What You Need to Start Digital Planning in 2026: A Beginner-Friendly Guide

Hi friend! I’m so glad you’re here! If you’re brand new to digital planning, I know it can feel overwhelming. There are devices to choose from, apps to compare, and suddenly people are talking about “layers,” “stickers,” “hyperlinked tabs,” and you’re just thinking… I literally just want a planner I can write on.

I promise—starting digital planning is much easier than it looks.

As a digital planner and sticker creator on Etsy, I work inside these apps every single day, and I want to walk you through exactly what you need, what to download, and how to get started confidently.

Let’s take it step-by-step!

What You Need to Start Digital Planning

Great news—you really only need three things:

1.  A Device

Here are the most common options:

iPad (most popular)

·      Best beginner-friendly choice

·      Works with Apple Pencil

·      High-resolution screens

·      Smooth writing feel

If you ask me what MOST digital planner users choose—the answer is almost always iPad.

Android Tablet (Samsung, Lenovo, Amazon Fire)

·      A great alternative

·      More budget-friendly

·      Paired with stylus options like S-Pen

If you're already an Android user—you’ll love the ecosystem connection.

Touchscreen Laptop or 2-in-1 Devices

·      Surface + stylus

·      Lenovo Yoga

·      Modern touchscreen laptops

Not as common, but works!

2.  A Stylus

This is what makes digital planning FUN—writing feels natural and smooth.

Apple Pencil (my favorite)

·      Very precise

·      Pressure-sensitive

·      Connects perfectly with iPad

Alternatives:

·      Logitech Crayon

·      S-Pen (Samsung devices)

·      Surface Pen

·      Generic stylus

You truly don’t need the fanciest stylus to start—but I recommend choosing something rechargeable with a fine tip.

3.  A Digital Planning App

This is the app you use to:

·      Write

·      Place stickers

·      Create hyperlinks

·      Organize pages

·      Import planners

And here’s where opinions come in…

There are LOTS of apps—but I want to focus on just the two I personally recommend most:

⭐ GoodNotes

⭐ Noteful

Both are amazing, but they feel different and work differently—so let’s compare!

GoodNotes vs. Noteful — An Honest Comparison

I’ve used GoodNotes for years, and recently I’ve been testing Noteful—and I genuinely love both, but in different ways.

Let’s look at them side-by-side!

Noteful — My Current Favorite

I’ve been using Noteful lately and honestly—I’m loving it.

Here’s why:

Writing feels extremely smooth

·      The ink just glides.

·      No lag.

·      Looks great whether you zoom in or not.

It feels just like writing on real paper but with way more benefits like:

Layers (THIS is huge!)

Layers allow you to separate planning elements like this:

·      Layer 1 → decorative planner paper

·      Layer 2 → decorative stickers

·      Layer 3 → another layer of decorative stickers

·      Layer 4 → writing

Meaning…

·      You can delete stickers later without erasing writing

·      You can turn off a layer to “clean up” your spread

·      You can experiment with layouts without commitment

If you like decorating or customizing—layers are a dream.

Tags & Page Pinning

No need to scroll through 200 pages to find your:

·      Health tracker

·      Meal planner

·      Vision board

·      Budget sheet

You simply pin or tag pages and jump straight back to them. Makes life easy!

Sticker placement feels intuitive

·      Dragging images is smooth

·      Cropping is simple

·      Transparency works beautifully

If you love stickers (like I do)…Noteful supports creativity effortlessly.

Noteful is Best for you if:

·      you decorate heavily

·      you like reorganizing spreads after they are designed

·      you want a “clean workspace”

·      handwriting and aesthetic layout matter

GoodNotes — Classic and Well-Established

I will always recommend GoodNotes, especially for beginners who want familiar structure.

Here’s why many people still start with this app:

Great Long-Term Organization

Folders, subfolders, archiving—very clear and structured.

Perfect if you:

·      store multiple planners/notebooks

·      keep journals

·      take notes for work or class

·      organize notebooks by year

Search features

GoodNotes excels at finding things.

You can search:

·      typed text

·      handwriting (yes, handwritten!)

·      titles

·      labels

That’s impressive.

Familiar workflow

·      GoodNotes feels like a classic notebook shelf.

·      You don’t need to learn concepts like layers or tagging.

·      Open notebook → write → flip tab → done.

Best for you if:

·      you want simple organization

·      you don't decorate much

·      you prefer traditional notebook structure

·      you want great search features

So Which Should You Choose?

Let’s summarize clearly:

Feature	Noteful	GoodNotes
Writing smoothness	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Layers	YES	No
Best for creative planning	YES	Kind of
Sticker management	Excellent	Good
Organization	Tags + pins	Folders
Beginner ease	Medium	High
Best for multiple notebooks	Good	Excellent

How to Actually Start Digital Planning

Here’s your beginner setup checklist:

Step 1: Download your planner

Choose one you love! Things to look for:

·      Hyperlinked tabs

·      Monthly/weekly/daily links

·      Notes pages

·      Extras like budget, goals, habits, etc.

(Pro tip: many of mine include this!)

Step 2: Import your planner

Inside your app, tap:

·      “Import” or “New Document”

·      Choose your planner PDF from your files

·      Open it

That’s literally it.

Step 3: Duplicate a "fresh" version

This is important!

·      Keep a blank original so you can use the digital planner over and over (especially if it’s undated)

·      Duplicate before using

·      Name new version like:

·      2026 Planning

·      Personal Planner

·      Work Planner

Step 4: Add your first page elements

Examples:

·      Monthly dashboard

·      Grocery list

·      Goals page

·      Budget overview

You can add:

·      Stickers

·      Handwriting

·      Typed text

·      Widgets

·      Digital Inserts

Step 5: Get into a routine

Digital planning is the most effective when you get into a routine. Find a pace that works best for you. Whether it’s filling out your planner before bed, in the morning with a cup of coffee, or on on your lunch break. Here are some ways to check in with your planner to remain consistent:

·      Weekly planning reset

·      Daily task review

·      Monthly goal check-in

·      Habit tracker

Consistency is what makes digital planning magical.

 

Picking a Planner or App

I’d love to help guide you!

You can:

·      Browse my Etsy shop

·      Message me for app recommendations

·      Ask for layout advice

Digital planning is meant to:

·      simplify life

·      keep you organized

·      help memory retention

·      make planning fun again

I cannot wait for you to dive into it!

If you’re ready to start, you can grab:

·      My undated digital planner (perfect for starting right away)

·      Digital sticker packs (functional, decorative, themed collections)

Whatever you choose — I promise you will love digital planning once you get started!