If you’ve spent any time on our website or have worked with us directly, you know that one of the services we provide is assistance with app management. When used correctly, apps can be a very valuable productivity tool in your mobile arsenal. But when it comes to selecting apps for use within an organization, it can be difficult to get everyone to agree on what’s best. One of the popular disagreements revolves around OneNote vs. Evernote.

Each of these digital notebook apps have thousands of loyal users … who may be staunchly opposed to transitioning to the competitor app. Yet in the workplace, what matters most is which is best for the job and the right fit for the organization’s comprehensive mobile strategy. That’s why we’ve provided a brief overview of some of the pros to each.

Pros of OneNote

  • If you’re a stylus user, this may be the app for you. Every note is a blank canvas, allowing you to move items, handwrite notes, add images or customize its look as you like for your benefit. Plus, OneNote has exceptional OCR, even recognizing messages handwritten in cursive.
  • If you’re a Windows user, OneNote offers quite a few integration capabilities not available to users of the Mac app, including the ability to insert Excel spreadsheets into OneNote directly or the ability to share your OneNote content with others through SharePoint.
  • Looking to collaborate simultaneously in real time? OneNote for Mac and for Windows lets you share notes and notebooks with others for free and experience edits as you go.
  • Categorizing and tagging is a breeze with OneNote’s “sticky-note-like” elements. Whether you’re marketing items to “remember for later,” as an “idea” or a “to do,” these tags can make your notes more useful and easier to organize.
  • If you’re an Android user, OneNote offers five widgets and a badge that can make it quick and easy to access your OneNote content of choice. Plus, the badge can be placed on a corner of any screen for adding new notes anytime.

Pros of Evernote

  • Users and reviewers agree that Evernote offers a more powerful mobile web experience. In addition to more extensive clipping capabilities that allow you to copy portions of text, full articles or even screenshots, the app has great zoom capabilities to make any article legible.
  • Want immediate access to all your notes all the time? As long as you’re connected to the Internet, it’s possible with Evernote. OneNote, on the other hand, requires you to manually access notes by from notebooks created on other devices.
  • If you’re interested in more robust Google searches, Evernote’s Clipper extension is something you’ll enjoy. It allows Google to search your notes, as well as what’s on the web.
  • Available for purchase, Evernote’s Presentation mode lets you quickly turn your notes into presentation format, which can be handy for meetings and brainstorms. Keep in mind the presentations aren’t as professional as PowerPoint or Keynote though!
  • If you’re an Apple user with an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, Evernote’s 3D Touch support far outperforms OneNote’s capabilities. The “Pop” feature makes it easy to create new notes, snap new pictures, access reminders and more on the home screen, or “Peek” at notes inside the app.

Have a favorite? Or obsessed with a pro for either platform we haven’t addressed? We’d love to have you weigh in on the OneNote vs. Evernote debate!