The best note-taking tablets for ADHD and neurodiversity of 2023

Rocketbook has long been a top pick in reusable notebooks, and its products have only become more innovative over time. Though the company offers several styles of notebooks, the Rocketbook Fusion is one of the best at combining functionality and price.

The writing experience on the Fusion is deliberately simple. With a specialized pen in hand, users write in the provided pad the way one normally would with a traditional notebook. From there, you use the app on your phone to scan your pages and store them in your preferred online cloud space. For the price, the Rocketbook Fusion offers a great way to save on paper and notebook space by offering up 42 pages to reuse again and again.

However, this product is not without its drawbacks. Because the Rocketbook Fusion relies on the user scanning their notes to save them, those with ADHD run the risk of losing the notebook before they’ve scanned anything and must remember to scan and erase the notebook before they can reuse it. Erasing is a hassle compared to others on this list, because you must wash and dry each page individually. It also doesn’t offer any handwriting to text conversion, meaning you can view your notes digitally but can’t edit or search them.

For those on a tight budget, this notebook is affordable, saves on paper and backaches, and provides a digital backup of your notes. Just be aware that if remembering to do things consistently is one of your main ADHD struggles, the extra steps involved with this notebook might make it a challenge to use consistently.

If you’re the sort of person who always has their computer and phone set to “dark mode,” this reusable notebook may be your new best friend. It uses a base that feels similar to writing on a chalkboard slate (without the unpleasant squeak or feeling of chalk). It allows for multiple templates—or any printed documents—to be slipped behind the writing space so you can take notes directly on top, making it perfect for everything from school worksheets to work collaboration.

The affordable price of the Boogie Board Blackboard is hard to beat, and because it lacks the messy ink or inconvenient binding of a regular notebook, it’s friendly to left-handed users. One of the best assets is the board’s erase features, which can be done either with the top of the included pen (simulating using a regular pencil) or the simple press of a button. There are no pen or paper refills needed, so it’s equally good for the environment and your budget.

Before you run out and buy one, there are a few key details worth knowing. Though the Boogie Board’s navy surface with light green writing is easy on the eyes for many, those with low vision and certain forms of colorblindness may struggle more to read their notes than they would with other products on this list.

It is also necessary to scan your notes on the Boogie Board to save them digitally. There is also only one “page” to the Boogie Board, so while it has a much quicker erasing function, it also must be erased constantly.

All that being said, if you’re a budget-conscious shopper who is worried about the extra steps involved in erasing the Rocketbook, this is a reasonable alternative.

Livescribe Symphony is a smart pen that takes the principles from the more budget-friendly reusable notebooks listed above and offers a series of automated features befitting the strenuous note-taking happening at the high school or college level.

While technically not a writing tablet in its own right, the pen set comes with four dotted grid notebooks that look and feel like regular paper. As you write, the pen auto-syncs your notes with a digital backup on your phone, eliminating the need to remember to scan anything after you finish. It also digitizes your notes so you can organize, edit, search, and instantly transfer written letters to digital text.

The standout feature of this writing set is its ability to record audio and sync it in real time with your notes via the Livescribe+ app. For many with ADHD, the ability to listen and read at the same time can help with focusing, so being able to review a lecture or meeting’s audio along with the notes is huge.

The Symphony does have a few drawbacks. This set is by far the least eco-friendly on the list, as the notebooks are not reusable, and the pens must be refilled.

You will also have to remember to keep your pen and phone charged, as you need both connected to create the digital version of your notes. The hefty price tag may be enough to turn off many—particularly when factoring in the cost of buying replacement notebooks and ink as you use them.

Regardless, if you’re looking for a smart notebook that can record and pair audio with effortless, truly digitized notes, this set is the best one out there according to our experts.

Kindle is known for its high-quality reading experience, but with the Kindle Scribe, Amazon has upped its game and created a note-taking dream device. The e-ink screen users have come to love is still in place with the Scribe, making it easy to read both indoors and out.

The Scribe also boasts impressive compatibility with various document formats, has the functionality of an e-reader, and even has a backlit screen to let you read comfortably in dimly lit environments.

Where the Scribe really shines is in its ability to take effortless, lag-free notes directly onto your digital documents, books, and more. It lets you digitize your handwriting into typed, easily searched words and offers up to 64 GB of storage (depending on the model you buy).

When it comes to taking notes from scratch, the Scribe is functional and offers an impressive 18 different templates. However, it is also the most expensive tablet on this list (even more so if you want the premium pen that offers an easy erase function and shortcut button for features like highlighting).

The reusable pen and note surface are great for the environment (and your future budget), but the trade-off is that you must remember to charge both the pen and Kindle itself before taking notes. It’s entirely locked into Amazon’s ecosystem too, which means it can’t integrate with other third-party apps.

If you’re a person who most often takes notes on other documents or books, the Kindle Scribe is well worth the price for its functionality, ease-of-use, and sleek feel. However, if you’re just looking for a way to save your notes digitally, there are cheaper options out there.

The ReMarkable 2 is considered one of the best electronic notebooks among artists and those who pair visuals with their notes. It’s a little cheaper than the Kindle Scribe and is designed more with note taking from scratch in mind. The screen of the ReMarkable 2 is an e-ink screen, meaning it’s glare-free and feels similar to writing on regular paper.

The ReMarkable 2 is especially ideal for those who hope to convert their handwriting into typed text, as it supports this feature for 33 different languages. With this conversion and its automatic syncing with a variety of digital clouds, the ReMarkable 2 will make your notes easy to write, search, and store.

Its reliable and quick-response pen is popular for those who doodle or draw often, and it even offers a left-handed mode to make that experience optimal for all users. While you do have to remember to keep this notebook and pen charged, like the Kindle, its long battery life makes this shortcoming a little less of a hassle.

One of the biggest negatives to the ReMarkable 2 is that a subscription is required to use many of the app’s features. Since it starts out at a pretty hefty price tag, the ongoing subscription cost may be enough to make many shoppers pause. It also doesn’t boast a backlit screen like the Kindle, so users will need to be in a well-lit area like they would with a physical notebook.

Even so, if you’re looking for a way to digitally store handwritten notes and images, this is one of the best options out there. The handwriting-to-text conversion, automatic syncing, and endlessly reusable functions will be extremely helpful to those with ADHD or similar conditions.