Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GoodNotes VS Skiff

Compare GoodNotes VS Skiff and see what are their differences

GoodNotes logo GoodNotes

GoodNotes lets you take notes and annotate PDF documents.

Skiff logo Skiff

Simple & secure privacy-first notes and collaboration
  • GoodNotes Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-05
  • Skiff Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-04

GoodNotes features and specs

  • Handwriting Recognition
    GoodNotes offers OCR (Optical Character Recognition), making handwritten notes searchable and easily convertible to text.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The application features an intuitive and well-organized interface, making it easy for users to navigate and use.
  • Cross-Platform Syncing
    GoodNotes allows for seamless synchronization across multiple devices, including iOS and macOS, ensuring your notes are always up to date.
  • Variety of Paper Templates
    The app offers a wide array of paper templates and covers, allowing users to customize their notebooks according to their needs.
  • Collaboration Tools
    GoodNotes supports collaborative note-taking, allowing multiple users to work on a single document simultaneously.
  • Annotation Features
    Users can annotate PDFs, images, and other documents, making it versatile for different types of note-taking and review.

Possible disadvantages of GoodNotes

  • Platform Limitation
    GoodNotes is currently available only on iOS and macOS platforms, limiting its accessibility for users on other operating systems.
  • No Audio Recording
    Unlike some other note-taking apps, GoodNotes does not offer an audio recording feature, which could be a downside for users who like to sync notes with lectures or meetings.
  • Learning Curve
    Although the interface is user-friendly, some of the advanced features can have a steep learning curve for new users.
  • Subscription Model
    While GoodNotes offers a variety of features, it comes with a subscription cost, which may be a consideration for budget-conscious users.
  • File Size
    Notes and documents in GoodNotes can become quite large, potentially taking up substantial storage space on your device.
  • Limited Cloud Storage
    Although GoodNotes supports iCloud syncing, it does not offer integration with other popular cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox out-of-the-box.

Skiff features and specs

  • Privacy Focused
    Skiff emphasizes user privacy with end-to-end encryption, ensuring that only the user can access their data.
  • Decentralized Collaboration
    The platform supports decentralized collaboration, meaning users can work together securely without central servers that might be compromised.
  • Open Source
    Skiff's code is open source, allowing for transparency and the potential for community contributions to improve the platform.
  • Blockchain Integration
    The use of blockchain technology provides an additional layer of security and immutability, enhancing trust in data integrity.
  • User Control
    Skiff gives users control over their data by minimizing data retention and allowing for data export, ensuring users are not locked into the platform.

Possible disadvantages of Skiff

  • Complex Setup
    Due to its privacy and security features, the initial setup and onboarding process may be more complex compared to more conventional platforms.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Being a newer platform, Skiff may have a smaller ecosystem and fewer integrations with other tools and services compared to established competitors.
  • Performance Overheads
    The end-to-end encryption and decentralized nature could potentially introduce performance overheads, making the service slower compared to centralized alternatives.
  • User Experience
    The focus on privacy and security may sometimes come at the expense of user experience, potentially making the interface less intuitive for non-technical users.
  • Limited Market Adoption
    As a relatively new entrant to the market, Skiff may face slower adoption rates and limited user base initially, impacting collaboration opportunities.

Analysis of GoodNotes

Overall verdict

  • GoodNotes is highly regarded among note-taking apps, particularly for iPad users who benefit from its extensive features optimized for using the Apple Pencil. While primarily designed for iOS devices, it offers a solid option for digital note-taking with its wide range of functionalities and continued updates that enhance user experience.

Why this product is good

  • GoodNotes is widely appreciated for its intuitive user interface, robust organizational tools, and advanced note-taking features. It provides users with the ability to write and sketch naturally using a stylus, as well as the capability to import, annotate, and export documents in various formats. Its synchronization across devices through iCloud allows for seamless access to notes from multiple locations, making it convenient for students, professionals, and creatives alike.

Recommended for

  • Students who want a reliable digital notebook for organizing class notes, especially those with an iPad and Apple Pencil.
  • Professionals looking for a powerful tool to manage meeting notes, planning, and document annotations.
  • Creatives who require a versatile app for sketching, brainstorming, and conceptual work.

Analysis of Skiff

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Skiff is a good option for those looking for a secure and private communication platform. Its strong emphasis on privacy, ease of use, and comprehensive features make it a valuable tool for individuals and teams aiming to protect their data while engaging in online collaboration.

