoted. We verify listings and developer sources rather than making hands-on claims, and we re-check this page quarterly, cutting any app whose listing goes stale or disappears.
Pair it with: our photo and video apps hub for the wider creative toolkit, the best drawing apps when notes turn into sketches, the best scanner apps to digitise paper before marking it up, and the best notes apps if you type more than you write.
Checked 6 August 2026: prices, ratings, review counts and ads labels re-read from the Play Store listings for all 12 apps; no apps replaced.
A stylus helps a lot, but it is not strictly required. On a phone you can write short notes with a fingertip, and apps like Google Keep and INKredible smooth out finger strokes nicely. For real note taking an active pen, such as an S Pen or a USI stylus on a compatible tablet, makes the experience far more natural thanks to pressure sensitivity and palm rejection.
MyScript Notes (formerly Nebo) is the standout for that. Its handwriting recognition is fast and accurate across messy styles, and it converts whole paragraphs with a double tap. Samsung Notes and OneNote also offer handwriting to text, though MyScript Notes is the most consistent. If converting to typed text is your main goal, start there and keep your letters reasonably separated for the best results.
Many of the best ones are free or have a usable free tier. Samsung Notes, OneNote, Google Keep, Xodo, and Joplin cost nothing for everyday handwriting. MyScript Notes offers a one time lifetime purchase or a subscription, while Penly uses a one time purchase, which we generally prefer over subscriptions. A few, such as GoodNotes, Squid, and Concepts, keep advanced features behind a subscription or paid plan.
Yes, several apps here are built for exactly that. Xodo and Squid let you import a PDF and write or sign on top of it, then export the marked up file. Samsung Notes and Penly also handle PDF annotation well. That covers filling in forms and worksheets by hand without needing to print anything.
No, not just from writing. The ink is drawn on your device and stays there, and on most modern apps handwriting recognition also runs locally. Notes only leave your device if you turn on cloud sync to share them across your phone, tablet, and computer. If you prefer, keep sync off and back up with local export, or choose an app like Joplin that offers end to end encrypted sync to a cloud you control.
Only if you let it happen, so check the export options before you commit. A good app lets you export notes as PDF or image files, or in a portable format, for a single page or a whole notebook. As long as you can get a standard PDF or image out, you can back up your work and move to another app later without losing it. Treat export as your insurance policy.
Squid, INKredible, Joplin and Concepts all run fully offline and never ask you to sign up. Samsung Notes also works offline; a Samsung account is only needed if you want sync. Google Keep and OneNote are the opposite case: both require an account because notes live in your Google or Microsoft cloud.
Same brand, not yet the same app. Goodnotes came to Android in 2023 and the free tier is capped at three notebooks, with a subscription beyond that. Core inking and notebook organization are there, but the Android version still trails the iPad one on advanced features, so test the free tier before committing your archive.