Notion and Microsoft OneNote are two of the most popular free note-taking apps for college students, but they're built for different styles of note-taking. Notion is a structured workspace for typed notes, class dashboards, to-do lists and databases. OneNote is a free-form digital notebook where you can type, handwrite with a stylus and drop content anywhere on the page. Here's how they compare on price, student offers, handwriting, AI and offline use.
| Feature | Notion | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Structured workspace for typed notes, tasks and databases | Free-form digital notebook for typed and handwritten notes |
| Price | Free plan; Plus $10/month per member (up to 20% off yearly) | Free with a Microsoft account |
| Student offer | Free education plan (Plus features, one member) with an eligible school email | Office 365 A1 free through eligible schools; 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal for verified college students |
| Handwriting and stylus | No freehand drawing canvas | Draw and handwrite anywhere; Ink to Text and Ink to Math on Windows |
| Built-in AI | Notion AI trial on Free and Plus; Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes on Business ($20/member/month) | Copilot with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium (monthly AI limits) or a school/work Copilot license |
| Offline | Offline pages in the desktop and mobile apps | Works offline in the app; syncs through OneDrive |
| Storage | Free plan: 5 MB per file upload; education plan: unlimited uploads | Uses OneDrive: 5 GB free, 1 TB with Microsoft 365 Personal |
| Collaboration | Built for sharing pages and group projects | Share notebooks with classmates through OneDrive |
Prices and features as of October 2026 — check the official site for current details
Prices and features as of October 2026 — check the official site for current details
Best for: organizing typed notes, assignments and group projects in one workspace
Notion combines pages, to-do lists and databases, so you can build a dashboard for each class that links your notes, readings and deadlines. Students and educators can get a free education plan (Plus features for a one-member workspace) by making their school email the primary email on their Notion account; you re-verify the email each year, and personal emails and student IDs aren't accepted. Otherwise, the Free plan costs $0 and Plus costs $10 per member per month, with up to 20% off billed yearly. Notion AI is only a trial on the Free and Plus plans — Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes come with the Business plan ($20 per member per month). Pages can be used offline in Notion's desktop and mobile apps (not in a web browser).
Why students use it:
Best for: free-form and handwritten notes, especially on a tablet or touchscreen laptop
OneNote is Microsoft's free digital notebook, organized into notebooks, sections and pages. You can type, handwrite or draw anywhere on a page, and on Windows tools like Ink to Text and Ink to Math convert handwriting and equations. It's free with a Microsoft account, and notes sync through OneDrive, which includes 5 GB of free storage shared with your other Microsoft files. Many colleges give students Office 365 A1 free with an eligible school email, which includes OneNote on the web. Copilot in OneNote isn't included with a free account: it comes with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family or Premium (Personal is $99.99/year or $9.99/month in the US, with monthly AI usage limits), and Microsoft advertises 50% off Microsoft 365 Personal for verified college students. School and work accounts need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license for Copilot in OneNote.
Why students use it:
Choose Notion if you mostly type your notes and want one organized system for classes, assignments and group projects — the free education plan makes it a strong deal, though full AI needs the Business plan. Choose OneNote if you handwrite notes on a tablet or touchscreen laptop, like free-form pages, or your school already gives you Microsoft 365. Plenty of students use both: OneNote for handwritten lecture notes and Notion for planning and tracking coursework.
Organizing and summarizing your own notes is usually fine, but don't share classmates' or instructors' materials without permission, and check your course's AI policy before using Notion AI or Copilot on graded work.