Goodnotes
Goodnotes is a London-based productivity software company founded in 2011 that builds an AI-enhanced digital note-taking platform supporting handwriting, text, sketches, audio, and PDF annotation across iOS, Android, Windows, and Web, serving 25 million+ monthly active users through freemium subscriptions, OEM bundling, and enterprise contracts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Goodnotes does
Goodnotes is a London-headquartered productivity software company founded in 2011 that builds a unified digital note-taking platform combining natural handwriting with AI-powered tools. Its core product spans Notetaking (Notebook), Whiteboard, Text Documents, PDF Annotation, Meeting Notes, and Audio Recording modules, available natively across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Web with cross-device sync via iCloud, Goodnotes Cloud (AWS), and platform-specific services. The platform supports multimodal input — handwriting, typed text, sketches, diagrams, and voice — and integrates Goodnotes AI as an in-app assistant for summarization, Q&A with source citations, mind-map generation, meeting transcription, and project-plan creation, powered by AWS Bedrock (Claude), Microsoft Azure AI, and Aliyun's Bailian model for the China market.
The company monetizes through a freemium consumer subscription model with tiered pricing — Free, Essential ($11.99/year), Pro ($35.99/year), Teams ($35.99/seat/year), and custom Enterprise contracts for 25+ seats — supplemented by a $9.99/month AI Pass add-on and a Marketplace for digital stickers, templates, and brand collaborations. Distribution occurs through app stores (Apple, Google Play, Microsoft, Galaxy, Chrome Web Store), flagship OEM bundling partnerships with Samsung, Lenovo, and LG, and direct enterprise field sales. Goodnotes Education is offered free to all K-12 schools as a land-and-expand motion.
The company serves approximately 25 million monthly active users across 50+ countries, with named enterprise customers spanning healthcare, construction, engineering, financial services, architecture, and education verticals including University of California Berkeley and Ohio State. The company holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications, with GDPR and CCPA compliance. It is a privately held UK-incorporated entity (Goodnotes Limited), having raised $6 million in Series 1 funding from Race Capital in June 2020 and acquired Traw in January 2024.
Goodnotes firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Goodnotes
- Legal name
- Goodnotes Limited
- Website
- https://goodnotes.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Goodnotes is a London-based productivity software company founded in 2011 that builds an AI-enhanced digital note-taking platform supporting handwriting, text, sketches, audio, and PDF annotation across iOS, Android, Windows, and Web, serving 25 million+ monthly active users through freemium subscriptions, OEM bundling, and enterprise contracts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Goodnotes industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Note-Taking Software
- NAICS
- Stationery Product Manufacturing (32223)
- SIC
- Blankbooks, Looseleaf Binders & Bookbindg & Relatd Work (2780)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools (EDAFAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Vocabulary, Flashcards, SRS & Memorization Platforms (EDAFAOAF)
Keywords
Where Goodnotes is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Goodnotes business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription - Individual Plans: Paid subscription tiers for individual users (Essential and Pro) providing core features and full functionality. Revenue is recurring on annual billing cycle.
- Subscription - Teams & Enterprise: Per-seat pricing for Teams (35.99 USD/seat/year) and custom pricing for Enterprise (25+ seats). Includes admin console, MDM integration, and organizational controls.
- AI Pass Add-on: $9.99 USD/month add-on for expanded AI features, available on Essential, Pro, Teams, and Enterprise plans.
- Goodnotes Education: Free tier for K-12 schools with no trial period or hidden fees. Revenue opportunity through student/teacher adoption leading to future conversion.
- Marketplace Digital Stickers: Digital stickers and templates sold through the Goodnotes Marketplace, including brand collaborations like Sanrio My Melody.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free - Limited features with perpetual trial |
| Subscription | Annual | Essential - Core features for individual users |
| Subscription | Annual | Pro - Full feature set for power users |
| Subscription | Annual | Teams - Team management with admin console |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise - Large organizations with advanced security |
| Subscription | Monthly | AI Pass - Add-on for expanded AI features |
| Freemium | Others | Goodnotes Education - Free for K-12 schools |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels8 records
Goodnotes product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Goodnotes is a unified digital note-taking application that combines natural handwriting with AI-powered productivity tools. It provides handwritten notes, typed text, PDF annotation, whiteboards, text documents, audio recording, and meeting transcription in a single cross-platform app available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Web. The platform serves both individual users (students, professionals) and organizations through dedicated Education, Teams, and Enterprise tiers.
