| Feature | | OneNote | GoodNotes (Free) | Xodo | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Cost | 100% Free | Free (with MS Account) | Free (3 Notebooks) | Free | | Platform | Win, Mac, iOS, And. | Win, Mac, iOS, And. | iPad/Mac Only | Web, Win, And. | | Handwriting | Basic | Excellent | Excellent | Annotation Only | | Audio Recording | Yes (via Plugin) | Yes | No | No | | PDF Support | Import/Export | Print to Page | Excellent | Excellent | | Sync Service | Cloud/Dropbox | OneDrive | iCloud | Cloud Storage |

: Offers very low latency for the Apple Pencil, high-quality document scanning with OCR, and basic audio recording with transcription in newer OS versions.

If you use Notability mainly to mark up lecture slides or documents, Xodo is a powerful, free alternative available on Web, Windows, and Android (iOS users can use the web version).

Finding a free alternative to that matches its premium handwriting and audio-sync capabilities can be a challenge, especially since many top-tier apps have moved to subscription models. However, several powerful tools offer robust free versions that cater to students and professionals across iPad , Android , and Windows . 1. Microsoft OneNote: The Best All-Rounder