Top 10 Digital Planner Templates for GoodNotes: 3 Free, 7 Worth Paying For

Search for a digital planner template and you get everything at once: single monthly pages, 600-page all-in-one planners, Canva files you can’t write on, and “free” templates that turn out to be a sign-up form. If you just want something that opens in GoodNotes and works, the choice is less obvious than it should be.

So I sorted it for you: 10 digital planner templates from Creative Fabrica that open in GoodNotes on the iPad. The first 3 are free digital planner templates for iPad, the other 7 are paid and go from a simple base template to a full all-in-one planner. After the list: the difference between a template and a full planner, whether free templates are worth it, and how to build your own planner from single templates.

The 10 Best Digital Planner Templates I Found

Every template here is a PDF made for GoodNotes, Notability or similar apps: no Canva-only files, no print-only sheets, nothing dated for a past year. Free ones first, then paid, from simplest to biggest.

TL;DR: 10 digital planner templates for GoodNotes on the iPad: 3 free (a monthly planner, a daily page and a Cornell notes page) and 7 paid, from a simple base template to an all-in-one with 86 templates. Each card lists orientation, layouts and dates, plus who it suits.

• FREE Undated Monthly Digital Planner – Best free monthly template
• Digital Daily Planner Freebie (5 Colors) – Best free daily page
• Free Goodnotes Cornell Notes Template – Best free notes template
• Floral Undated Digital Planner – Best blank base for creators
• Digital Planner Template – Best romantic floral template
• Undated Digital Planner for Goodnotes – Best neutral essentials
• Digital Planner for Goodnotes – Best budget all-rounder
• Undated Digital Planner Goodnotes – Best cute and colorful
• Digital Planner for Ipad, GoodNotes – Best for layout choice
• All-in-One Digital Planner – Best all-in-one (most reviewed)

Quick Comparison

Digital Planner Template vs Full Digital Planner

People use both words for the same thing, but there’s a useful difference:

• A template is one layout or a small set of pages: a monthly calendar, a Cornell notes page, a habit tracker. You duplicate it as often as you need. Simple, light, often free.
• A full digital planner is a whole hyperlinked notebook: yearly, monthly, weekly and daily pages connected by tabs, plus trackers and notes. Everything is already linked, so you jump from a month to a day in one tap.

If you’re new to digital planning, start with a template or two and see what you actually use. If you already know you want everything in one place, a full planner saves you the work of building it. On my list, #6 to #10 are that kind of GoodNotes digital planner: several sections linked by tabs, with trackers included.

Once you have chosen between a few pages and a full planner, the next step is learning to move around it. My GoodNotes tips for planning explain page duplication, bookmarks and reusable stickers, so you can set up the file you already chose.

Are Free Digital Planner Templates Worth It?

For trying digital planning, yes. If you’re looking for a free GoodNotes planner, the three freebies at the top of my list are a good test: a free monthly template tells you in a week whether you like writing on the iPad. What free templates usually don’t have:

• Hyperlinks: without tabs, you scroll through pages instead of tapping.
• Weekly and daily pages that match the monthly one. A free digital weekly planner template is hard to find on its own: the free picks here are a monthly, a daily and a notes page, and weekly spreads start with #4.
• Trackers for habits, budget or meals.
• Several layouts to choose from.

That’s exactly what the paid templates in this list add. A simple paid template costs about as much as a coffee, and Creative Fabrica’s All Access subscription includes many of them.

What I Look For in a Digital Planner Template

• A real PDF for note-taking apps, not a Canva link or a print-only file.
• Undated pages (or current years only), so it’s not out of date the day you buy it.
• Monday and Sunday start versions if you care about the week layout.
• Landscape or portrait that matches how you hold your iPad.
• Hyperlinked tabs for anything longer than a few pages.
• Room to write: boxes big enough for Apple Pencil handwriting, not just typed text.

Which Template Fits What You Plan

Most digital planners for GoodNotes are sold by design, but it’s easier to choose by what you plan most. Here is how the picks above line up:

• Your days: #9 has four daily layouts to switch between, and #5 includes a day planner page among its extra templates. For a cute day planner template, the pastel #8 has daily pages in a playful style. To try a day page first, the free #2 has to-dos, hours and meals on one sheet.
• School and study: the free Cornell notes page (#3) plus the daily, weekly and monthly pages of #7 make a simple school planner template set for students.
• Money: #7, #8 and #9 all include budget or finance trackers, and #8 adds savings, bill and debt pages.
• Just the month: the free #1 is enough if you only track dates and deadlines.
• Everything in one file: #10, with 86 templates from personal planning to travel.

