Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Note-taking and organising app perfect for students, academics and general notes.

Microsoft OneNote Review - AI Summary

Microsoft OneNote needs more reviews to generate an AI summary.

Adam Hoffman profile picture

Adam Hoffman

Dec 24

Time-Management Titan

Use: 5Y 7.4 / 10

A feature rich app, but lacks design aesthetic

Microsoft OneNote has lots of good features, such as audio recording, transcription, inserting tables and spreadsheets, and has the ability to switch fairly easily between handwritten or typed notes. Despite this, I still find the app lacking. Organization within the app follows the old-school binder template, using tabs for categories with the ability to add infinite canvas pages under each tab. This is both a nice feature, but also somewhat overwhelming. I find notes can just appear somewhat messier with this layout. Overall, I find my main issue when working with OneNote is that it lacks a well designed aesthic and feels like a bunch of features thrown together without an overarching concept to make it feel cohesive. I'm probably biased as I'm an Apple user at heart, but typically apps in the Apple ecosystem share a design aesthetic. You feel like the design of the app is intentional. OneNote does not feel like that to me. OneNote also hasn't received a face-lift since I've been using it and I feel like it's showing that age. I also have a gripe with Microsoft products in general, that even though M365 that is meant to unify a variety of apps, they still have an issue working together. Formatting for text or spreadsheets always gets messed up from one app to another. Still, OneNote does provide a lot of value in terms of features for the price. As well, OneNote is available across a larger number of devices and operating systems, making it an attractive option if you are not all-in on one ecosystem.

Pedro Faia profile picture

Pedro Faia

Nov 24

3d Artist

Use: 1Y 7.2 / 10

It has potential!

It has potential, but it's a little bit confusing to me. I've tried it for a few months, but although it's a Microsoft tool that is great for my workflow, I'm not a fan. I can recognize its potential and good features.