GoodNotes Alternatives for Linux

GoodNotes is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is Obsidian, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to GoodNotes and 15 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to GoodNotes are Xournal++, HelixNotes, OpenBoard Whiteboard and Linwood Butterfly.

filter to find the best alternatives

GoodNotes alternatives are mainly Note-taking Tools, but if you're looking for Whiteboards or Journaling Apps you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows, Open Source, Android, Linux, iPad, Android + Journaling and Mac. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to GoodNotes.
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Alternatives list

  1. Obsidian icon

    Obsidian

     1191 likes

    Privacy-oriented note-taking app for non-linear thinking, blending knowledge graph creation with wiki-style linking. Supports Markdown, end-to-end encryption, and plugins for customization. Offers distraction-free mode, tags, themes, syntax highlighting, and operates offline without tracking.

    318 Obsidian alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Snapcraft
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Flathub
    • Safari
    • AppImage
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Obsidian screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Obsidian vs GoodNotes Comments
    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Is not that good for using it as a paper replacement.

    • Obsidian is Freemium and ProprietaryGoodNotes is also Freemium and Proprietary
    • Obsidian is Privacy focusedGoodNotes is not according to our users
  2. Xournal++ icon

    Xournal++

     198 likes

    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.

    69 Xournal++ alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    Xournal++ screenshot 1
     
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    4
    Xournal++ vs GoodNotes Comments
    violoncello
    Positive
    3

    It allows you to store your notes wherever you want and doesn't force you to use whatever cloud synchronisation

    LinuxDoge
    Positive
    0

    cross platform, not invasive

    Guest
    Negative
    1

    Pen works with cursive but not so well with print.

    3 of 4 comments
    • Xournal++ is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Xournal++ is Privacy focused and LightweightGoodNotes is not according to our users
  4. HelixNotes icon

    HelixNotes

     20 likes

    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.

    146 HelixNotes alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    HelixNotes screenshot 1
     
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    1
    HelixNotes vs GoodNotes Comments
    shardulvs
    Negative
    0

    no support for handwritten notes

    • HelixNotes is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
    • HelixNotes is Privacy focused and LightweightGoodNotes is not according to our users
  5. OpenBoard Whiteboard icon

    OpenBoard Whiteboard

     73 likes

    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.

    103 OpenBoard Whiteboard alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    OpenBoard Whiteboard screenshot 1
     
  7. Linwood Butterfly icon

    Linwood Butterfly

     43 likes

    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.

    54 Linwood Butterfly alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • Self-Hosted
    • Snapcraft
    • AltStore
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Linux Mobile
    Linwood Butterfly screenshot 1
     
  8. Rnote icon

    Rnote

     39 likes

    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.

    27 Rnote alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Rnote screenshot 1
     
  9. Saber icon

    Saber

     30 likes

    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.

    29 Saber alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Linux Mobile
    Saber screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Saber vs GoodNotes Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    It is the only somewhat good open-source alternative to Goodnotes & Notability. I know it is currently missing a lot of features found in Goodnotes, but in the future it could become a real competitor, so give it a try.

    • Saber is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Saber is Privacy focused and LightweightGoodNotes is not according to our users
  10. NoteLab icon

    NoteLab

     12 likes

    NoteLab brings the power of digital note taking to Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, and Solaris.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    NoteLab screenshot 1
     
  11. SpeedyNote icon

    SpeedyNote

     3 likes

    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.

    55 SpeedyNote alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    • iPad
    SpeedyNote screenshot 1
     
  12. Jarnal icon

    Jarnal

     13 likes

    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 .

    76 Jarnal alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Jarnal in use.
     
  14. M

    MrWriter_PDF

     1 like

    Notetaking and blackboard replacement application. Inspired by Xournal. Written in C++/Qt for Linux / Windows. It has the ability to annotate PDF files and has a few other options (e.g. markdown support).

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
    |
    1
    Discontinued

    The project is no longer developed. Last version, 0.0.4, released in May 2018, can be still downloaded from GitHub

    MrWriter_PDF vs GoodNotes Comments
    Ian Dorfman
    Positive
    0

    Though it is not available on iOS, this application supports handwritten notetaking as well as PDF annotation. This makes it an alternative based on featureset.

    • MrWriter_PDF is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
12 of 15 GoodNotes alternatives