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Scratchpad vs OneNote

Scratchpad is a fast typed notebook that works the same on every device, formats and exports Markdown, locks single notes, shares with anyone by link, publishes pages, and includes an assistant and transcription everywhere. OneNote is free and superb with a pen, especially for people who live in Microsoft 365.

Facts checked Sources All comparisons

OneNote is a digital ring binder, and it's at its best with a stylus on a Surface or an iPad. Scratchpad is built for typing: getting a thought down quickly, finding it again in a second, sharing it with anyone, and having an assistant work with it, with every feature the same on every device.

The short answer

Choose Scratchpad if

  • You type your notes and want them quick to write and quick to find
  • You want the same features on every device, not the best ones only on Windows
  • You want Markdown in and out, so your notes aren't stuck in one format
  • You want to lock a single note, share it with anyone by link, or publish it as a page
  • You want an assistant and voice memo transcription on your phone and your Mac, not just Windows

Choose OneNote if

  • You write by hand, or like a freeform page you can put things anywhere on
  • You want it free, or you already pay for Microsoft 365
  • You want Outlook tasks, Teams, and Copilot tied in

At a glance

Scratchpad OneNote
Price a month US$12, or US$8 with your own AI key Free app. Microsoft 365 Personal US$9.99
Price a year US$120, or US$80 with your own AI key Free app. Microsoft 365 Personal US$99.99
Free plan With a 30-day money-back guarantee With 5 GB of OneDrive
Same features on every device Transcription, Outlook tasks, and home Copilot are Windows only
Markdown Typed, pasted, imported, and exported
Lock a single note With its own password Whole sections only
Share with anyone by link With a password or expiry View or edit
Publishing to the web In one click A view-only link
Voice memos to text 20 hours a month, on any device On Windows, with Microsoft 365
Built-in AI On both plans, on every device Copilot, on Windows for home plans
Reminders By email and notification Outlook tasks, on Windows
Search inside attached files PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the text in pictures and scans Text in pictures and file printouts
Tabs, callouts, code, maths, footnotes Tables, tags, and ink equations
Links between notes With backlinks
Version history Up to 200 versions per note Page versions, and a 60-day recycle bin
Handwriting It's searchable too
Freeform page A typed document
Works offline Keeps going when the connection drops, and syncs after In the apps
Platforms Apps for Mac and Linux, plus any browser, installable on iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android, plus the web
Web clipper For Safari, Chrome, and Firefox For Edge and Chrome
API and AI connectors API and an MCP server Microsoft Graph API. No official MCP server

Microsoft 365 includes 1 TB of OneDrive and the Office apps. Scratchpad includes 10 GB for files.

Where Scratchpad is better

A Kitchen renovation note with three contractor quotes in a table, and the assistant panel beside it recommending one of them and explaining why.

The same on every device

A lot of OneNote's best features are Windows only: transcription, Outlook tasks, notebooks stored only on your computer, and, on home plans, Copilot. On a Mac you can't export a whole notebook. Scratchpad is one app in every browser, so what works on your laptop works on your phone.

Lock one note, not a whole section

OneNote's passwords protect whole sections, not single pages, and recordings in them can't be protected. A locked Scratchpad note is encrypted on its own, text and history together, with a key made from its password, and opens with Face ID or Touch ID once you set that up.

An assistant and transcription everywhere

Scratchpad's assistant reads the note you're in, on every device, with 500 messages a month included or no limit with your own AI key, and its edits arrive as a change you approve. Voice memos turn into searchable text anywhere. Copilot in OneNote on home plans is Windows only, on a monthly allowance of AI credits.

Fast to find, and richer to write in

Scratchpad's search reads everything you've typed, your transcripts, and the text inside attached PDFs and Office files, and shows the words around each match. Notes can hold tabs, collapsible panels, callouts, code with highlighting, LaTeX maths, footnotes, and sticky notes. OneNote's reviewers often mention that search struggles in big notebooks.

Your notes in Markdown

OneNote has no Markdown at all: nothing typed, nothing imported, nothing exported. Scratchpad formats Markdown as you type or paste it, and exports a note, a folder, or everything as Markdown, plain text, or JSON.

Share with anyone, or publish a page

A Scratchpad share link opens in any browser with no account, can read or edit, and can carry a password or an expiry date. Publishing turns a note into a clean public web page.

Reminders on every device

/remind call the vet Friday at 9am sets a reminder that arrives by email and as a notification, wherever you are. OneNote's reminders are Outlook tasks, from the Windows app.

