Samsung Notes

The reason the S Pen is worth using, and it costs nothing.

By Samsung · since 2016 · samsung.com

7.2

B · out of 10

Samsung Notes is the closest Android gets to GoodNotes: proper ink, handwriting converted to text, PDF annotation and audio recording tied to what you wrote. Galaxy AI adds summaries, auto-formatting and translation on newer devices. The catch is obvious: it only exists on Samsung hardware and Galaxy Book laptops.

How it scores

  • Features25% of score

    7.0

    Depth and breadth of what the app can do.

  • Ease of use20% of score

    7.6

    Speed, polish and how long it takes to feel at home.

  • AI15% of score

    6.8

    Quality and usefulness of the built-in AI, not just its presence.

  • Sync & reliability15% of score

    7.2

    How dependably notes move between devices.

  • Value15% of score

    9.4

    What you get for what you pay.

  • Platform coverage10% of score

    4.0

    How many places you can actually use it.

Pricing

No paid plan

Free tier: Free on Galaxy devices, with sync through Samsung Cloud or OneDrive.

Nothing to buy. Some Galaxy AI features depend on the device generation.

Platforms

  • Windows
  • macOS
  • iOS
  • Android
  • Linux
  • Web

35 tracked features supported

What it does well

  • Ink quality on a Galaxy Tab is close to the iPad standard
  • Handwriting converts to editable text reliably
  • Galaxy AI summaries and auto-format are free on supported devices
  • Records audio synced to your notes, like Notability, and the transcript labels each speaker

Where it falls short

  • Samsung devices only, effectively
  • Sync outside the Samsung ecosystem is awkward
  • No markdown, no linking, no knowledge-base features
  • Export options are limited to PDF and Word

Our take

If you already own the hardware, there is no reason to pay for anything else to write by hand.

Best for: Galaxy Tab owners who want free handwriting notes.

Handwriting & tabletsGenuinely freeStudents & study

Feature by feature

YesPartlyVia pluginNo

Capture & input

How notes get into the app in the first place.

  • Voice recording
  • Audio transcription
  • Speaker identification
  • Meeting recording
  • Handwriting / stylus
  • Drawing canvas
  • OCR / handwriting search
  • Web clipper
  • Share extension
  • Quick capturePartly
  • Images
  • PDF & documents
  • Document scanning

Organization

How notes are structured, linked and found again.

  • Tags
  • Folders / notebooks
  • Multi-level foldersPartly
  • Internal links
  • Backlinks
  • Graph view
  • Databases / boards
  • Daily notes / journal
  • Note templates
  • Saved searches
  • Pins / favorites
  • Merge notes

AI

Assistants, generators and meaning-based search.

  • AI chat / writing assistant
  • AI agent with tools
  • Custom AI agents
  • Semantic search
  • AI web search
  • Connected apps for AI
  • Prompt templates
  • Custom AI instructions
  • AI memory
  • Scheduled AI tasks
  • Flashcard generator
  • Spaced repetition
  • Quiz generator
  • Fill in the blank
  • Mind maps
  • AI image generation
  • Infographic generator
  • Slide deck generator
  • AI mini apps
  • Brainrot video generator
  • AI audio overview
  • Bring your own model
  • AI job notifications

Writing & editing

What the editor itself can actually do.

  • Markdown
  • Rich text
  • Code blocks
  • Math / LaTeXPartly
  • TablesPartly
  • Find and replace
  • Version historyPartly
  • Note info

Sync & data ownership

Where your notes live and how easily they leave.

  • Cloud sync
  • Sync through your own cloud
  • Offline support
  • Offline-first / own your data
  • Self-hosting
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Locked notes
  • Daily backup
  • ImportPartly
  • Export
  • Public API
  • Command line tool
  • Remote MCP server
  • Plugins / extensions

Sharing & collaboration

Working with other people inside your notes.

  • Share with people
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Comments
  • Public sharingPartly

Experience

The everyday polish around the writing surface.

  • Dark mode
  • Custom themes
  • Multi-language
  • Command palette
  • Split viewPartly
  • Focus mode
  • Home screen widgets
  • Apple Shortcuts

Compare with

All Samsung Notes alternatives

Samsung Notes vs Grape

Adds: AI agent with tools, AI memory

9.0

Samsung Notes vs Apple Notes

Already on your phone, and better than it has any right to be.

8.1

Samsung Notes vs GoodNotes

Handwriting on a tablet, done better than anyone else.

8.0

Samsung Notes vs RemNote

Take notes and generate the flashcards in the same keystroke.

7.9