The best open source alternative to GoodNotes is Xournal++. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to GoodNotes and 18 is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to GoodNotes are HelixNotes, Linwood Butterfly, OpenBoard Whiteboard and Rnote.
Handwritten note-taking and PDF annotation using pen input and pressure sensitivity, shape drawing, customizable toolbar layouts, image insertion, audio recording, multi-language options, LaTeX integration, and complete export in PDF or PNG formats across all platforms.
HelixNotes is a local markdown note-taking app built with Rust, Tauri 2.0, and SvelteKit. Your notes are standard .md files on your filesystem - sync with whatever you want or nothing at all.
Butterfly is a note-taking app where your ideas come first. You can paint, add texts, and export them easily on every device. This app works on android, windows, linux, and in the web.
Germany
EU
OpenBoard is a cross-platform (Linux / Windows / macOS) interactive whiteboard application. It is currently maintained by the Education Department (DIP) of the Canton of Geneva in Switzerland.
Rnote aims to be a simple but functional note taking application for freehand drawing or annotating pictures or documents. It eventually should be able to import / export various media file formats.
AustriaEU
A (work-in-progress) cross-platform libre notes app. Please note that this app is still in early stages and not ready to trust with your notes yet.
United Kingdom
Quillpad is a fork of an original app called Quillnote. The development stopped on the original app and PR backlogs were not cleared up. The community showed much interest in the app for continued development and so this fork was created.
An encrypted notepad for techs: rich notes with images and tables, instant full-text search, and the whole database locked with AES-256.
United States
SpeedyNote is a fast, open-source note-taking application designed for stylus users who need iPad-quality annotation on budget hardware. Built with native C++ and Qt, it delivers 360Hz stylus input on hardware as modest as an Intel Celeron N4000 at 1.
xnotes is a handwriting-first notebook for phones and tablets, built for pen and stylus. Write, sketch and annotate with pressure-sensitive, variable-width ink, and nothing you draw is ever flattened.
India
Jarnal is an open-source application for notetaking, sketching, keeping a journal, making a presentation, annotating a document - including pdf - or collaborating using a stylus, mouse or keyboard. It is similar to Microsoft .
