If you’ve been using OneNote for years, you might be wondering whether Microsoft Loop is here to replace it. Time to put things to the test – Microsoft Loop vs OneNote.
The reality is these two tools aren’t really competing. They’re designed for different things, and once you understand that, it all starts to make sense.
A Quick Recap of Both Tools
OneNote has been around since 2003. That’s a long time in tech years! It’s a personal note-taking app, brilliant for capturing thoughts and ideas, storing reference materials, and keeping everything in one searchable place.
Microsoft Loop is newer and feels more modern. It’s a flexible workspace designed with collaboration in mind. Think of it less like a notebook and more like a shared project hub.
The good news? Both are part of Microsoft 365, so depending on your licence, they’re likely to already be available. After all, you’re probably already paying for them.
Where OneNote Still Wins
I’ll be honest — OneNote is my go-to for personal notes. Everything gets dumped in there until I need it. It’s familiar, flexible, and works well both online and offline.
It’s great for:
- Reference materials you want to keep long-term
- Personal thoughts and ideas
- Notes you don’t need to share with anyone
The three-level structure (notebooks, sections, and pages) might feel old-fashioned compared to newer tools, but that familiarity is actually a strength. You can find things quickly, and there’s very little you can’t store in there somehow.
Where Loop Has the Edge
Here’s where Loop really comes into its own — collaborative projects. If you’re working with colleagues, a virtual assistant, or even just organising a complex project on your own, Loop gives you something OneNote doesn’t.
You can create a whole workspace for a project, collaborate on individual pages, or even share just a single content block (a specific section of a page) with someone. That flexibility is genuinely useful.
Loop also supports tasks, checklists, and status updates — so it can double up as a lightweight project management tool as well as a place to store information.
It also has a much more modern feel. If you’ve ever found OneNote a little clunky, Loop will feel like a breath of fresh air.
So Which One Should You Use?
Here’s my honest answer — you don’t have to choose just one.
Think of it this way:
Use OneNote when:
- You’re capturing personal notes and ideas
- You want a long-term reference library
- You don’t need to share the content with anyone
Use Loop when:
- You’re working on an active project
- You need to collaborate with others
- You want a more visual, modern workspace
I use both regularly, switching between them depending on what I’m working on. Once you stop thinking of them as competitors and start thinking of them as complementary tools, it gets much easier.
Give Loop a Try
If you’ve never opened Loop before, it’s worth having a poke around. You’re likely already paying for it as part of your Microsoft 365 subscription, so there’s nothing to lose.
And if you’re a loyal OneNote user — don’t worry. It’s not going anywhere. You might just find you end up using both.
Written with the help of Claude AI from an original transcription.
Complete Your Toolkit
The Loop Essentials Pack
Cut through the confusion and start using Microsoft Loop with confidence
YouTube Videos
What is MS Loop – and do you actually need it?
Microsoft Loop: Create Your First Workspace
Loop vs OneNote – which should you use?
Loop and MS To Do – How Tasks Connect Across Microsoft 365
Related MS Loop Posts
Microsoft Loop – Time to Actually Use What’s Already in Your M365 Toolkit
Ready to Create Your First Microsoft Loop Workspace?
Loop or OneNote? Here’s What Actually Makes Sense for Your Business (current post)
Loop Tasks in Microsoft To Do — Your New Favourite Shortcut
Recent Posts
- Getting Your PowerPoint Designs to Actually Match
If you’ve ever used Design Ideas in PowerPoint and never ended up with a consistent PowerPoint slide design, you’re not alone. Each slide looks lovely on its own, but look at them as a complete deck and it’s like four different presentations got shuffled into one file. I was reminded of this exact problem recently,… Read more: Getting Your PowerPoint Designs to Actually Match - A Simple Framework for Better Copilot Prompts
I’ve been testing Copilot presentation prompts a lot this month, and this time I wanted to answer a simple question: does putting more thought into your prompt actually make a difference, or is it all a bit of a lottery? Starting simple I opened Copilot in PowerPoint desktop and hovered over the Copilot icon, which… Read more: A Simple Framework for Better Copilot Prompts - Moving From Corporate to Self-Employed: How to Set Up Your Tech Step by Step
TLDR: Moving from corporate to self-employed doesn’t mean starting your tech setup from scratch. It means being deliberate: keep what works, drop what doesn’t, and learn properly the bits you never had to before. Get this right early and the admin side of self-employment stops feeling like a second job. If you’re moving from corporate… Read more: Moving From Corporate to Self-Employed: How to Set Up Your Tech Step by Step - Copilot for Presentations: Same Prompt, Two Results
I’ve been having a proper play with Copilot for presentations lately, trying to work out whether it can genuinely save small business owners time when building a deck. Short answer: it depends. Longer answer: it depends on where you open it, and even then, results can shift from one day to the next. Why I… Read more: Copilot for Presentations: Same Prompt, Two Results - Word Dictation: A Faster Way to Write
If typing isn’t your favourite part of running a business, I have some good news. The Word dictation feature has been quietly getting better for years, and it’s now useful for everyday work. Instead of typing out your next email or document, you simply talk, and Word turns it into text. I’ll be honest with… Read more: Word Dictation: A Faster Way to Write
microsoft loop vs onenote, microsoft loop vs onenote functionalities, onenote vs microsoft loop note-taking, differences between microsoft loop and onenote