Your notes, reachable from other apps

Scratchpad has an API with scoped tokens and an MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, a shortcut, or a script can reach your notes. OneNote has the Microsoft Graph API and no official MCP server.

And everything else Scratchpad does.

  • Reminders in a sentence

    Type /remind call the vet Friday at 9am, and get an email and a notification.

  • Voice memos, transcribed

    Record into a note and get the words back as text you can search. 20 hours a month.

  • Write on PDFs

    Pen, highlighter, shapes, sticky notes, and forms, and a copy to download with your marks on it.

  • Every version, kept

    Up to 200 versions of each note, compared side by side and brought back in a click.

  • Search inside your files

    The words in your PDFs, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, your pictures and scans, and your transcripts, as you type.

  • Tabs, panels, and callouts

    Split a long note into tabs, fold a section away, or set a tip apart in a callout.

  • Code, maths, and footnotes

    Highlighting for about 35 languages, LaTeX that renders as you type, and footnotes that number themselves.

  • Locked notes

    Encrypted with a password of their own, and opened with Face ID or Touch ID once you set that up.

  • Share links you control

    Read or edit, with a password or an expiry date, and nobody needs an account. On paid plans.

  • Publish in one click

    Turn a note into a clean web page, and take it down just as fast. On paid plans.

  • An assistant that asks first

    It reads the note you are in, and its edits arrive as a change you approve.

  • Works with Claude and ChatGPT

    Any app that speaks MCP can search, read, and add to your notes. On paid plans.

  • Two-step sign-in and passkeys

    An authenticator code or an emailed one, backup codes, and passkeys for Touch ID and Face ID.

  • Folders, tags, and backlinks

    Three levels of folders, each with its own colour and icon, #tags as you type, and backlinks.

  • Bring your notes in

    Markdown, Word, HTML, RTF, or a whole zip, with its folders.

  • Markdown in and out

    Export a note, a folder, or everything as Markdown, plain text, or JSON.

Where OneNote is better

It's free

The OneNote app costs nothing with a Microsoft account, which comes with 5 GB of OneDrive. Scratchpad has no free plan.

Pens, ink, and a freeform page

OneNote's page is a canvas: type here, draw there, drop a PDF printout beside it and write on it. Handwriting is searchable and ink can replay. Scratchpad is a typed document; you can draw on a PDF, but not handwrite a note.

It reads your handwriting

OneNote searches your handwriting as well as the text inside pictures. Scratchpad reads the printed words in pictures and scanned PDFs, in English and French, but not handwriting.

Microsoft 365 around it

Native apps on every platform, Outlook tasks, and Teams on Windows, which matters if your working day already runs through Microsoft.

Moving from OneNote to Scratchpad

OneNote has no Markdown export, so the way across is Word. In OneNote on Windows, export a page or a section as a Word document (.docx), then bring the files into Scratchpad from Settings → Your data → Bring notes in, or zip them to bring them in at once. What to expect:

  • Paragraphs, headings, lists, bold, and italic come across.
  • Tables, pictures, handwriting, and the page's freeform layout don't.
  • On a Mac, OneNote exports a page as PDF only. You can attach a PDF to a Scratchpad note and use Pull the text into the note to turn it into text.

See Bringing your old notes in.

Good questions.

Is OneNote free?

Yes. The OneNote app is free with a Microsoft account, which includes 5 GB of OneDrive storage. Copilot and more storage come with a paid Microsoft 365 plan, from US$9.99 a month for Personal.

Does OneNote support Markdown?

No. OneNote doesn't format typed Markdown and can't import or export it. Scratchpad formats Markdown as you type or paste it and exports notes as Markdown.

Can I password-protect a single page in OneNote?

No. OneNote protects whole sections with a password, and locked sections are left out of search. Scratchpad locks single notes, each with its own password.

Is OneNote end-to-end encrypted?

No. OneNote notebooks are stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, encrypted with keys Microsoft holds. Scratchpad isn't end-to-end encrypted either. Its locked notes are stored encrypted with a key made from their password, so what Scratchpad keeps can't be read without it.

Can I move from OneNote to Scratchpad?

Yes, through Word. Export pages or sections from OneNote on Windows as Word documents and import them. Text and its basic formatting come across; tables, pictures, and handwriting don't.

Sources

Checked on 24 September 2026, from Microsoft's own pages:

And for Scratchpad, the documentation and pricing.

The best way to decide is with your own notes.

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US$12 a month, or US$8 with your own AI key. 30-day money-back guarantee.