Remarkable 2
Display size: 10.3 inches | Notebook type: E Ink | Battery life: Up to 2 weeks | Charger: USB-C | Pen included: No | Case included: No
Best for: A distraction-free note-taking experience.
The Remarkable 2 has been around since mid-2020, and even with all the time that’s passed nothing has seemed to knock it off its throne of being the best digital notebook. Not only is it lightweight, weighing in at just over 400 grams, but it’s designed with battery life in mind—offering up to two weeks of life per charge. It integrates with popular cloud storage services, like Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive, which makes keeping all of your notes and files well organized. The display has a paper-like feel, which is one of the biggest selling points and why so many people love this digital notebook.
Depending on where you grab the tablet, Remarkable doesn’t bundle its Marker 2 in the box with the Remarkable 2. It’s sold separately, along with a few other accessories like a Type Folio keyboard case, a leather folio and new marker tips for when you need to replace yours.
While many people will buy the Remarkable 2 because of how great of a writing companion it is, the ability to add a keyboard case is a huge plus. You can switch between writing and typing with ease, and all of your notes will be synced between the mobile and desktop apps so you can access everything from anywhere. If you’re looking for the ultimate digital notebook that eliminates distractions and helps you get things done, the Remarkable 2 is one that’s hard to beat.
What the writers say: When contributor Anthony Karcz reviewed the Remarkable 2, he touted how impressive the handwriting recognition is, saying “My handwriting is awful and the Remarkable 2 was able to correctly interpret nearly 750 words.” He also noted that it’s an extremely useful productivity tool, but it’s worth mentioning that to get the full experience of the tablet you will need to subscribe to Remarkable’s Connect plan, which is priced at $3 per month. You do get a complimentary full year of Connect when you purchase the Remarkable 2, though.
Pros:
- Long-lasting battery life
- Paper-like display
Cons:
- Connect subscription required for all features
- Marker and protective folio case is sold separately
Best Value Digital Notebook
An Affordable Option With Some Trade-offs
Rocketbook Core
Display size: Varies | Notebook type: Erasable Notebook | Battery life: N/A | Charger: N/A | Pen included: Yes | Case included: No
Best for: Digitizing your notes for less than $50.
One of the cheapest and easiest ways to get into the digital notebooks space is with the wildly-popular Rocketbook lineup. There are a ton of different options available, from small notebooks with the spiral binding at the top to full-sized planners and everything in between. For most people, the Core series is a great entry point as it offers a 8.5- by 11-inch page experience with side binding, like you’d normally use in a regular notebook. You can also choose between Letter and Executive style paper, and both are available with several different color options for the front of the notebook.
The way Rocketbook digital notebooks operate is a bit different than most of the competitors, though. You use the included pen to write your notes or draw your doodles, and then you take a picture of it in the Rocketbook app on your phone. Once you’ve captured the image and it’s uploaded, simply use the cleaning cloth to erase your page and then you can start over. Rocketbook says that one Core notebook can be the equivalent of up to 100 regular notebooks.
It uses a Pilot-branded ball pen, which offers a true on-paper writing experience. There’s no battery to remember to charge, nor are there any expensive add-on accessories that you need to buy. That said, you can buy additional pens and Rocketbook does sell some accessories (like index cards) that may be useful to some. Rocketbook’s mobile app is also free to download and use, with no monthly recurring costs required.
What the reviews say: With over 54,000 5-star reviews at Amazon, it’s clear why Rocketbook is the best value pick for those looking at digital notebooks. Some reviewers note that it combines, “the joy of scribbling on paper and the convenience of going digital,” and people love the ability to connect it with their other accounts, including Slack, Google Drive, iCloud, Trello and more.
Pros:
- Affordable replacement pens
- No battery to worry about
Cons:
- Needs mobile companion app to upload images
- Erasing pages takes some effort to get fully clean
Best Digital Notebook Tablet
Note-taking Is Just One Of Its Many Tricks
Apple iPad (9th Gen)
Display size: 10.2 inches | Notebook type: LED | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Charger: Lightning | Pen included: No | Case included: No
Best for: Having a two-in-one tablet and digital notebook.
When you think of the iPad, being a digital notebook may not be the first thing that comes to mind. Over the years, many people have been vocal about trying to replace their laptop with an iPad, but not many say that they’ve replaced their notebooks with an iPad. Between the introduction of the Apple Pencil, the third-party paper-like screen protectors and the various apps that are available, the iPad is a great note-taking accessory.
Personally, I am someone who writes down notes during meetings or calls and then creates actionable tasks for them after. Over the years, I had filled up dozens of notebooks doing this, but trying to find older notes became a difficult task, until I switched my process to include the iPad. Every current-generation iPad is compatible with an Apple Pencil, and older models can be used with third-party styluses, which makes writing on them a breeze. Sure, there are some trade-offs when it comes to the overall feel, and if you need that truly paper-like experience you are going to want to buy a screen protector that offers it, but for many, the iPad is something that they already have and can start using for another great purpose.
One thing that helps set the iPad apart from the competition is that it also has a web browser, other apps, games, and more. You can add screenshots, pictures and even videos into your notes. You can share the notes with other friends and families if needed, and depending which app you use, you can store them in iCloud for easy access on your other Apple devices.
There are a few different iPad models available—one of its siblings, the iPad Pro, we consider the top tablet you can buy right now—but for most, the 9th-gen iPad is a great entry-level choice. It can also be paired with the original Apple Pencil to give you a great note-taking setup that doesn’t break the bank.
