OneNote also has more color and pen-size options including highlighters and shapes. You can leave your ink as ink, or have it converted to text. The ink is contained in a box like text, and can be selected and moved anywhere on the page. You can place ink anywhere in a note, including on top of documents you have printed in.

OneNote has a far more robust inking system thanks to Microsoft’s years of work with tablet PCs and handwriting input. Some mobile apps that sync with Evernote also support ink notes, like the Notes app on the HTC Flyer tablet, but those are third-party. You’ll be able to view your ink notes on other platforms, but not create new ones. Ink cannot be mixed with any other type of content using the desktop application, and you cancreate ink notes only with the Windows desktop application. With Evernote, you can choose to create an ink note to take handwritten notes, but that’s all you’ll be able to do with it. Unlike pen and paper, “ink notes” in either Evernote or OneNote are indexed and searchable just like notes you’ve typed in. It can be especially handy in a meeting to have a tablet flat on the desk and write with a pen, rather than having a laptop open, creating a barrier between you and the other attendees. Ink notes in both OneNote and Evernote.Sometimes handwriting notes as if you had pen and paper is the most comfortable way to store information. If you need more complex formatting, OneNote would be the better choice.

Winner: Evernote is the better tool for basic text notes due to its cleaner interface. You can drag and reorganize your thoughts around the page without having to cut and paste. One major difference with OneNote’s layout is that text is contained in boxes, which you can move anywhere on the page. If you’re used to Word, finding options in OneNote should be similar, but the look is more cluttered than Evernote’s interface. OneNote’s options are very similar to Microsoft’s Word, including the ribbon interface. When you start a new text note in Evernote, you’ll just get a blank space to write in, but rather than being divided into pages like a Word document, the text appears as one giant block. Both programs handle text as a basic word processor does, with rich text editing options.Įvernote’s text editing interface is clean and easy to navigate, with options similar to what you would find in a Web editor like Google Docs.

Microsoft’s ribbon interface (left) has more features but looks more cluttered than Evernote’s text editor.Text notes are the most basic form of note-taking, and the format you’re most likely to use if you carry a laptop to meetings.

Microsoft onenote evernote