OneNote is the digital notebook in Microsoft 365. Organizations use it for two things above all: meeting and project notes – capturing decisions, ideas, and to-dos in notebooks organized by sections and pages – and shared team knowledge, with notebooks that whole groups read and edit together. Notebooks live in OneDrive or SharePoint, so they sync across desktop, web, and mobile, and the app is free to use with any Microsoft account.

Key Features

• Sectioned Notebooks: Organize by pages and tabs
• Ink & Drawing Tools: Write or sketch ideas
• Multimedia Support: Add images, links, audio, and files
• Search: Find anything quickly within notebooks
• Shared Notebooks: Collaborate in real time
• Cross-Device Sync: Access notes from anywhere

Common Use Cases

• Meeting notes and agendas
• Project planning and research
• Student lecture notes
• Brainstorming and idea capture
• Team knowledge sharing

How OneNote Fits Into Microsoft 365

• SharePoint: shared notebooks live in SharePoint document libraries; every team site can host a notebook the whole team edits
• OneDrive: personal notebooks are stored in OneDrive, syncing across every device you sign in to
• Teams: any channel can carry a OneNote tab, and the notebook behind it is stored in the team’s SharePoint site
• Outlook: emails can be sent to OneNote for safekeeping, and notebook pages can be shared by email
• Copilot: with a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, OneNote can summarize, rewrite, and draft content from your notes

Limits and Nuances

• Free app: OneNote costs nothing with a Microsoft account and is included with every Microsoft 365 plan
• Cloud storage rules: notebooks sync through OneDrive or SharePoint and count against that storage quota; for work content, SharePoint is the natural home
• OneNote for Windows 10 is retired: the legacy app reached end of support on October 14, 2025 and is now read-only; the OneNote app on Windows is the way forward
• Section passwords, not page locks: individual sections can be password-protected, but there are no per-page permissions; sharing is managed at the notebook level
• Big notebooks need care: very large sections with heavy attachments sync more slowly, so splitting content across sections and notebooks keeps things quick
• Loop is not a replacement: OneNote handles long-form, durable notes; Loop handles live co-created workspaces; most organizations use both
• Works offline: pages remain editable without a connection and sync automatically once you are back online

Common Questions About OneNote

What is OneNote used for?

Capturing and organizing notes. OneNote gives every topic a notebook divided into sections and pages, with room for text, images, ink, audio, links, and file attachments on a free-form canvas. Organizations use it for meeting notes, project research, and shared team knowledge; students use it for lectures and study. Powerful search across all notebooks means nothing captured is ever really lost.

What is the difference between OneNote and Loop?

OneNote is the digital notebook – long-form notes organized by notebooks, sections, and pages, built up over months and years. Loop is Microsoft’s newer co-creation app for live, shared workspaces whose components stay in sync across Teams, Outlook, and pages. The rule of thumb: OneNote for durable notes and reference material, Loop for fast-moving collaborative work in progress. Most organizations end up using both.

Is OneNote free?

Yes. OneNote is free with any Microsoft account on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and the web, and it is included with every Microsoft 365 subscription. The notes themselves are stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, so they count against that storage rather than any OneNote-specific limit. For business use, Microsoft 365 adds the security, compliance, and sharing controls around those notebooks.

Where are OneNote notebooks stored?

In OneDrive or SharePoint. Personal notebooks live in OneDrive; shared team notebooks belong in a SharePoint document library, where the whole team can edit with the site’s permissions applied. Every SharePoint team site can host notebooks alongside its documents – the department and team site examples on LookBook 365 pair naturally with a shared OneNote notebook for meeting notes and reference material.

Is OneNote being discontinued?

No. Only the separate OneNote for Windows 10 app was retired – it reached end of support on October 14, 2025 and became read-only. The main OneNote app on Windows is fully supported and actively developed, as are the Mac, web, and mobile versions. Notebooks stored in OneDrive or SharePoint appear automatically when you sign in to the current app.

Can a whole team share one OneNote notebook?

Yes – shared notebooks are one of OneNote’s core strengths. Store the notebook in SharePoint or share one from OneDrive, and everyone with access can read and edit simultaneously, with changes syncing in real time. Permissions are managed at the notebook level, and individual sections can be password-protected for sensitive content. Teams users can pin the same notebook as a tab in any channel.