OneNotePappper vs OneNote: notes or worksheets?
OneNote is a notebook that can hold a PDF. Pappper starts from the worksheet. Here is when each one makes sense.
Side by side
| Pappper | OneNote | |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Working on worksheets and PDFs | Keeping notebooks of notes |
| A PDF becomes | Pages on a board that you write on top of | To annotate it, a printout: each page is inserted as a picture |
| AI on the page | Select a region and ask, or have answers written into the blanks | Not covered by the sources checked here |
| Runs in | The browser, with nothing to install | Apps across devices |
| Works offline | No | Check for your device and setup |
| Price | Free plan, with Plus for more AI and storage | Free for basic use |
About OneNote, from Microsoft’s guide to PDF printouts, Microsoft Q&A. Plans change, so check before you decide.
Choose OneNote if you live in a notebook
If your class runs on OneNote Class Notebook, or you keep all your notes there and want everything in one tree of sections, stay with it. It is free, it is often installed already, and it is a real notebook, which Pappper is not trying to be.
Choose Pappper if the task is a worksheet
Microsoft’s own guidance is that annotating a PDF in OneNote means inserting it as a printout, with each page as a picture, sent to the background before you write over it. That works, but it is a few steps for each worksheet, and then the page is one item in your notes.
In Pappper those steps do not exist: upload the worksheet and each page is ready to write on, locked in place. You can ask the AI about any part of it and export the result straight back to a PDF.
Questions,
answered
Can I move my worksheets from OneNote to Pappper?
If you still have the original PDF, upload that. Otherwise export the page from OneNote as a PDF and upload the result. Your earlier markup comes along as part of the page.