How to Build Your Own Planner from Templates in GoodNotes

You can mix single templates into one notebook that fits you better than any ready-made planner:

1. Pick a base: a monthly template (like the free ones above) for the calendar.
2. Add the pages you’ll use every week: a weekly layout, a to-do list, a habit tracker.
3. Import them as custom templates. In GoodNotes you can add your own PDF pages to the template library, then pick them whenever you add a new page.
4. Keep the order simple: month → its weeks → notes. Use the outline or bookmarks to jump around, since single templates don’t have tabs.
5. Give it a cover so it feels like a real planner on your shelf.

To make mixed templates look like one set, use the same pen colors everywhere; my GoodNotes color palettes have hex codes ready to copy. If you plan late in the evening, a dark mode digital planner with black pages and light lines is easier on the eyes. If your iPad lives in a keyboard case, a landscape planner for iPad uses the whole wide screen instead of a narrow page in the middle.

Planner Template or Planner App?

Planner apps sync with your calendar and send reminders; a PDF template in GoodNotes doesn’t. Some planners add calendar “integration” links that open Apple or Google Calendar, but they still don’t sync your events automatically. What templates do better: handwriting (which helps you remember), complete freedom of layout, and no subscription. Many people keep appointments in the calendar app and do the actual planning in the template.

How to Use Digital Planner Templates

1. Save the ZIP from Creative Fabrica and unzip it in the Files app on your iPad.
2. Open GoodNotes (or Notability), tap New → Import and choose the PDF.
3. Write with the Apple Pencil; tap tabs to jump between pages (in GoodNotes, use read-only mode if a tap starts drawing instead).
4. Duplicate pages you need more of: tap the page thumbnail → Duplicate.
5. Add stickers by dragging PNG files from Photos or Files onto the page.

FAQ

Are there free digital planner templates for iPad?

Yes. The first three templates in this list are free on Creative Fabrica: an undated monthly planner, an undated daily page and a Cornell notes template. They’re simple but work fine in GoodNotes and Notability on iPad. When you want hyperlinks, weekly pages and trackers, move up to one of the paid templates below them.

How does a digital planner work?

It’s a PDF you open in a note-taking app and write on with a stylus. Hyperlinked tabs work like the dividers of a paper planner: tap “March” and you jump to March. You can duplicate, delete and rearrange pages, and nothing ever runs out.

Can I create a digital planner template in Canva?

You can design pages in Canva and export them as a PDF to write on in GoodNotes. Hyperlinks between pages take extra work and don’t always survive the export. If you buy a template, check that it’s a ready PDF and not just a Canva link you have to edit first.

What app do I need for a digital planner template?

A PDF note-taking app: GoodNotes and Notability are the most popular on the iPad; Noteshelf, Xodo and Samsung Notes (on Android tablets) also work. Hyperlinks work in all of them.

Does Apple have a digital planner?

Not as a dedicated planner. Apple’s Calendar, Reminders and Notes cover parts of it, but for a handwritten planner with monthly and weekly pages you need a planner template in a note-taking app.

Landscape or portrait template: which is better?

Landscape gives you a two-page spread like a paper planner and fits an iPad in a keyboard case. Portrait feels more like a notebook and is easier to write on with the iPad flat on a desk. Most templates in this list are landscape.

Page orientation is only part of how handwriting feels on the iPad. These Apple Pencil planning tips cover paper spacing, gestures and writing practice, giving you a way to assess your writing setup alongside the template layout.

Is Notability or GoodNotes better for digital planner templates?

Both open the same PDF templates and keep the hyperlinks working. GoodNotes is the more popular pick for planners: it handles big hyperlinked files smoothly and makes it easy to duplicate pages and add stickers. Notability is better if you also record audio with your notes. If you want a Notability planner, the free #1 and #2 name Notability in their descriptions, and most of the other picks are standard PDFs that open there too, though #10 is built around GoodNotes. For planning alone, GoodNotes is my choice.

Does GoodNotes work without Wi-Fi?

Yes. Your notebooks are stored on the iPad, so you can open and write in your planner offline. You only need a connection to sync with iCloud and your other devices, and that happens automatically once you’re back online.

Final Thoughts

Start free: grab the monthly or the daily template and use it for a couple of weeks. If you find yourself wanting weekly pages and trackers, move up to an undated digital planner template or a full all-in-one. For more full planners, see my best digital planners for iPad and undated digital planners, or browse all everyday planners. Not sure which format suits you? These digital planner layout ideas help you pick before you buy.

Not sure which GoodNotes plan you need for these templates? Here is how much GoodNotes costs and five ways to pay less.

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