Product overview
Goodnotes is a unified productivity platform that combines digital handwriting with AI-powered tools, available across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and web. The core Goodnotes app provides note-taking (Notebook), Whiteboard, Text Documents, PDF Annotation, Meeting Notes, Audio Recording, and Goodnotes AI features in a single integrated experience. The product portfolio includes specialized versions: Goodnotes Education (free for K-12 schools), Goodnotes Teams (for collaborative organizations with admin controls), and Goodnotes Enterprise (for large organizations with 25+ seats and advanced compliance features). An AI Pass add-on ($9.99/month) provides expanded AI capabilities. The company operates a Marketplace for digital stickers, templates, and brand collaborations. Platform variants exist for each major OS, with the iPad version offering the most complete feature set.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Goodnotes (main app) The core cross-platform digital paper and note-taking application that combines natural handwriting, AI tools, PDF annotation, whiteboards, text documents, and audio recording in one unified experience for individuals and professionals on tablets.
- Goodnotes Education A teaching and learning space built into the main Goodnotes app providing interactive lessons, real-time class views, and one-to-one student feedback; free for all K-12 schools with no trial period.
- Goodnotes Teams Team-ready version of Goodnotes with admin console, MDM integration, account-based per-seat pricing, and organizational controls for enabling or disabling AI features across collaborative teams.
- Goodnotes Enterprise Enterprise-grade version of Goodnotes for large organizations (25+ seats) with advanced security, compliance, admin controls, MDM integration, AI feature controls, and custom multi-year contract pricing.
- AI Pass Add-on subscription for $9.99 USD per month providing expanded AI features available on top of Essential, Pro, Teams, and Enterprise Goodnotes plans.
- Goodnotes Digital Stickers (Marketplace) Digital stickers, planners, templates, notebooks, and digital stationery sold through the Goodnotes Marketplace, including brand collaborations like Sanrio My Melody and third-party content; downloaded and accessed via the Elements tool.
Quantifiable outcome
- 923 trees planted as result of USA Tour participation
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Goodnotes
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Goodnotes technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
AI capability8 records
Feature9 records
Goodnotes partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- SamsungflagshipSamsung partnership offering exclusive Goodnotes deals on Galaxy Tab devices. Galaxy Tab S9, S10 & S11 users receive 1 year of Goodnotes Essential free. Goodnotes is available in the Samsung Galaxy Store for tablet optimization.
- LenovocoreLenovo partnership offering 3 months free Goodnotes Essential with Lenovo Idea Tab Pro Gen 2, followed by 30% off annual subscription. Lenovo Tab Pen Plus gestures are optimized for Goodnotes workflow.
- LGcoreLG partnership for optimized Goodnotes experience on LG tablets. Part of device manufacturer partnership strategy for pre-installation and promotional bundles.
- AppleflagshipDeep integration with Apple ecosystem including Apple Pencil optimization, iCloud sync, AirPlay for presentations, and compatibility across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Won Apple iPad App of the Year 2022.
- Google WorkspacecoreGoodnotes uses Google Workspace APIs for calendar integration with Google Calendar. Data usage adheres to third party policies governing AI data training prohibition.
- MicrosoftcoreMicrosoft integration including Outlook calendar for meeting notes, Windows app available through Microsoft Store, and Microsoft Azure AI services for Goodnotes AI features.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS powers the infrastructure for Goodnotes Cloud. AWS Bedrock (Claude) and other AI services used for Goodnotes AI features and customer support.
- Aliyun (Alibaba Cloud)coreAliyun's 'Bailian' large language model platform used to provide AI features for Goodnotes users in China, sharing prompts, notebooks, and AI-related data via secure API.
