Our Favorite Digital Notebooks and Smart Pens

Do you take a lot of notes? Whether it’s daily to-do lists, notes for class, or just jotting down the various thoughts in our brains, it’s nice to have somewhere to write everything down. Sure, you could just open your Notes app, but physically writing something down helps you remember and learn more. It also feels nice to stop typing for a minute and write out the thoughts in your mind. If you worry about losing those notes if they aren’t digitized, then good news: We’ve got the options for you.

There are E Ink tablets, smart pens, and notebooks made to save digital files of your handwritten notes or drawings. You can save files as PDFs, images, and Word Docs, or transcribe them to a text file in Google Docs to make all your notes searchable. Some of these devices can record too, which is great for lectures and interviews. If your notes need an upgrade, we recommend giving these a try. If you’re looking for true paper options, don’t miss our Paper Planners guide, and if you’re prepping for heading back to school, catch our Best Laptop Backpacks and Best Totes guides to stash the below picks and your other school supplies in.

Updated August 2024: We’ve added the Rocketbook Fusion Plus as a pick, and updated our notes on the reMarkable 2 after testing the keyboard attachment.

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