The Best Digital Notebooks and Smart Pens

Is the second-generation Amazon Kindle Scribe (8/10, WIRED Review) the best digital notebook? No. It's a bit of a hybrid. I'd describe it as an extra-large Kindle that happens to have some digital notebook abilities. But time and time again, I find myself reaching for my Kindle over the other digital notebooks in my house. I'm a big reader, and a Kindle user at that, so having one device that already has all my books that can also serve as my personal doodle pad has been really convenient.

The ReMarkable 2 and Supernote Manta have more templates and compatibility, and Kobo's devices let you actually write notes on the book while Kindle only lets you write on Post-It-like pop-ups, called Active Canvas, and an expanded sidebar margin that can pop up and take up a third of the page for you to write on. If you're looking to actually annotate a book, the Kobo Libra (more on that below) is a better choice. Both the Kobo Elipsa and Libra give you more freedom to actually write on book pages, and the Libra gives you the option of color.

The Scribe does now come with new generative AI features (Summarization and Refined Writing) but they’re subtle. You are able to sync the notebooks on your Scribe to the Kindle app, but these don't sync as seamlessly as the ReMarkable app does. And yet, since I'm already a Kindle user, I find myself always grabbing this notebook to read my latest library book or jot down ideas on a notepad. It's serving me well for my minimalist needs—I use my notebook for doodling ideas and writing lists rather than taking notes for class or uploading PDFs to edit—but our recommendations above are more powerful with better accessories.

If you prefer your notes to be color-coded, then the ReMarkable Paper Pro (7/10, WIRED Recommends) is the digital notebook you need. It has everything we like about the ReMarkable 2 but adds a few cool new features like colorful pen options and a gentle built-in screen light that uses ambient light from the room. It's got an 11.8-inch screen, making it an extra inch and a half bigger than the ReMarkable 2. It's especially handy if you're taking notes or writing down ideas somewhere a little dark, like a dimmed classroom or on a late flight. Like the ReMarkable 2, it's easy to organize your notes in various ways, from different notebooks to tags and folders. It's easy to access notes off the device, too, especially if you have ReMarkable's Connect subscription ($3 per month) for unlimited cloud storage.

If you're already a ReMarkable user, you'll unfortunately need to upgrade to all new accessories. The different screen requires a different Marker and Marker Plus (the Marker comes with the Paper Pro, but the Marker Plus costs an extra $50) specifically designed for the Paper Pro. The Paper Pro’s larger screen means you need a different cover ($179) to protect it or the larger keyboard folio ($229) if you want to type with it.

★ New price: The Paper Pro has risen $50, now starting at $629 instead of $579. ReMarkable previously announced it would be raising prices due to tariffs at the end of May.

Kobo makes some of our favorite e-readers, and the Kobo Libra Color takes its e-reader software and not only adds digital notebooks, but color annotating too. You can write in the margins and underline your favorite quotes using eight different colors (plus black and gray, giving you 10 choices total), and you can hold down the button on the Stylus 2 ($70) to enter highlight mode. You can only highlight books in yellow, but there are four highlighter colors in notebook mode. The Stylus 2 also has an eraser on the back that works as an object eraser, so one tap to the highlighted area or on-page doodle and the whole thing will vanish from your book's page.

The Libra also has a separate notebook section, where you can create different digital notebook pages. You can choose from a variety of layouts for each page (click the three dots and choose “change page background”) in a notebook, plus three different pen styles, a highlighter, and a paintbrush to use with the eight colors and two neutrals in the Libra's digital palette. It is a small size, so good for taking quick notes but not ideal for, say, writing down everything from an intense lecture. But if you're more of a fun to-do list kind of person and want a digital notebook and excellent e-reader all in one, the Libra Color is the way to go.

★ Larger, but no color: We previously recommended the Kobo Elipsa 2E ($400) for readers, and while it's still a great device, I think it's just a little too large for frequent readers (I much prefer the smaller Libra to bring books with me on the go), and missing out on color is a huge bummer. But I prefer both Kobos to the Kindle Scribe, and the Elipsa and Scribe are the same size.