What the reviews say: The 9th-gen iPad is not the latest on the market, but people who are buying and using it today still enjoy it. It has nearly 60,000 reviews at Amazon alone, with 88% of them being 5-star reviews with people complimenting its smooth performance, battery life, reliability and Apple Pencil support.
Pros:
- Great selection of apps
- Lots of affordable accessories
Cons:
- Product lineup can be confusing with all the different models available
- Two different Apple Pencil versions
Best Digital Notebook and Smart Pen
A Digital Twist On A Fan-Favorite Notebook
Moleskine Smart Writing Set
Display size: Varies | Notebook type: Standard Notebook | Battery life: N/A | Charger: N/A | Pen included: Yes | Case included: No
Best for: Enjoying the perks of a real notebook while still being able to digitize your notes.
When it comes to notebooks, odds are you’ve owned or wanted a Moleskine before. They have been around for what feels like forever, and if you’re not quite ready to give that up but want to go digital, here’s a perfect option. The Smart Writing Set combines the ivory-colored pages that you’ve been used to with a new “Smart Pen” that you write with and a Notes App to digitally sync everything to your phone.
What sets this option apart is that no internet connection is required to use it as a notebook, and when you do connect it with your phone, it syncs all the new pages directly to the notes app. From here you can make edits, share and export the notes as you please. You don’t have to erase pages to get new ones, and instead you can just store away that full notebook and buy another one. This really gives you the best of both worlds, as you have physical copies of your notes if you need them, but there’s also digital editions as well.
Obviously, changes that are made within the free Notes App from Moleskin don’t transfer back to the physical pages in the Smart Notebook, but this still provides a great overall experience for those who are really not ready to give up the pen and paper feel, but would like to have easier access to their notes.
What the reviews say: Over 500 reviewers have given this smart writing set a 5-star rating, with several of them saying that this has been exactly what they wanted for years. There’s no complex set up required and the notebooks are constructed from the same quality that people have loved from Moleskine for years.
Pros:
- Offers a true pen and paper experience
- Notes appear in digital form as they are written
Cons:
- You’ll need to replace the smart notebook once it’s full
- No two-way sync for edits made in the app
Best Digital Notebook For Readers
It’s Not Just About Reading Books Anymore
Amazon Kindle Scribe
Display size: 10.2 inches | Notebook type: E Ink | Battery life: Up to 12 weeks | Charger: USB-C | Pen included: Yes | Case included: No
Best for: Reading your favorite books and taking your notes on the go.
The Kindle Scribe is one of Amazon’s newest additions to the long-standing Kindle lineup, and it’s also the first two-in-one ereader from the company. When you hear the word “Kindle,” you’re likely thinking about a portable reading device, not something you can use to take notes on, right? Well, that’s where things have changed, and for those looking to move their books and notes to the digital age, the Scribe may be the perfect option.
While the Kindle Scribe is less of a “tablet” than something like the iPad mentioned above, it still offers some smart features which help make it useful depending on your needs. You can easily convert, edit and send your handwritten notes as text through email to your contacts. This is perfect for sharing notes at the end of a meeting or just emailing yourself a copy of what you have to keep it safe. There are folders—and even subfolders—which make organizing your files easy, and if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription you can send documents right to your Scribe from Microsoft Word.
Of course, alongside being a great digital notebook, the Kindle Scribe also makes a great ereader. Amazon offers the Scribe in three different storage capacity options: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. There’s no option to add a microSD card later, so be sure to purchase one with ample storage to hold your books and notes.
What the editors say: When Rebecca Isaacs reviewed the Kindle Scribe, she noted that one of her favorite things about the Scribe is “the notebook feature and the writing experience itself. The notebook comes with complete customizability. If I wanted to swap between a large rule-lined page or a dotted grid, I could open the settings and change it with a couple of taps.” Amazon offers two different bundles with the Kindle Scribe, one that includes a Basic Pen and the other that comes with a Premium Pen. Upgrading to the Premium Pen is “well-worth the splurge,” according to Rebecca, especially if you plan to be writing for any length of time.
Pros:
- Great display with a nice backlight
- Pen is included
Cons:
- Limited storage capacity options
- No compatibility with other cloud storage options
We’ve spent hours researching the various digital notebooks available on the market and understanding what people had to say about them. From countless Amazon reviews to seeing what people on the manufacturers’ websites had to say about these products, we read all the good and bad to get a proper feeling of which options to include.
Our experiences with these devices are not only based on outside opinions. Many tech writers and editors part of the Forbes Vetted family have personal hands-on experiences with our picks for the best digital notebooks. Where applicable, we included their personal testing insight.
We know tech tends to become quickly outdated. To keep this piece fresh and accurate, it’s regularly updated; its current iteration was published in February 2024.
How We Chose The Best Digital Notebooks
When selecting the best digital notebooks, we took into account a number of factors, like overall reviews, ease of use, cost, value and how someone who is used to using pen and paper may adapt to a digital device. One feature we made sure every option had was the ability to sync your notes and access them from other devices, so you’re not without them in the event that you accidentally leave your notebook at home.
Additionally, we factored in the cost to get started with the digital notebooks as well as lifetime costs. Not all of these are one-time purchases; some of the options require you to replace things like the pen tips or the paper you write on.
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