# Microsoft OneNote

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/onenote/

12 people recommended Microsoft OneNote in Hacker News comments, 8 had mixed feelings and 28 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 10 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended, mainly for sync glitches and conflicts when notebooks are edited on other machines; those who recommend it cite simple, reliable notes that sync across devices and work everywhere, with a freeform inline-box layout.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Neglected, stagnant development (2 comments in the sample): "OneNote being a neglected back-water app they obviously don't care about" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46200453)) "Microsoft is famous for killing something good (like OneNote" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47460192))
- Sync delays and conflicting edits (2 comments in the sample): "as soon as someone else edits something in the same spot, it creates a forked history requiring manual reconciliation" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47636566)) "OneNote, for instance, has serious delays and glitches when syncing notebooks changed on other machines or web." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47320515))

## Why people recommend it

- Syncs reliably across devices (3 comments in the sample): "The OneNote app sync is quick enough that I could type lecture notes on the laptop" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47248957)) "OneNote syncs to the cloud so I can keep my mobile and pc synced… and backed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47889053)) "OneNote has been simple and reliable, it just works everywhere." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46236948))
- Freeform inline-box notes (2 comments in the sample): "people who are used to Onenote mainly like it for its inline-box style notes" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46496884)) "It's pretty kludgy, but I like the freeform nature of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49545435))
- Good for meeting and lecture notes (1 comment in the sample): "I found good use taking notes in OneNote (specifically) for in-person meetings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50278322))

## Other note-taking apps people recommend

- [Obsidian](https://hackerapproved.com/p/obsidian/): 306 recommend, 104 mixed, 114 criticize
- [Org mode](https://hackerapproved.com/p/org-mode/): 133 recommend, 30 mixed, 29 criticize
- [Notion](https://hackerapproved.com/p/notion/): 43 recommend, 37 mixed, 96 criticize
- [Logseq](https://hackerapproved.com/p/logseq/): 30 recommend, 19 mixed, 23 criticize

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://onenote.cloud.microsoft/)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Microsoft OneNote", https://hackerapproved.com/p/onenote/ (12 recommend, 8 mixed, 28 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.