If you really prefer the paper experience and don't want something you need to charge, then Rocketbook is for you. Rocketbook makes several reusable notebooks, planners, and accessories like index cards. I like the Rocketbook Fusion Plus since it comes with a ton of different template styles, from your classic monthly and weekly pages to project management layouts and meeting notes, making it feel closer to the variety a digital notebook can offer you. Take notes with an erasable Pilot Frixion Pen (one comes with whichever item you buy), scan photos of the pages into the Rocketbook app, and erase the whole thing with the damp microfiber cloth (also included). The app is designed to keep everything organized and easily send things off to Google Drive, Slack, Trello, OneNote, and a handful of other options.

The pages feel like something in between laminated paper and an extra-slim whiteboard. I found it easy to write on with the Frixion pen, and easy enough to erase. It was harder to erase, say, one word rather than an entire section of notes though. Rocketbook also makes the Rocketbook Pro 2.0 ($60), which has a more professional folio look to it, and I also really liked the reusable Sticky Notes ($30) since I tend to write a lot of quick lists and ideas down on anything nearby that's hand. I also like that you can get a colorful expansion pack ($20) that the Rocketbook app will recognize and upload to the right spot (email to your work address, add to a Trello board, etc.) based on the color.

E Ink notebooks are easier on the eyes and feel closer to paper than a glass-screened tablet. But in some cases, you might spend less getting an iPad and an Apple Pencil (and a keyboard if you also want to type sometimes). You can also do more on them thanks to the thousands of apps in the App Store, but still take notes and draw. An iPad is pretty intuitive if you're familiar with the Apple ecosystem (though both ReMarkable and Supernote's ecosystems are also very intuitive). Former WIRED reviewer Jaina Grey recommended using her 11-inch iPad Pro with the GoodNotes and Notability apps for her writing, but there are other models that should work fine, including our top pick, the 2025 iPad. Check our our guide to the Best iPads for more advice on which to buy.

I also have an iPad, and I'll say the upside of a digital notebook is the battery tends to last longer, especially if you're the type to use it for a day or two and then forget about it for a few days. My trusty Kindle Scribe usually manages to have plenty of battery available for whenever I feel the note-taking itch, even if it's been a week or two since I last touched it.

Skip the tablet and write directly on paper with a smart pen instead. The Neo Smartpen M1+ is the thinnest and lightest of all the pens I tried, which makes it feel a bit more like your standard pen. Importantly, it's comfortable to hold and use. You should be able to find whatever size and style of notebook you need as well as planners.

The Neo Studio app (iOS, Android) is nice, with an easy-to-navigate notebook system and the ability to search for pages by page number or date. You can change the color of the ink and thickness of the lines right on the page as you go, or you can switch them up later and edit the colors of what you've written. —Medea Giodiano

★ Alternative: The Neo Smartpen Dimo ($59) is the cheapest and uses replaceable batteries. It isn't compatible with Google Calendar, iCal, or Outlook like our other picks.

Moleskine has garnered a devoted following for its classic notebooks and journals, but it has also moved into smart territory. The Smart Writing Set gets you a notebook and pen bundle, so this is the best option for most people starting out. Write in the notebook and it'll appear in the companion app! But you can buy the pen on its own, as well as the smart notebooks and planners in various sizes.

The Moleskine Notes 2.0 app (iOS, Android) was easy to use once I settled into it. An older version of the app is available for download, but the 2.0 version is more streamlined. A pop-up let me know that 2.0 is still a work in progress and I might need to switch back to the older version if my device is having trouble, but my iPhone 11 didn't have any issues. —Medea Giordano

Note: We tried the $149 2018 version of the Smart Writing Set, which is no longer available. We haven't tried the latest 2022 version. They seem identical, but the price has jumped dramatically to $279.