Productivity · head to head
Microsoft OneNote vs ProofHub
Microsoft OneNote
Productivity
Microsoft's free-form notebook, free with a Microsoft account and synced through OneDrive
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
ProofHub
Project Management
All-in-one project management and team collaboration
- From
- $45/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: 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.; ProofHub the Ultimate Control plan advertises $89 a month for the first 3 months and then charges $135, so the headline is an introductory rate
- They diverge on capability: Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, ProofHub covers Tasks.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Microsoft OneNote and ProofHub actually diverge.
| Attribute | Microsoft OneNote | ProofHub |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | $45/month |
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Platforms | Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows | Web, Ios, Android |
| Category | Productivity | Project Management |
| Founded | 1975 | 2011 |
Identical on both: 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 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
Only in ProofHub
- Tasks
- Discussions
- Proofing
- Time tracking
- Gantt charts
- Slack
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Microsoft OneNote
- Handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote.not ProofHub
- Lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time.not ProofHub
- A team already inside Microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval.not ProofHub
- Collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.not ProofHub
ProofHub
- Project management for teamsnot Microsoft OneNote
- Resource planning and reportingnot Microsoft OneNote
- Collaborative workflow managementnot Microsoft OneNote
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
ProofHub
- The Ultimate Control plan advertises $89 a month for the first 3 months and then charges $135, so the headline is an introductory rate
- The Essential plan caps projects at 40 and storage at 15 GB
- Storage is 100 GB even on the higher plan, which is low for a tool holding project files
- There is no free tier, and the entry price is a flat $45 a month billed annually
Pricing, plan by plan
Microsoft OneNote
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Microsoft OneNote review.
ProofHub
$45/month- Essential$45/month
- 40 projects
- Unlimited users
- 15GB storage
- Ultimate Control$89/month
- Unlimited projects
- Unlimited users
- 100GB storage
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose ProofHub if
- You need tasks.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want discussions.
Questions people ask
- Is Microsoft OneNote or ProofHub better?
- Neither clearly leads. Microsoft OneNote starts at Free and ProofHub at $45/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Microsoft OneNote or ProofHub?
- Microsoft OneNote has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Microsoft OneNote and $45/month for ProofHub.
- Does Microsoft OneNote or ProofHub run on more platforms?
- Microsoft OneNote runs on Web, IOS, Android, MacOS, Windows. ProofHub runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Microsoft OneNote for free?
- Yes. Microsoft OneNote has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ProofHub starts at $45/month.
- What is Microsoft OneNote best used for?
- Microsoft OneNote is most often used for handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote., lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time., a team already inside microsoft 365 that needs a shared notebook without buying anything or seeking approval., collecting mixed material such as screenshots, clippings and sketches on one page, where a document editor would force a linear structure.. Of those, handwritten notes on a pen tablet that you still need to find months later by searching for a word you wrote. and lecture or meeting notes where a recording needs to line up with what you were typing at the time. are not what ProofHub is typically brought in for.
- What can Microsoft OneNote do that ProofHub cannot?
- Microsoft OneNote covers Free-form page canvas, Notebook hierarchy, Indexed handwriting, Audio recording. ProofHub covers Tasks, Discussions, Proofing, Time tracking.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
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.
ProofHub: How much does ProofHub cost?
ProofHub offers two plans: Essential at $45/month (annual) or $50/month (monthly), and Ultimate Control at $89/month (first 3 months) or $135/month thereafter (annual billing).
SourceMicrosoft 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.
ProofHub: Are per-user fees required with ProofHub?
No. ProofHub includes unlimited users in both Essential and Ultimate Control plans. There are no per-user fees regardless of team size.
SourceMicrosoft 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.
ProofHub: Does ProofHub offer a free trial?
Yes, ProofHub provides a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. You can explore all features before committing.
SourceMicrosoft 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.
ProofHub: Can I cancel ProofHub anytime?
Yes. ProofHub has no long-term contracts. You can cancel anytime and switch billing between annual and monthly plans.
SourceRelated pages
More on Microsoft OneNote
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- ProofHub vs Bear Notes
- ProofHub vs Samsung Food
- ProofHub vs Bluedot
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- ProofHub vs Google Workspace
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- ProofHub vs Forest
- ProofHub vs HEY
- ProofHub vs Hubstaff
- ProofHub vs Mealime
- ProofHub vs Basecamp
- ProofHub vs Trello
- ProofHub vs Clockwise
- ProofHub vs Reclaim.ai
- ProofHub vs Craft Docs
- ProofHub vs Hive
- ProofHub vs Nifty
- ProofHub vs Taskade
- ProofHub vs Toggl Plan
- ProofHub vs Freedcamp
- ProofHub vs Podio
- ProofHub vs Teamgantt
- ProofHub vs Teamhood
- ProofHub vs Tempo Timesheets
- ProofHub vs Visor
- ProofHub vs Zoho Projects