- Apple (iCloud)coreOptional iCloud sync functionality allows users to sync notes and documents to their iCloud account for real-time saving across devices.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Goodnotes competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Notability: Direct competitor offering handwriting note-taking with PDF annotation and audio recording on iPad/iPhone. Closest comparable product on the Apple tablet platform with overlapping student and professional user base.
- Evernote: Long-standing cross-platform note-taking and productivity app with subscription tiers. Comparable in category (notes/PDF annotation) and in addressing both individual and team/enterprise users, though historically weaker on handwriting-first workflows.
- Bear: Apple-platform note-taking app with markdown support, tags, and cross-device sync via iCloud. Competes directly in the Apple-ecosystem premium-notes segment that Goodnotes pioneered, especially among individual productivity users.
Broad incumbents
- Notion: Broader productivity platform spanning notes, docs, wikis, and databases with collaborative editing and AI features. Competes with Goodnotes' text documents, collaboration, and AI productivity modules at the team/enterprise layer, though it does not match the handwriting-first tablet experience.
- Microsoft OneNote: Free, platform-bundled note-taking app from Microsoft with handwriting, drawing, OCR, and deep integration into the Microsoft 365 and Windows ecosystems. Direct substitute for Goodnotes' core use cases, especially in enterprise and education markets where Microsoft already has distribution.
- Apple Notes: Pre-installed free note app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with handwriting (Apple Pencil), PDF annotation, and increasingly capable organization features. Most direct platform-bundled substitute; competes primarily on feature parity and price (free vs. paid Goodnotes).
- Samsung Notes: Pre-installed note-taking app on Samsung Galaxy devices with S Pen optimization, handwriting, and PDF markup. Platform-bundled substitute on the Android side of Goodnotes' cross-platform footprint, directly relevant given the Samsung OEM partnership.
Emerging players
- Miro: Collaborative whiteboard and visual workspace platform with AI features, widely adopted by enterprise teams for brainstorming and planning. Directly comparable to Goodnotes' Whiteboard module in collaborative canvas use cases, with deeper enterprise penetration.
- Obsidian: Knowledge-base note-taking app built on linked Markdown notes, popular with knowledge workers and researchers. Overlaps with Goodnotes' text-document and knowledge-retrieval use cases, especially for power users building personal knowledge systems.
Others
- reMarkable: E-ink writing tablet hardware company with its own note-taking software, focused on distraction-free handwriting and reading. Adjacent rather than directly competitive: reMarkable sells the hardware experience; Goodnotes sells the software that runs on competing tablets including Apple and Samsung.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Goodnotes social profiles
Digital presenceGoodnotes compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Goodnotes financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Goodnotes leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Goodnotes funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Goodnotes M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Goodnotes
What does Goodnotes do?
Goodnotes is a unified digital note-taking application that combines natural handwriting with AI-powered productivity tools. It provides handwritten notes, typed text, PDF annotation, whiteboards, text documents, audio recording, and meeting transcription in a single cross-platform app available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Web. The platform serves both individual users (students, professionals) and organizations through dedicated Education, Teams, and Enterprise tiers.
Is Goodnotes a public or private company?
Goodnotes is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Goodnotes founded?
Goodnotes was founded in 2011. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Goodnotes based?
Goodnotes is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Goodnotes make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription - Individual Plans are the primary driver. The others are subscription - Teams & Enterprise, AI Pass Add-on, goodnotes Education and marketplace Digital Stickers.
Who are Goodnotes's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Notability, Evernote and Bear. Broad incumbents are Notion, Microsoft OneNote, Apple Notes and Samsung Notes. Emerging players are Miro and Obsidian. reMarkable is listed as an others.
Does Goodnotes have an API?
No public API is recorded for Goodnotes.
What industry is Goodnotes in?
Goodnotes's product category is Digital Note-Taking Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAGAD, Digital Whiteboards, Annotation & Collaborative Canvas Tools, with a secondary code of EDAFAOAF, Vocabulary, Flashcards, SRS & Memorization Platforms. Its NAICS code is 32223 and its SIC code is 2780.