Softwr

Design · head to head

Gravit Designer vs Microsoft OneNote

Gravit Designer logo

Gravit Designer

Design

Free vector graphics editor in the cloud

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Microsoft OneNote logo

Microsoft OneNote

Productivity

Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Gravit Designer the Gravit Designer brand and domain designer.io were retired and now redirect live to CorelDRAW, confirming the standalone product no longer exists under its own name; Microsoft OneNote notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • They diverge on capability: Gravit Designer covers Vector drawing, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Gravit Designer and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where Gravit Designer and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeGravit DesignerMicrosoft OneNote
PlatformsWindows, Macos, Linux, WebWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
CategoryDesignProductivity
Founded20141975

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Gravit Designer

  • Vector drawing
  • Bezier tools
  • Shape tools
  • Typography
  • Gradient tools
  • Symbols
  • Layers
  • Cloud storage

Only in Microsoft OneNote

  • Free-form page canvas
  • Notebook hierarchy
  • Indexed handwriting
  • Audio recording
  • Web clipper and Outlook capture
  • Shared notebooks
  • Cross-platform clients
  • Tags and cross-notebook search

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Gravit Designer

  • Logo designnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Vector illustrationnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Icon designnot Microsoft OneNote
  • Web graphicsnot Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote

  • Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not Gravit Designer
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not Gravit Designer
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not Gravit Designer
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not Gravit Designer

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Gravit Designer

  • The Gravit Designer brand and domain designer.io were retired and now redirect live to CorelDRAW, confirming the standalone product no longer exists under its own name

Microsoft OneNote

  • Notes live in a proprietary notebook format on OneDrive or SharePoint and the only exports are a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document, produced section by section, so a large notebook is effectively unmovable to any other tool.
  • Personal notebooks consume OneDrive quota, which is 5 GB on a free Microsoft account, so a notebook full of scans, images and recordings quietly exhausts the whole account including the space Outlook needs for mail.
  • Sync happens at section level and conflicts are resolved by placing both versions on the page, so simultaneous edits to a large or media-heavy section produce duplicated content that somebody has to merge by hand.
  • Search behaves differently across clients, so what the Windows desktop app finds inside handwriting, images and attachments is not necessarily what the browser or mobile version finds, and the same query gives different answers on different devices.
  • There is no relational structure, no database and no properties, so anything that needs a table of records with fields has to be maintained by hand or moved elsewhere, and OneNote's own tables cannot be queried or filtered.

Pricing, plan by plan

Gravit Designer

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Cloud storage
    • All design tools
    • SVG support

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Gravit Designer if

  • You need vector drawing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Macos, Linux, Web.
  • You also want bezier tools.
Gravit Designer review

Choose Microsoft OneNote if

  • You need free-form page canvas.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
  • You also want notebook hierarchy.
Microsoft OneNote review

Questions people ask

Is Gravit Designer or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. Gravit Designer starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Gravit Designer or Microsoft OneNote?
Gravit Designer starts at Free and Microsoft OneNote at Free.
Does Gravit Designer or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
Gravit Designer runs on Windows, Macos, Linux, Web. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Gravit Designer for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Gravit Designer best used for?
Gravit Designer is most often used for logo design, vector illustration, icon design, web graphics. Of those, logo design and vector illustration are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can Gravit Designer do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
Gravit Designer covers Vector drawing, Bezier tools, Shape tools, Typography. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Gravit Designer: Do I need a subscription to use CorelDRAW?

Yes. After the 15-day trial ends, a monthly or annual subscription is required. There is no free tier after trial expiration.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Is OneNote really free?

Yes. The application is free with a Microsoft account, with no time limit and no feature gate. What you may end up paying for is the OneDrive storage the notebooks consume.

Gravit Designer: How much does a subscription cost?

The page shows placeholder text for monthly and annual pricing but does not display the actual prices. You need to complete the purchase flow to see exact costs.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Can I keep notebooks off Microsoft's cloud?

The Windows desktop app can keep local notebooks, but they will not sync to other devices and any shared access requires OneDrive or SharePoint.

Gravit Designer: How many AI credits do I get per month?

Both the trial and monthly subscriptions include 1,000 AI image credits per month. The trial period is 15 days with no credit card required.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: How do I get my notes out?

Section by section as a OneNote file, a PDF or a Word document. A OneNote package preserves a whole notebook but only for another copy of OneNote. Third-party converters exist and the page layout usually does not survive them.

Gravit Designer: What file formats can I work with?

CorelDRAW supports JPEG, PNG, SVG, PDF, CDR, and other formats. The platform includes vector editing, painting, text tools with thousands of fonts, and access to millions of design assets.

Source
Microsoft OneNote: Which version should I install?

Microsoft consolidated onto a single OneNote application on Windows after retiring the Store version, so install the one distributed with Microsoft 365 rather than looking for an alternative.

Gravit Designer: Is there cloud storage included?

Yes. Cloud storage for projects is included in the subscription, along with access to design assets and the ability to export in multiple formats.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Gravit Designer

More on Microsoft OneNote

Keep looking

Other head to heads