Notion and OneNote are popular note-taking tools with a key difference—OneNote embraces simplicity and functionality while Notion is more feature-rich yet complex. OneNote is a more traditional note-taking tool that closely resembles a physical notebook. You can add notes to a page within a notebook and arrange different sections on the page. The app offers straightforward yet flexible note creation and organization. OneNote makes creating notes in various formats like text, handwritten notes, drawings, or maths calculations easy. With a simple user interface and standard Microsoft features, OneNote is a popular choice for many existing Microsoft users.

Compared to OneNote, Notion is more feature-rich but can also be more complex to use—especially for beginners. You can organize your notes in content blocks on a page, add subpages to create a note-taking hierarchy, and set out the information in your preferred layout. The app offers additional organizational features to manage and...