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 16 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to GoodNotes are Xournal++, HelixNotes, Linwood Butterfly and OpenBoard Whiteboard.

filter to find the best alternatives

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

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Get a badge for your siteGoodNotes alternatives page was last updated Sep 4, 2026

Obsidian
1223 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.
348 Obsidian alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Todo List Manager
Origin
Canada
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
iPad
Snapcraft
Microsoft Edge
Google Chrome
Flathub
Safari
AppImage
Mozilla Firefox
Canada
+6
Good alternative?Is Obsidian a good alternative to GoodNotes?

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2comments
Obsidian vs GoodNotes Comments
Negative comment by Guest · Jun 14, 2025
Is not that good for using it as a paper replacement.
Negative comment by Guest · Sep 4, 2026
Obsidian is very Text based and doesn't natively support styluses etc. Great app but not really an alternative to GoodNotes.
2 of 2 comments
Obsidian is Freemium and ProprietaryGoodNotes is also Freemium and Proprietary
Obsidian is Privacy focusedGoodNotes is not according to our users
Xournal++
199 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.
74 Xournal++ alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
PDF Reader
Origin
International
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Snapcraft
Flathub
Global
+1
Good alternative?Is Xournal++ a good alternative to GoodNotes?

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4comments
Xournal++ vs GoodNotes Comments
Positive comment by violoncello · Dec 31, 2020
It allows you to store your notes wherever you want and doesn't force you to use whatever cloud synchronisation
Positive comment by LinuxDoge · Nov 7, 2022
cross platform, not invasive
Negative comment by Guest · Sep 28, 2020
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
HelixNotes
29 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.
159 HelixNotes alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Todo List Manager
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
+1
Good alternative?Is HelixNotes a good alternative to GoodNotes?

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1comment
HelixNotes vs GoodNotes Comments
Negative comment by shardulvs · Jul 1, 2026
no support for handwritten notes
1 of 1 comments
HelixNotes is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
HelixNotes is Lightweight and Privacy focusedGoodNotes is not according to our users
Linwood Butterfly
44 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.
59 Linwood Butterfly alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Digital Painting
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
Self-Hosted
Snapcraft
AltStore
Flathub
F-Droid
Linux Mobile
Germany
EU
+6
Good alternative?Is Linwood Butterfly a good alternative to GoodNotes?
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.
106 OpenBoard Whiteboard alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Whiteboard
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+2
Good alternative?Is OpenBoard Whiteboard a good alternative to GoodNotes?
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.
29 Rnote alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Digital Painting
Origin
Austria
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Flathub
Flatpak
Austria
EU
+4
Good alternative?Is Rnote a good alternative to GoodNotes?
Saber
29 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.
30 Saber alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
Note-taking
Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
iPad
Snapcraft
Linux Mobile
Flathub
F-Droid
OpenAPK
United Kingdom
Good alternative?Is Saber a good alternative to GoodNotes?

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1comment
Saber vs GoodNotes Comments
Positive comment by Guest · Jan 7, 2025
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.
1 of 1 comments
Saber is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary
Saber is Privacy focused and LightweightGoodNotes is not according to our users
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 typeApplication types
Note-taking
Journaling
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Good alternative?Is NoteLab a good alternative to GoodNotes?
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.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
Note-taking
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
Android Tablet
Flathub
Flatpak
iPad
Good alternative?Is SpeedyNote a good alternative to GoodNotes?
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 .
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking
Journaling
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Good alternative?Is Jarnal a good alternative to GoodNotes?
Scrivano for Handwritten Notes
Like
Scrivano is a notetaking application for handwritten notes.
9 Scrivano for Handwritten Notes alternatives
Cost / License
Free Personal
Proprietary
Application type
Note-taking
Platforms
Windows
Linux
+2
Good alternative?Is this a good alternative to GoodNotes?
M
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
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
Note-taking
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Windows
Linux
M
Good alternative?Is MrWriter_PDF a good alternative to GoodNotes?

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1comment
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
Positive comment by Ian Dorfman · Apr 10, 2020
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.
1 of 1 comments
M
MrWriter_PDF is Free and Open SourceGoodNotes is Freemium and Proprietary

12 of 16 GoodNotes alternatives

GoodNotes Alternatives for Linux

Alternatives list

Obsidian

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Obsidian vs GoodNotes Comments

Xournal++

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Xournal++ vs GoodNotes Comments

HelixNotes

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HelixNotes vs GoodNotes Comments

Linwood Butterfly

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OpenBoard Whiteboard

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Rnote

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Saber

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Saber vs GoodNotes Comments

NoteLab

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SpeedyNote

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Jarnal

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Scrivano for Handwritten Notes

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MrWriter_PDF

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MrWriter_PDF vs GoodNotes Comments