Softwr

Productivity · head to head

HEY vs Microsoft OneNote

HEY logo

HEY

Productivity

Flat annual subscription email service from 37signals, with its own hey.com domain and a distinctive Screener

From
$99/year
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

  • Only Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: HEY there is no free tier and no monthly billing option, so trying it beyond the trial means committing to a full year upfront.; 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: HEY covers The Screener, Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which HEY and Microsoft OneNote actually diverge.

Attributes where HEY and Microsoft OneNote differ
AttributeHEYMicrosoft OneNote
Starting price$99/yearFree
Pricing modelPer user per monthfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsMac, Windows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows
FoundedUnknown1975

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Productivity).

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 HEY

  • The Screener
  • Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
  • Reply Later stack
  • Focus and Reply mode
  • Screen sharing style clips
  • No tracking pixels

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.

HEY

  • Someone who wants to replace Gmail or iCloud Mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inboxnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversationnot Microsoft OneNote
  • A family that wants shared but individually addressed email under one annual plannot Microsoft OneNote
  • A small company wanting HEY for Work on its own domain with the Screener model for the whole teamnot 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 HEY
  • Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not HEY
  • A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not HEY
  • Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not HEY

Where each one falls short

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

HEY

  • There is no free tier and no monthly billing option, so trying it beyond the trial means committing to a full year upfront.
  • Adopting HEY means changing your actual email address, not just installing a new client, which is a bigger migration than switching apps on an existing address.
  • The Screener and categorisation model is a real departure from a standard inbox, and some users take time to adjust or find it gets in the way for high volume mail.
  • Short vanity addresses carry steep additional annual fees, up to 999 US dollars a year for a two character address.
  • It does not connect to or manage existing Gmail, Outlook or iCloud accounts, so it cannot be used as a general client the way Mimestream or Apple Mail can.

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

HEY

$99/year
  • HEY for You$99/year
    • One hey.com email address
    • Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail
    • Billed annually only, no monthly option
  • HEY for Families$179/year
    • Covers up to five family members
    • Same features as HEY for You per member
  • HEY for Work$12/month
    • Per user, for organisations on a company domain
    • Admin controls for a team

Microsoft OneNote

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.

Which should you pick?

Choose HEY if

  • You need the screener.
  • You work on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want imbox, feed and paper trail.
HEY 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 HEY or Microsoft OneNote better?
Neither clearly leads. HEY starts at $99/year and Microsoft OneNote at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, HEY or Microsoft OneNote?
Microsoft OneNote has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $99/year for HEY and Free for Microsoft OneNote.
Does HEY or Microsoft OneNote run on more platforms?
HEY runs on Mac, Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows.
Can I use Microsoft OneNote for free?
Yes. Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. HEY starts at $99/year.
What is HEY best used for?
HEY is most often used for someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox, a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation, a family that wants shared but individually addressed email under one annual plan, a small company wanting hey for work on its own domain with the screener model for the whole team. Of those, someone who wants to replace gmail or icloud mail entirely with an email service built around approving senders before they reach the inbox and a user overwhelmed by newsletters and receipts who wants them automatically separated from person to person conversation are not what Microsoft OneNote is typically brought in for.
What can HEY do that Microsoft OneNote cannot?
HEY covers The Screener, Imbox, Feed and Paper Trail, Reply Later stack, Focus and Reply mode. Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

HEY: Can I use HEY with my existing Gmail address?

No. HEY provides its own hey.com email address; it is not a client layered over an existing Gmail or other account.

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.

HEY: Is there a free plan?

No. HEY offers a trial but bills annually only, with no free tier and no month to month option for individuals.

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.

HEY: What is the Screener?

A feature that holds mail from any new sender until the user explicitly approves them, before it appears in the inbox at all.

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.

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.

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