Comparing Our Favorite Digital Notebooks
Our Favorite Smart Pens
Neo Smartpen M1+ for $129: Skip the tablet and write directly on paper with a smart pen instead. The Neo Smartpen M1+ is the thinnest and lightest of all the pens I tried, which makes it feel a bit more like your standard pen. Importantly, it’s comfortable to hold and use. You should be able to find whatever size and style of notebook you need as well as planners. The Neo Studio app (iOS, Android) is nice, with an easy-to-navigate notebook system and the ability to search for pages by page number or date. You can change the color of the ink and thickness of the lines right on the page as you go, or you can switch them up later and edit the colors of what you’ve written. —Medea Giodiano
Moleskine Smart Writing Set for $279: Moleskine has garnered a devoted following for its classic notebooks and journals, but it has also moved into smart territory. The Smart Writing Set gets you a notebook and pen bundle, so this is the best option for most people starting out. Write in the notebook, and it’ll appear in the companion app! But you can buy the pen on its own, as well as the smart notebooks and planners in various sizes. The Moleskine Notes 2.0 app (iOS, Android) was easy to use once I settled into it. An older version of the app is available for download, but the 2.0 version is more streamlined. A pop-up let me know that 2.0 is still a work in progress and I might need to switch back to the older version if my device is having trouble, but my iPhone 11 didn’t have any issues. I tested the $149 2018 version of the Smart Writing Set, which is no longer available, but we plan to test the latest version soon. —Medea Giordano
Honorable Mentions
Boox Note Air3 C for $450: This model was a solid all-around performer. It has a more complicated ecosystem than our top picks, but also more capabilities to compare with a standard tablet. This version has been discontinued, but there’s a new version, the Note Air4 C ($530), which we now recommend above.
Kindle Scribe Colorsoft ($630) and Kindle Scribe (3rd Gen) ($500): The new versions of the Kindle Scribe are still solid all-around devices that have a good mix of e-reader and digital notebook features, but I still prefer the older model. While the new Scribe Colorsoft is a nice option if you want color, I think both are too expensive for what they are. The price comes from all the AI features packed into the device, but I don’t think any reader or digital notetaker was asking for more of those. Our picks above are a better price for similar features, though the Scribe does have the most impressive battery life of any digital notebook device I’ve tried (and that’s still true for the older model that I recommend above, too, so you don’t need the newest model for the best battery life).
Montblanc Digital Paper for $905: Yes, that Montblanc, the one with the famous pens, now has a digital notebook of its own. It’s no surprise that I’d call its digital pen one of the best. It’s got a super-lightweight feel while sporting three different buttons, two of which you can customize. (There’s no eraser, but I’ll give it up for that end of the pen to instead be a home button). I really like this device overall, but it’s pricey for what you get—aside from the customizable pen buttons, there’s not much to differentiate it from my top picks.
Neo Smartpen Dimo for $59: This is the cheapest smart pen option and uses replaceable batteries. It isn’t compatible with Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook like our other picks.
Rocketbook Fusion Plus for $38: If you really prefer the paper experience and don’t want something you need to charge, then Rocketbook is for you. Rocketbook makes several reusable notebooks, planners, and accessories like index cards and sticky notes. I like the Rocketbook Fusion Plus since it comes with a ton of different template styles, from your classic monthly and weekly pages to project management layouts and meeting notes, making it feel closer to the variety a digital notebook can offer you. Take notes with an erasable Pilot Frixion Pen (one comes with whichever item you buy), scan photos of the pages into the Rocketbook app, and erase the whole thing with the damp microfiber cloth (also included). The app is designed to keep everything organized and easily send things off to Google Drive, Slack, Trello, OneNote, and a handful of other options.
Supernote A6 X2 Nomad for $394 (with Standard Pen): This is a smaller version of the Supernote A5 X2 Manta, measuring almost 6 inches on one side and 7.5 inches on the other. Supernote designed it with travel in mind, but I find it to be a great size for a daily digital to-do list or writing down quick notes from a meeting. It’s too small for anything major, but if you’re looking for something compact, this is a good option with Supernote’s software (and with the same fantastic pens!). Like the Manta above, this model rose in price due to the tariffs, though it only went up $30.
FAQs
Do You Need a Digital Note-Taking Device?
The short answer is no. These devices are expensive, usually costing several hundred dollars when a simple notebook and pen costs a few bucks. But if you like the physical act of writing but need to have digital copies, they’re worth considering.
Pros:
- Digital notebooks are thin and light but hold hundreds of notes.
- You can transcribe your notes into text files, making them easier to read and manipulate.
- Depending on the device, you can export files as PDFs, Google Docs, Evernote files, and more.
- Instantly digitizes your art too.
Cons:
- Expensive.
- Need to be charged.
- Have a learning curve.
- Most smart pens need to be paired with an accompanying notebook. The upcoming Nuwa Pen promises smart notes on any paper.
E Ink notebooks are easier on the eyes and feel closer to paper than a glass-screened tablet. But in some cases, you might spend less getting an iPad and an Apple Pencil (and a keyboard if you also want to type sometimes). You can also do more on them thanks to the thousands of apps in the App Store. An iPad is pretty intuitive if you’re familiar with the Apple ecosystem (though both ReMarkable and Supernote’s ecosystems are also very intuitive). Former WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey recommended using her 11-inch iPad Pro with the GoodNotes and Notability apps for her writing, but there are other models that should work fine, including our top pick, the 2025 iPad. Check our our guide to the Best iPads for more advice on which to buy.
I also have an iPad, and I’ll say the upside of a digital notebook is that the battery tends to last longer, especially if you’re the type to use it for a day or two and then forget about it for a few days. My trusty Kindle Scribe usually manages to have plenty of battery available for whenever I feel the note-taking itch, even if it’s been a week or two since I last touched it.
Why Are Digital Notebooks So Expensive?
Just because these devices look like paper doesn’t mean they’re as cheap to make as a sheet of paper. Like any tablet or smart phone, these devices are packed with features, a special ecosystem, and the E Ink technology is no small feat to perfect, along with a sensation similar to writing on paper. It’s an impressive piece of technology.
Prices haven’t gotten cheaper for this category in the wake of tariffs’ causing technology prices to rise. ReMarkable did recently raise the price of our top pick, the ReMarkable Paper Pro. Another favorite of ours from Supernote has gone up a little less than $50, and Kobo also slightly raised its prices, though the $10 increase is pretty minor compared to other increases we’ve seen. We’ll continue to monitor prices and flag if more price changes are to come.
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