Taking lecture notes
You're in a university lecture and want to write, draw diagrams, and annotate slides on your iPad with your Apple Pencil. Goodnotes is purpose-built for this. BoardSnap has no role when you're the one writing.
Comparison
BoardSnap vs Goodnotes 6
BoardSnap vs Goodnotes 6
Goodnotes is where you write on your iPad. BoardSnap reads what's already on the wall.
Goodnotes 6 is the gold standard for handwritten notes on iPad with Apple Pencil. It's an excellent tool for creating notes digitally. But the whiteboard on your conference room wall — the one already covered in marker — isn't a Goodnotes document. BoardSnap handles that.
The short verdict
Pick Goodnotes 6 if you write your own notes on an iPad and want a beautifully organized digital notebook. Pick BoardSnap if you need to capture and analyze a physical whiteboard that someone else just filled with content.
Download on the
App Store
Free to start. Pro from $9.99/mo or $69.99/yr.
Feature-by-feature
| Capability | BoardSnap | Goodnotes 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Physical whiteboard capture | Native purpose-built | Photo import only |
| Reads diagrams and arrows | ✓ Yes | — No |
| AI summary from board photo | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Tri-state action items | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Brand-aware tone | ✓ Yes | — No |
| Offline capture queue | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Apple Pencil handwriting | — No | ✓ Yes |
| AI from handwritten notes | — No | ✓ Yes |
| Notebook hierarchy | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| PDF annotation | — No | ✓ Yes |
| iPad-first design | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Free tier | ✓ Yes | Free with limits |
Where BoardSnap wins
- Captures physical whiteboards with VisionKit perspective correction
- Reads diagrams, arrows, and spatial relationships that don't exist in Goodnotes
- AI summary generated from the board's actual content in ~10 seconds
- Tri-state action items with auto-generated subtasks
- Brand-aware summaries that match your project's voice
- Offline capture queue — works without Wi-Fi
You're in a meeting room. The whiteboard is full — diagrams, owner names, action items written in blue marker. You need those captured and turned into tasks before anyone leaves. BoardSnap is the right tool: VisionKit corrects the perspective, AI reads the structure, and you have action items in ten seconds.
Where Goodnotes 6 still has an edge
- Best-in-class handwriting recognition and conversion on iPad
- Beautifully organized notebook, page, and folder hierarchy
- Apple Pencil support with precise, low-latency inking
- AI features for summarizing handwritten notes, spell-checking, and generating flashcards
- PDF import and annotation — works on existing documents
- Sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac with iCloud
You're taking notes yourself — lecture notes, meeting notes, personal journaling, research notes — and you want the power of paper with the organization of digital. Goodnotes is exceptional for this. It's a creative writing and note-taking tool, not a whiteboard capture tool.
Scenarios
Capturing the instructor's whiteboard
The professor just filled the whiteboard with a complex diagram. You snap it with BoardSnap, which reads the structure and gives you a summary with the key concepts organized. Goodnotes can't read a photo and generate structured output.
Team standup board
The standup board has three columns: Yesterday, Today, Blockers. Five names, ten items. BoardSnap reads the columns, identifies the structure, and produces action items grouped by person. You paste the summary into the team Slack channel.
Frequently asked
Can Goodnotes 6 summarize a whiteboard photo?
Goodnotes 6 has AI features for summarizing and organizing handwritten notes within the app. You can import a photo of a whiteboard, but Goodnotes won't generate a structured summary or action items from it — that analysis isn't what the app is built for.
Does BoardSnap work on iPad?
Yes — BoardSnap runs on both iPhone and iPad. The capture workflow is optimized for iPhone (you hold it up to the whiteboard), but the board review and chat features work great on iPad too.
Which is better for students?
Depends on the use case. For writing your own notes with Apple Pencil, Goodnotes 6 wins clearly. For capturing the instructor's whiteboard or capturing notes from a study session whiteboard, BoardSnap is the faster and smarter choice. Many students use both.
Try BoardSnap. Decide for yourself.
Free to start. The first snap takes ten seconds — see how it compares to Goodnotes 6.
Free · 1 project, 30 boards
Pro $9.99/mo · everything unlimited
Pro $69.99/yr · save 42%