Why this product is good

  • Skiff is a privacy-focused platform offering secure email and collaboration tools. It is designed with end-to-end encryption to ensure that user data remains private and secure. Skiff is particularly appealing for users who prioritize privacy and data protection in their digital communications. The platform is also user-friendly, with features that facilitate smooth collaboration and productivity. Additionally, Skiff offers free tier options with substantial features, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Recommended for

  • Privacy-conscious individuals
  • Teams seeking secure collaboration tools
  • Users looking for an alternative to traditional email services
  • Individuals with a focus on digital security

GoodNotes videos

GoodNotes 5 Review - Best iPad Pro Note taking app?? (2019)

More videos:

  • Review - GoodNotes 5 Walkthrough | iPad
  • Review - Notability vs Goodnotes 5 - The Best iPad Note Taking App (2019) | KharmaMedic

Skiff videos

Solo Skiff Review My HONEST Opinion! | Watch Before You Buy!!!

More videos:

  • Review - Boat Review - Carolina Skiff 21 LS
  • Review - 2015 Mako Pro 16 Skiff CC | Boat Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GoodNotes and Skiff)
Note Taking
69 69%
31% 31
Productivity
34 34%
66% 66
Task Management
100 100%
0% 0
Web App
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using GoodNotes and Skiff. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GoodNotes and Skiff

GoodNotes Reviews

15 Best Notability Alternatives 2022
Automatically sync your note to the cloud to ensure the updated versions are always available on your app. GoodNotes allows you to import files, take photos, scan documents, and weave them into your notes to make them more comprehensive.

Skiff Reviews

The best encrypted note taking apps
Skiff: Skiff is a privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted workspace that offers note-taking and collaboration, email (Skiff Mail), and file upload, storage, and sharing (Skiff Drive). Every email, file, and note on Skiff is end-to-end encrypted, keeping your personal information private to you. The company also offers a sophisticated technical whitepaper, open-source...
Source: www.skiff.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Skiff should be more popular than GoodNotes. It has been mentiond 47 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GoodNotes mentions (5)

  • Dislike recent update on speech notes regarding UI
    Add your feedback to the support thread on goodnotes.com. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Some links work, some don't
    There's a share.goodnotes.com link and others are just goodnotes.com. I could only get one notebook to have the fist link a few months ago and it works for viewing it online on Windows on any browser, the other one just takes me to a page telling me to launch the app which I can only do on Apple devices. Is there any way to get the other type of link or was it just an experiment? Source: over 4 years ago
  • Paid opportunity for USF students!
    GoodNotes App is looking for Content Creators to help us build up study materials on our new platform- GoodNotes Community. GoodNotes is a digital note taking app- check us out here. We have just launched an exciting new product within our app- a note sharing platform. We are looking for students in USF studying either STEM or Business related disciplines. Source: over 4 years ago
  • Visual productivity app?
    It sounds like you need something like GoodNotes 5 or Miro. Source: about 5 years ago
  • Would yโ€™all be interested in a well-designed digital paper planner made specifically for folks with ADHD?
    Digital paper planners are like physical planners but you can store and write in them inside an app like Goodnotes (http://goodnotes.com) using a tablet and stylus. Source: about 5 years ago

Skiff mentions (47)

  • A list of SaaS, PaaS and IaaS offerings that have free tiers of interest to devops and infradev
    Skiff- Open source, end-to-end encrypted anonymous email service, no additional details asked at signup, free 10GB drive storage, one custom domain for your own website, free four aliases for your email address per account. Additional Crypto Wallet support for the E2EE environment. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Using aliases across multiple users
    Hello, I want to assign custom domain addresses to e.g. Family members. Shall the family member create already a skiff.com account, and then I assign a custom domain address to him? Source: almost 3 years ago
  • I'm getting a certificate error whenever I try to connect
    Hi! I've very recently learnt of Skiff from Epic Murphy's new video on private email services. I wanted to try out the service, however, I get certificate error on any browser I try, both on my desktop and on my phone, whenever I go to skiff.com or any of the subdomains of the website. On my desktop, I've tried the website on Librewolf (Firefox fork), vanilla Firefox and Ungoogled Chromium. On my Android phone,... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • Best process to migrate away from Google Workspaces
    Skiff.com can use your custom domain for free, and if you are max 5 people you can all have an address in the custom domain. That takes care of emails. And Skiff also has Calendar, Drive and Pages, but they are all a bit lacking when you're used to Google Drive stuff. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Open-source, MIT UI library
    Hello all! We at Skiff have released our open-source component library Skiff UI for building cross platform privacy-first apps. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GoodNotes and Skiff, you can also consider the following products

Evernote - Bring your life's work together in one digital workspace. Evernote is the place to collect inspirational ideas, write meaningful words, and move your important projects forward.

Google Docs - Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

OneNote - Get the OneNote app for free on your tablet, phone, and computer, so you can capture your ideas and to-do lists in one place wherever you are. Or try OneNote with Office for free.

Bit.ai - Bit is a smart real-time document collaboration platform for teams to create interactive documents, manage digital content and track document insights.

RedNotebook - RedNotebook is a software that format, tag and search entries and add pictures, links and customizable templates, spell check notes, and export to plain text, HTML, Latex or PDF.

Airborn - Create and edit documents online without sacrificing your privacy