About Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a digital note taking app that can be accessed via Android, Chrome, Windows, iOS and Mac devices. The solution is well-suited for individuals attending numerous meetings per week and working on multiple collaborative projects. OneNote offers deep search functionality for all notes stored in its database. Users can also store and organize audio recordings that are in a searchable format and can be integrated with other Microsoft 365 products. OneNote allows users to take handwritten notes with the help of a stylus or fingertip and can also convert these notes to digital text. Important ideas or points can be highlighted by using various shapes and colors. The solution has the ability to embed other Microsoft 365 files into a note. They can then be easily edited by OneNote users. OneNote offers cloud-based storage and allows users to easily toggle between separate but synced up enterprise and personal accounts.
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote workbook tabs
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote annotation tools
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote sketching tools
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote build list
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote workbook tabs - thumbnail
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote annotation tools - thumbnail
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote sketching tools - thumbnail
Microsoft OneNote Software - Microsoft OneNote build list - thumbnail

Microsoft OneNote pricing

Microsoft OneNote does not have a free version and does not offer a free trial. Microsoft OneNote paid version starts at US$6.00/month.

Starting Price:
US$6.00/month
Free Version:
No
Free trial:
No

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Microsoft OneNote Reviews

Feature rating

Value for Money
4.5
Functionality
4.5
Ease of Use
4.5
Customer Support
4.3
5 reviews of 1,338 View all reviews
Nicholas
  • Industry: Education Management
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 17/5/2022

OneNote: a great foundation for collaboration

OneNote has become central to our documentation at our organization. Especially after the integration between OneNote and Office 365 Groups and then Teams, the addition of the Collaboration Space and Documentation Library has helped us create central repositories that can be worked on simultaneously and frequently. Administration can collaborate and share materials and use the private spaces for groups members to take their own notes or have individual content distributed to them to work on or reflect upon.
I love this product and since growing with it in my career have also expanded to use it in my personal life for notetaking, organization, and planning.

Pros

The notebook structure was very appealing to me when I first started using OneNote. Once I unbound myself from the concept of creating everything to translate to a printed letter size piece of paper it really took off. You can create your notebook and its contents to directly translate to what if it had to be printed. But you can also transform it to a fully interactive collection. With links to various other locations in the same notebook, other locations and materials on the internet, and even embedding videos and other documents directly in the pages of the notebook you can make the reach of the content presented to extend beyond the boundries of the document itself.

Cons

The different versions - When OneNote transitioned to the web, it was during the focus on the Metro UI in Windows 8 and it suffered for it. The simplicity of what the web version could do was crippled by the ability of the internet browsers at the time. Over time it has increased in parity between the desktop version and the web, however - the Metro UI designed app has lingered and its design has stayed truer to the web version than the original desktop version. It is getting harder to find the desktop version that has content central and navigation to the left, top, and right sides. The web, mobile app, and "for windows 10" versions make navigation subjectively more complex when you have extensively robust notebooks.

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft OneNote

It proved to be the most logical and user friendly to translate hierarchical structures of documentation, collaboration, and communication the way we needed to get the most buy in and participation from the community.
Mohammed
  • Industry: Research
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
4
Features
4
Ease of Use
4
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 13/3/2023

Microsoft OneNote is an advanced and adaptable note-taking tool

Microsoft OneNote is an extremely capable and flexible note-taking tool. It's fantastic for both groups and individuals thanks to its wide range of supported platforms, intuitive design, and built-in collaboration tools. Some users may find its lack of formatting flexibility, shaky handwriting detection, and synchronization frustrating.

Pros

Notes may be synced and accessed from anywhere with the help of OneNote, as it is compatible with a wide variety of devices and operating systems.The user friendly and adaptable interface of OneNote is a major selling point. Each user can build their own set of notebooks, each with its own set of sections and pages, and name and tag their notes for easy retrieval afterwards.The search function in OneNote works quickly and accurately. You may quickly search for a note using a keyword or tag, or even a phrase.

Cons

When compared to other note-taking tools, OneNote's formatting capabilities are limited. Words cannot be individually restyled by the user in terms of font, color, or size.

Verified Reviewer
  • Industry: Computer Hardware
  • Company size: Self Employed
  • Used Daily for 1-5 months
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
4
Ease of Use
2
Customer Support
3

3
Reviewed on 10/5/2020

Many problems for a renowned product

I would give this a 3/5 star but considering how well-known and popular it is, then I can't give it more than a 2 star. It's ok.
Note this is the windows Microsoft Windows 10 version which is not the same as the Office 365 Onenote 2016 ... let alone others.
MS Whiteboard has issues but is much better overall.

Pros

Pros: Wide range of functionality. You can convert to different file types and insert files into it rather easily. It has great cloud support and is overall easy to access.

Cons

Cons:
There is great support for onenote on the web, but at least 90% of the searches I've done to troubleshoot an issue or functionality apply to one type of Onenote and not another... for some reason. I've spent many hours troubleshooting options that don't exist for one type or another. Example:
The ink-to-math is not present in this version. The ink-to-draw is not present in the office 365 version. Why?
There is a view option of fitting what's been drawn to the page width which will also show up if printed to a .pdf. What's bad is that there is no option for displaying where the pages end. I saw a comment from a developer about this saying that it would be too difficult. But I know they could figure out a way to do that. There are so many option. Just have the length of each page increase if a user increases the width to the right. That could cause issues if the user wants the content displayed on certain pages. So, have the page separators actually splice the content shown and add whitespace if page width/length grows ... or shrink/grow content of pages accordingly like a picture. Or, when in "page view mode" like this, warm the user if they are trying to grow pages sizes ... or just have a fixed page size in this mode!
My main issue: Why it is so glitchy with an epen. If I tap the screen it wants me to type - this happens a lot when I'm scrolling and not tapping also. The developers didn't input an option to make the pen the default and disable tap to keyboard.

Mohamed
  • Industry: Marketing & Advertising
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
5
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
5

5
Reviewed on 1/12/2022

Creative product to save your data privately

Great period and I'll keep using the software for sure.

Pros

I like the ability to take infinite notes at the same time from any device and remotely.

Cons

I had no bad experience while using the product, to be honest.

Alternatives Considered

Evernote Teams

Reasons for Choosing Microsoft OneNote

Because Microsoft OneNote is more useful and easier.

Reasons for Switching to Microsoft OneNote

Because I get to use Microsoft Outlook besides Microsoft OneNote.
Hercilin Novaldi
  • Industry: Chemicals
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source
Value for Money
0
Features
5
Ease of Use
5
Customer Support
0

5
Reviewed on 13/3/2023

OneNote: The ultimate note-taking tool for students and professionals

I worked on a project to develop a robot trajectory to perform a palletizing operation with the roboguide software. Our team used Microsoft OneNote to take notes during planning, design and project monitoring meetings. We created a section for each phase of the project (e.g. planning, design, development, testing, release), and each section had several pages for each follow-up meeting.

Pros

OneNote allows users to create logically organised and easily accessible notes. Users can organise their notes by section, sub-section and page, and even add labels for quick searching. It allows users to share notes with others, work together in real time and leave comments. This makes it an excellent collaboration tool for teams, study projects or work groups.

Cons

Mobile versions of OneNote have fewer features than the computer version. For example, it may be more difficult to edit tables or diagrams on a smartphone or tablet.

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